A
female
age
36-40,
anonymous
writes:Okay so I have EXTREMELY bad PMS symptoms. I get just about everything known to womankind of this nature. Two weeks before I start my period, my skin breaks out terribly, my stomach cramps, my back aches, I get fatigued, crave junk really badly...and the part that bothers me the most is the mood issues. I have been diagnosed with severe major depression (I take cymbalta) so two weeks before I start my period, it only gets 100x worse. I sink into extremely low suicidal states and get very irritable, anxious, feel unusually confused which I'm not sure is a PMS symptom or not? Well, the big issue is that I'm in a relationship with a most wonderful man who puts up with this stuff. I'm terrified that one day he'll get tired of this as these issues persist at least half of the month. He says he understands but I can't stand to put him through this stuff and I can't stand GOING through it every month. Is there anything out there that I can do to reduce the effect of some of these symptoms before they diminish my relationship and my own personal well being??
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female
reader, Susan Strict  +, writes (9 May 2008):
 I'm 100% in agreement with Tisha on this one - in fact I know about Cymbalta because one of my friends was taking it. You really need to talk to the doctor urgently about why it was prescribed and whether it is appropriate to your particular symptoms and situation.
Cymbalta frequently causes mood swings and confusion, and in all probability will make bad PMS very, very much worse. It carries numerous warnings including a very strongly-worded note that patients taking it must be monitored regularly by their doctor.
A
female
reader, Tisha-1 +, writes (9 May 2008):
 Hi, I'm sorry to hear about your situation. I'm not a medical expert, and I think it would be irresponsible to give you advice on the conditions you're describing, other than to offer up some links (see below) and some thoughts here.
I read about Cymbalta briefly, and saw that one of the side effects may be suicidal thoughts, which should be immediately reported to your doctor; so make sure you contact him/her right away to discuss this.
As for the severe PMS, again, I'm not an expert, I'm just going to cut/paste here the information from the website webmd.com on something that sounds like you may be experiencing. You need to talk with your gynecologist and primary care physician about the totality of your symptoms, so that they can give you the best treatment possible for your conditions.
Please do make these appointments right away so that you have the best health care you can possibly have. And remember, your GP and your gynecologist need to be communicating with each other about these symptoms.
All the best.
Links and definition follow here:
http://women.webmd.com/pms/premenstrual-syndrome-pms-topic-overview
http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-91491-Cymbalta+Oral.aspx?drugid=91491&drugname=Cymbalta+Oral
Copied from webmd.com:
"Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)
"Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), causes physical and mood-related symptoms that seriously disrupt a woman's life and relationships. PMDD symptoms develop during the latter half of each menstrual cycle, after ovulation, and go away during the first few days of each menstrual period.
"PMDD symptoms are related to hormone changes during the menstrual cycle. Emotional symptoms include feelings of sadness, hopelessness, anxiety, irritability and sensitivity, anger, being overwhelmed, and the need to withdraw from others. Physical and behavioral symptoms include lack of energy, problems with concentrating, sleep problems, food cravings or binge eating, breast tenderness, bloating and weight gain, headaches, and joint or muscle pain.
"Women diagnosed with PMDD are typically encouraged to use healthy lifestyle choices and prescription medication to manage their symptoms."
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (9 May 2008): In many women, extreme PMS symptoms can be a sign of a hormonal imbalance in which your body produces too much estrogen and not enough progesterone. Use of birth control pills, environmental toxins and many other factors can contribute to reduced progesterone production and to a reduction in your body's ability to use what you do produce. One of the simplest and most effective ways of dealing with this problem is to use a cream containing natural progesterone (identical to what your body produces) which you apply to your skin daily. Progesterone cream is available at health food/vitamin stores.
Many doctors do not prescribe or even know about using progesterone in this way because it is not a treatment promoted by drug companies. However, you can find out about how to use it by researching on the internet or contacting an alternative or herbal medical practitioner.
In general you would want to keep track of your entire cycle and begin using the progesterone cream after ovulation, until the beginning of your period. You may find that your PMS symptoms are substantially reduced.
I have used progesterone in this way to deal with PMS, and it also has helped reduce my debilitating menstrual cramps and excessive bleeding during my period. I strongly encourage you to look into this alternative, which will support your overall health and has no negative side effects because it is the same chemical your body would produce. Best wishes.
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