Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a severe, and disabling extension of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). It is NOT the same condition. Although PMS and PMDD both have physical and emotional symptoms, PMDD causes extreme mood shifts that can disrupt daily life and damage your relationships.
PMS tends to have more physical symptoms while PMDD has more mood symptoms. These have very specific windows of flaring up, usually around ovulation, and/or before menstruation.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PMS AND PMDD IS SEVERITY, FREQUENCY, AND DURATION.
PMDD causes are thought to be; genetics, hormonal fluctuations, increased inflammation, stress, nutritional factors which I go through in detail in this episode.
Unfortunately, there isn't a huge amount of research on PMDD and we are still learning so much. At the moment, current medical treatment is offering the pill and/or antidepressant, so I go through all the natural treatments that offer hope to women suffering PMDD.
** after recording this episode I found an amazing clinical trial in 2019 that found - "N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) to be as effective as the antidepressant fluoxetine for PMDD symptoms."
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