[tsfairy]

Anyone experience a shift in mood or mood patterns after PPAF returns?

I'm on my 4th PP cycle, and last month I really noticed that my mood got SO much worse right before AF showed up. I'm not super regular yet so it's hard to discern a real pattern, but it was like a cloud lifted and my mood changed dramatically when AF finally made her appearance. That lasted for several days, and then I got slowly more and more irritable and depressed. I'm about halfway through my cycle now and my moods are very up and down.

I've been on meds (Citalopram) for about 8 months now and they've helped but I still have really bad days. Is there something else I can do if it's related to my cycles?

 

[Surfacing]

There's this great book called Self-Help for PMS by Michelle Harrison that explains the hormonal reasons for the swings, and talks about dietary changes that may help, self-care behaviours, and meds. There's also a chart for charting mood changes and other PMS symptoms throughout the month. Worth it if you can get your hands on it.

 

[LynnS6]

Another good book is "Women's Moods".

I definitely went from PPD to PMDD. Unfortunately for me, the PMDD was bad enough that I went back on meds to deal with it. I just couldn't handle that 10 days of feeling REALLY crappy.