Hi community!
I went off birth control a couple of years ago when my partner and I started to get serious, because I felt comfortable enough with her to try living with PMDD naturally. She’s an incredibly patient and loving person and I am so grateful for her, but we still have our ups and downs because of my mood swings.
Two months ago, I started to taper off of my anti-anxiety medication because I found out through a gene swab that I have serious interactions with it and many other depression/anxiety meds. After this taper, I started having mood swings more severe than ever, blaming my partner for every little thing that annoys me, and having really dark, negative self thoughts. Not to mention, my depression got really bad (I still take depression meds).
Talking with my therapist, I decided I would start moving my body intentionally to help with my emotional sensitivity and stress relief, but to also keep some weight off (I also have an eating disorder due to the pmdd). This was starting to help a little bit, but my emotional sensitivity and irritability just kept getting worse, so I went to my gyno and asked to be put back on BC. She put me on the same BC, Jolessa or Sitlakin, that I was previously on because it’s a 3 month pack and seemed to help at the time. 2 weeks in, though, and I feel like I’m bloating in my stomach and face, overeating again, having negative thoughts and wanting to isolate.
So I guess the point of this post is:
Does anyone have a similar experience they’d like to share, or any advice that might be helpful? I would love to handle my PMDD without medication, but when I’m there- it feels like the world is ending and the only thing that will help is medication.
Thank you, friends!
P.S. It feels so good to have a safe space to post freely about this disorder!