is a severe hormonal condition triggered by the neurosteroid Allopregnanolone, or ALLO. It is not a mental illness. It is way more severe, and uncommon, than typical PMS (affecting between 3-8% of women of childbearing age). It is a biological, not behavioural, condition.
Joint pain, back pain, migraine, abdominal bloating, breast tenderness, exhaustion.
—and debilitating: they build up in the two weeks before a period (the luteal phase), peak in the week directly before, and then recede quickly when the period starts.
In Europe and the US medical guidelines recognize PMDD as a specific condition with clearly identified symptoms. There is no need to ‘suffer in silence’ or for symptoms to be mistaken for bipolar illness or depression.
Extreme mood swings, severe irritability and/or anger, depression, feelings of hopelessness and low self-worth (women with PMDD are four times more likely to attempt suicide), anxiety, feeling overwhelmed and out of control, difficulty concentrating.