14 replies to this topic

[hammer of dusk]

Has anyone had luck with prozac one week a month for PMDD? Is there withdrawal after the week of 20mg? What about weight gain? I know YMMV but I'm just wondering how this has gone for other folks.

==== (the boring backstory) =====

I was on a combined birth control for a while, then a GP switched me to progestin only (minipill) because of migraines. Sometime after then I started getting BATSHIT CRAZY during my period. Never had PMS before. Now I have major mixed episodes with destructive behavior and I feel absolutely dysphoric, crying at work, self-harming etc.

My gyno switched me 6 weeks ago back to the combined pill I did well on. Still going nutzo on my period. He thinks since my previous birth control did not stop ovulation, it will take up to 4 months before I stop ovulating and then hopefully will be more sane. If that doesn't work we'll stop the placebo week. But to get me through the next 4 months he wants me to do prozac the week of my period. Normally SSRIs have either made me super apathetic or more depressed.

As a short term solution I hope this will help, but I'm a bit concerned.

[LovelyThoughts]

YES! It did work for me when I was hacing PMS from hell! I was on 2 weeks off 2 weeks. I had no SE's really but i may have only been on 10mg.

I thought my GYN was nuts giving me an anti depressant dosing it like that. I thought there was no way it was going to work because it takes 4-6 weeks for an AD to work! I was plesantly surprised!

I am thinking about starting this again. Seems Lamictal has brought the ugly PMS crap back.

[dymphna]

I was given Lexapro that way and it worked great.


Dymphna

[Simba Cub]

The length of time in between doses may seem odd, but remember that Fluoxetine (Prozac) traditionally has a very long half life, meaning that it stays in your body for longer.



Rich::

[Her]

Does anyone know how you would go about using an SSRI for PMDD if your period is really irregular? How would you know when to start taking it if your cycle sometimes went four weeks, then sometimes six, occasionally some other random time? It's always really clear to me after my period starts that I was having PMS or PMDD, but since I can't ever say with any surety where in my cycle I am, it isn't apparent as it's happening.

This unpredictablity is common to all the women in my family-I'm not ill or anything.

[LovelyThoughts]

Although i dont't have pmdd i could notice within a day or two when i was/am starting to pms. Guess it's from years of taking cues from my body and behavior. As soon as i noticed being/feeling more irrational and irritable than normal i would start the prozac.

[KingBelle]

I suffered from terrible PMS/PMDD, chronic fatigue, debilitating depression and anxiety, extreme irritability to the point where my marriage was in big trouble, and all sorts of cramps, headaches, bloating, etc. Doctors couldn't help me, and tested me for Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Diabetes, Thyroid, etc. I finally sucked it up and paid a thousand bucks to see a holistic physician. My doctor recommended taking a probiotic at night (30 billion per pill) and eliminating gluten from my diet to see if it helped. I am a new person. I want to share my experience as much as I can to help women out there who keep being told, like I was, to try this pill or that - this antidepressant, this birth control... when all I needed to do was change my diet and get my body healthy. This results from dysbiosis - an unbalanced digestive system that leads to a host of problems. There is tons of info out there about it - look up "gluten intolerance and PMDD" and also search "dysbiosis." Try it and see if it doesn't change your life!!! I praise God everyday that I discovered this!

[Blue Heron]

I suffered from terrible PMS/PMDD, chronic fatigue, debilitating depression and anxiety, extreme irritability to the point where my marriage was in big trouble, and all sorts of cramps, headaches, bloating, etc. Doctors couldn't help me, and tested me for Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Diabetes, Thyroid, etc. I finally sucked it up and paid a thousand bucks to see a holistic physician. My doctor recommended taking a probiotic at night (30 billion per pill) and eliminating gluten from my diet to see if it helped. I am a new person. I want to share my experience as much as I can to help women out there who keep being told, like I was, to try this pill or that - this antidepressant, this birth control... when all I needed to do was change my diet and get my body healthy. This results from dysbiosis - an unbalanced digestive system that leads to a host of problems. There is tons of info out there about it - look up "gluten intolerance and PMDD" and also search "dysbiosis." Try it and see if it doesn't change your life!!! I praise God everyday that I discovered this!

KingBelle, I'm glad you're feeling better, but Crazy Meds Talk is a pro-medication site, and not the place to post about gluten-free diets and other treatments prescribed by holistic physicians. Take it elsewhere.

[amo]

Does anyone know how you would go about using an SSRI for PMDD if your period is really irregular? How would you know when to start taking it if your cycle sometimes went four weeks, then sometimes six, occasionally some other random time? It's always really clear to me after my period starts that I was having PMS or PMDD, but since I can't ever say with any surety where in my cycle I am, it isn't apparent as it's happening.

This unpredictablity is common to all the women in my family-I'm not ill or anything.

You could try charting ur ovulation. Generally ur menstruation will start 2 weeks after ovulation. Then chart when ur pms or pmdd occurs for a few months and u should be able to fugure it out. However if u find out than sometimes u dont ovulate at all or ur menstruation isnt 2 weeks after ovulation this wouldnt work. Have u seen a dr? Theres medications to help regulate menstruation then the situation would be much easier to deal with.

Edited by amo, 26 May 2012 - 07:05 AM.

[Blue Heron]

amo, why are you writing in "textspeak" here? You've plenty of room, after all.

[hammer of dusk]

Just an update, it's been two months with the prozac for the week of my period, and it's made an enormous difference. I haven't had any horrible mixed states and it's helped the anxiety too.

[amo]

amo, why are you writing in "textspeak" here? You've plenty of room, after all.

i peruse this site on my phone so it must be by association. A more prudent question: why are u derailing this thread?

Edited by amo, 26 May 2012 - 10:38 AM.

[martasi2]

amo, why are you writing in "textspeak" here? You've plenty of room, after all.

i peruse this site on my phone so it must be by association. A more prudent question: why are u derailing this thread?

amo,

Please be courteous to the moderators. Do not accuse them of derailing a thread. Your use of texting abbreviations makes your posts hard to read and understand. That's why Blue Heron mentioned it, and in a nice way too.

[amo]

I have no clue who the moderators are. But are you saying its ok for moderators to derail threads and it cannot be pointed out? If so i didn know thats the way things work here so now i know. Even though its habit I will try not to use "u" instead of "you" since its hard to understand. However blue heron recognised it as "textspeak" and didnt say it was hard to understand so i didnt realize that was the reason for questioning the way i spell.

Ps theres plenty of people here with ridiculous grammar and horrible spelling which is hard to decipher.. But theyre not being chided in front of everyone. Just saying.

Edited by amo, 26 May 2012 - 01:39 PM.

[Blue Heron]

amo, I'm sorry you feel singled out, but I've pointed out that writing in a texting style isn't necessary to everyone I've seen do it here, so it's nothing personal. A moderator asking someone why she's writing in a texting style isn't considered derailing a thread here. The moderators are called "Citizen Medical Experts," as noted in the FAQ. If you have a hard time with being asked questions about what you've written, or being asked to do something a little differently, it's possible that Crazy Meds Talk won't be the best fit for you. I hope you'll realize that we're not out to insult you, and you'll be able to use the forums as a place to share your knowledge and get your questions answered.