Misdiagnosed when had Pmdd, What do you know about pmdd (severe pms) ?

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   schoolgirlforrealposted 10 years ago

   I have found that Depakote helps me with pmdd.
   Anyone know anything else that helps? I hear fish oil and zinc are good amoung many other things.
   
   I was diagnosed bipolar 22 yrs ago, but from what I can tell it's pmdd. the symptoms are very similar except pmdd is around your period.

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      Phyllis Doyleposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I have never heard of PMDD before, but here is a link that explains:
      
      http://womenshealth.about.com/od/premen … isPMDD.htm
      
      I hope that helps you. Also, there are other articles listed below that article about herbs and other help.

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   schoolgirlforrealposted 10 years ago

   Thank you in advance

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   Motown2Chitownposted 10 years ago

   Has a doctor actually diagnosed your PMDD?  Remember that Bipolar Disorder is a cyclical illness. It may be entirely coincidental that it follows YOUR cycle.  Also, Depakote (to my knowledge) hasn't even been used off-label to treat PMDD.  Please confirm a diagnosis with your doctor before attempting to treat it.  Also, as a teenager, what my mother and I were totally convinced was PMDD turned out to be cyclothymia, an illness on the Bipolar spectrum.  Just be careful about self-diagnosis.  In my experience, mood stabilizers and antidepressants are entirely useless unless there is indeed a mood disorder.

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      schoolgirlforrealposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I am going to have tests done about the pmdd. It will take awhile to figure it out. The psychiatrist at the hospital that diagnosed me, didn't even know what pmdd was when I mentioned it to him, and he said to me that 'people with bipolar are mean as a snake'- that was his response. Also the other psychologist there didn't know what it was either. The medical profession needs to know before they go diagnosing people. When I was diagnosed at 16, I had not shown signs of mania- such as spending money or having sex. So I think they were wrong. And the med they put me on for 20 yrs made me angry and now I feel great I'm on something that works better.

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         Motown2Chitownposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I definitely think you're on the right road to have it checked out.  Although, maybe consider a different psychiatrist.  I have Bipolar Disorder, and everyone I know thinks I'm a fairly nice person...LOL I've never had a doctor say something so....un-doctorly.  Ask also about the Depakote.  It's an anti-convulsants which has been known to be highly successful in treating the mood swings associated with Bipolar.
         
         My caution would be not to throw out the BPD diagnosis without getting more information.  Poor treatment for a disorder doesn't mean it's not a legit diagnosis.  Maybe you've just finally found a medication that works really well for you.  Depakote was a lifesaver for me.  I've since changed to Tegretol due to some difficult side effects from Depakote, but it's a very successful drug.  Do you take antidepressants as well?
         
         Mania manifests differently for everyone.  It is sometimes as simple as extreme feelings of anger or hyper irritability.  Maybe periods of feeling super energetic or productive.
         
         Check everything, for sure, which is what I think you're doing, but let the doctors rule things in or out.
         
         

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            schoolgirlforrealposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            OKay, that sounds good, no I'm not on antidepressants.

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               Motown2Chitownposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Before making any sweeping changes, I'd encourage you to find good doctors to help you through.  Best of luck to you!  I know the whole thing can feel like a big pain in the patootie!  I'll keep you in my prayers.

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                  schoolgirlforrealposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Thank you so much! I'm going to take it slow for sure. No more hospitalizations because of med errors.

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   calculus-geometryposted 10 years ago

   Here's an article about it from the APA that might help you
   http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct02/pmdd.aspx
   
   This is something from Harvard Medical School
   http://www.health.harvard.edu/newslette … c-disorder
   
   Go Ask Alice entry about diagnosis of PMDD
   http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/testing- … order-pmdd
   
   More about treatment from American Family Physician
   http://www.aafp.org/afp/2002/1001/p1239.html
   
   And one more from the US National Library of Medicine
   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004461/

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