My experience of hormonal meds is limited as I have severe CFIDS/ME and don't get on with any hormonal medication. I do, however, have experience of having to try a new med when it could leave me substantially worse off than before, and I do realise that you really cannot predict how you will do on a new med without trying it. Here's what I'd suggest, some or all of which you may be doing already.
1. Log your symptoms every day for at least a couple of months before starting, so that you have a baseline. Grade them in severity, and stick to the most important symptoms only (typically three) if you are showing this to a doctor. Mymonthlycycles.com is useful for this, although you have to pay to get it to print out usable charts. I made myself a chart using a spreadsheet. Medhelp.org is a free site and there may be something useful in one of its trackers, say the mental health one, though last I checked that was so detailed that it would actually be bad for your mental health because you'd end up worrying about every possible symptom. I've just checked and they have a menstrual cycle tracker which isn't perfect but does at least cover the relevant areas, although without allowing you to track severity. It's also useful to have somewhere you can log side effects, if you have trouble keeping track of whether or not they're worse than with previous meds.
2. Have something in place for if the PMDD gets bad. I use Valium myself, the doctor's given me a relatively low dose but it's very useful. Having a good support network of partner/friends/family is also handy.
3. Look into diet for PMDD, and check that you're eating as well as you can manage. Blood sugar is strongly related to PMDD, for starters, and some women can actually control it through diet. I had horrendous PMDD last cycle due to being stressed and skipping meals over a few days.
4. Also check whether you can improve your sleep, as that too can have a strong impact. I have severe sleep disorders and have learned a lot of tricks that are not common knowledge, which I've written a site about here.
5. Plan to try the new med at a time when you're not expecting undue stress, when you can keep up your exercise regime and generally be in the best condition possible. If this means waiting a few months, so be it.
1. Log your symptoms every day for at least a couple of months before starting, so that you have a baseline. Grade them in severity, and stick to the most important symptoms only (typically three) if you are showing this to a doctor. Mymonthlycycles.com is useful for this, although you have to pay to get it to print out usable charts. I made myself a chart using a spreadsheet. Medhelp.org is a free site and there may be something useful in one of its trackers, say the mental health one, though last I checked that was so detailed that it would actually be bad for your mental health because you'd end up worrying about every possible symptom. I've just checked and they have a menstrual cycle tracker which isn't perfect but does at least cover the relevant areas, although without allowing you to track severity. It's also useful to have somewhere you can log side effects, if you have trouble keeping track of whether or not they're worse than with previous meds.
2. Have something in place for if the PMDD gets bad. I use Valium myself, the doctor's given me a relatively low dose but it's very useful. Having a good support network of partner/friends/family is also handy.
3. Look into diet for PMDD, and check that you're eating as well as you can manage. Blood sugar is strongly related to PMDD, for starters, and some women can actually control it through diet. I had horrendous PMDD last cycle due to being stressed and skipping meals over a few days.
4. Also check whether you can improve your sleep, as that too can have a strong impact. I have severe sleep disorders and have learned a lot of tricks that are not common knowledge, which I've written a site about here.
5. Plan to try the new med at a time when you're not expecting undue stress, when you can keep up your exercise regime and generally be in the best condition possible. If this means waiting a few months, so be it.
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