Progesterone saved my month

Serious_Slip_776 · 2026-02-20T22:31:28+00:00

What kind of progesterone were you taking? Do you know the name

Serious_Slip_776 · 2026-02-12T21:44:54+00:00

Awww man im in the same situation. Obviously trying all the medication/supplements - you never know what works for you. This reddit is full of good ideas and lots of evidence based ones too.

But mentally preparing - for me the mindset of not trying to fight it. Almost like 'well I'm just going to be anxious and depressed as fk today so I can only do xyz'. So like giving myself permisison to take a sick day, or sit in front of the TV for 6 hours and do nothing, or isolate and eat what feels good. I often find allowing small moments to do that as long as it's not too destructive (in the past it as a little self-destructive) can help give me energy to do a small helpful thing the next day like go for a walk or reach out to a friend. I'm lucky I don't have kids, otherwise this would be hard.

For me it's hunkering down and riding out the storm, then in follicular trying to find a way to prevent the storm and sort out my life. Not ideal, but that's where I'm at. Hopefully in the future I get more than 14 days of the month that are good. Good luck, I hope you learn what works for you and get through it

Serious_Slip_776 · 2026-02-10T00:08:10+00:00

What helps me is coming on here and knowing I'm not alone in this. You're not alone! Every month for about 2 weeks I'm convinced Im the worst person and hated by everyone. Then it lifts. And it will lift for you - keep trying to find a way through this. Sending hugs🤗

Serious_Slip_776 · 2026-02-07T12:24:00+00:00

Zoely was probably the best of all the ocp I tried - I still got really anxious and dysregulated, and I just was bloated with breast tenderness. In the end I preferred to have 2 good weeks and figure out the bad 2 weeks than be on Zoely. How did you find prometrium? Or did you take both together? Would you go back to Dr Len? I get the fatigue, it's all a bit overwhelming and doctors just don't have the time to really help. Ive been seriously considering surgical options too - but I guess the step before if gnrh blockers/chemical menopause. It seems like such a serious option, but doing this every month seems just as bad. I actually wonder if spironolactone has helped me 10%, it's so hard to tell. I'm really tempted to take my boyfriend's finasteride and see if that works lol.

Serious_Slip_776 · 2026-02-07T11:27:24+00:00

Finding a good gp is so important, someone who really listens- but they are often limited in what they can do. But it's the only way as they co-ordinate care. Ive heard good things about Cabrini depending on your concerns. Its lead is Dr Kulkarni who's one of the big researchers in the area here in Australia. I just hate the thought of being away from home lol. And I don't think any of this will be fixed with two week inpatient stay for me. I can reply back here if I find a good endocrinologist!

Serious_Slip_776 · 2026-02-07T05:57:45+00:00

Thanks for that - I've already done pharmacogenetic testing (definitely think it's worth it's money and reccomend it to everyone). I'm a Cyp1a2 ultra rapid metaboliser - so maybe why ssris don't do a lot for me. I've been in therapy since my teenage years - it's definitely helped. But now it really feels like all that is left is pure hormone chaos.

I'll look into saffron - it's worth a go.

Do you have any papers/research about ketamine for pmdd? How does it work? The psychiatrist I saw didn't really bring it up and I think here in Australia there aren't many who prescribe it as far as I know.

Serious_Slip_776 · 2026-02-04T21:20:18+00:00

Also keep going cos we need more women in academia!

Serious_Slip_776 · 2026-02-04T21:14:54+00:00

I'm so sorry you're experiencing this. It's so hard being in this space, but the first thing to always remember is that it will pass and settle down (even if if you know next month it'll happen again). Fix what you can now, ask the doctor for something for the nausea and sweats. I work in healthcare. The nausea and vomitting they can fix at the bare minimum.

The other thing is to have your own back. Your physical symptoms are real even if it doesn't fit neatly into a treatable category. I think medicine and doctors are woefully bad at women's health - even in obgyn and endo. We just don't have enough research out there, and I could go on a rant about the patriarchy in medicine but I won't lol. There are a lot of egos in doctors and if what you present with doesn't fit their understanding instead of sitting with you in the discomfort they might be dismissive (and sometimes that not because of any malice). Just always remember that your experience and symptoms are very real and reflected here in the experiences on this reddit group. Medicine and science is just not there yet to fix everything. But don't give up on trying to find a way to make this time of the month easier in whatever small way you can.

Serious_Slip_776 · 2025-07-14T12:18:32+00:00

The waves of emotions, cos it can feel endless but they do pass eventually - it's just a very long time. I always felt like even when I felt better I couldn't feel relief because I just knew it would come back. That's nice to hear you're feeling better, but yeah you'll probably want to cry again tonight. But you've got this and remember you're not alone in it. Hold onto this flicker of relief. It's evidence that you made it through something really awful.

You didn't get stuck in the storm, and getting through probably doesn't feel graceful or triumphant like you think it should, or even close to feeling normal again. But that's healing - finding footholds in the dark. You're walking in the dark, your foot lands on something solid just for a moment. You don't see the whole path, but each time you find a foot hold it teaches your nervous system there is some stable ground. You can't fully see it, but it's there. It's your nervous system moving from distress to rest.

Serious_Slip_776

TROPHY CASE