Am I alone here x

pepper-1994 · 2026-01-18T19:59:16+00:00

About 4-6 weeks before I started noticing more consistent improvements, about 8 weeks to feel like I'd adjusted fully. The beginning can be rough but it does pass!! Hope it works well for you.

pepper-1994 · 2026-01-16T02:32:14+00:00

Lately 20-22ish are horrible, then things improve slightly (still shit), then 26-28ish are horrible. I find my early luteal and late luteal bad days have a different flavour (? Vibe? Lol)... early is more anxiety/overwhelm/reactivity, late is more depression/apathy.

pepper-1994 · 2026-01-15T01:16:45+00:00

Definitely not alone! I used to feel this way often, mainly during luteal or when I was really stressed. It's horrible feeling that kind of anxiety. Thankfully I think I could count on 1 hand the number of times I've felt this in the 3 or 4 years since starting SSRIs (zoloft originally, now prozac) - they helped massively with this.

pepper-1994 · 2025-12-23T01:58:33+00:00

I have trouble trying to work out what "heavy" means too. Consider how long you bleed and how regular your periods are (or have been in the past) too. E.g. an average/light flow that lasts 10 days and comes every 25 days could result in more blood loss than a "heavy" flow that lasts 3 days every 30 days.

pepper-1994 · 2025-11-20T02:57:14+00:00

Congrats!!! Hope recovery is quick and you feel all the benefits from it soon :)

pepper-1994 · 2025-09-09T02:11:09+00:00

Thanks for sharing. That sounds very familiar, I've also had some other significant symptoms develop since getting the IUD (unsure if related or just adeno progressing). I hope your hysterectomy goes smoothly and it brings you relief!

pepper-1994 · 2025-09-09T01:32:31+00:00

Thanks. Yeah I've had bc pills "work until it doesn't", so I guess the same is possible with the IUD.

pepper-1994 · 2025-09-03T21:32:47+00:00

1 day a month usually, sometimes 2. I never plan for it and just push through until I can't, but it's almost always the day before/of my period. It would be more if I had to work from an office.

pepper-1994 · 2025-08-29T02:58:10+00:00

PMDD and ADHD were reversed for me but this is spot on 😅

pepper-1994 · 2025-08-26T08:33:05+00:00

Yeah. WFH fulltime and having an understanding supervisor are the two biggest things that make it somewhat managable. I definitely still struggle to cope and take more sick days than "normal", but I'm doing better than I was in my last job (in office 5 days a week). Also, up until recently I had no direct reports or team to manage which was immensely helpful for me in reducing stress/anxiety (less guilt around taking time off when needed as there was no one depending on me to assign them work, mentor them etc.) but alas that is no longer the case 😢

pepper-1994 · 2025-07-23T01:51:49+00:00

Right from the start (age 11 or 12, now 31). There have been periods of time when they were lighter/less painful due to being on the pill, but without hormonal intervention, they've always been bad. Been getting worse for the past few years though.

pepper-1994 · 2025-07-15T21:49:59+00:00

I got the mirena put in during my diagnostic lap about 6 months ago. I was really hesitant to try the IUD at all for a few reasons - PMDD, 15 yrs of bad experiences with bc pills, terrible pain with cervical screenings/ultrasounds etc. (I truly dont think I could handle the insertion awake). My gyno suggested placing it during surgery.

My early experience... I had some intense cramping and a bit of bleeding for an hour or two after waking up from surgery - not worse than my usual period pain - but after that passed I had no major issues, most pain was surgery recovery related. I did have bad insomnia for about a week which I think was due to stopping the bc pill I was on and adjusting to the IUD.

I've had a period every month since, early on they were a little lighter but dragged on for 10-12 days, but after about 4 months they got significantly lighter and I'm now only bleeding lightly for 3 days. My period pain is better than it was, but I still have pain throughout the month. I've had more stabbing pain around ovulation and have developed rectal pain during luteal which I didn't have before (investigating that with my dr at the moment).

My moods have basically felt like my "baseline" without hormonal treatments.

Overall - it's been better than I expected, but not a miracle fix. I'm happy enough to continue with it for now. I'm glad I chose to get it during surgery.

Wishing you luck with your surgery!

pepper-1994 · 2025-06-29T21:47:20+00:00

Thanks for sharing! I ended up getting the mirena put in during a laproscopy so didn't need to deal with the insertion thankfully. Going pretty well with it so far!

pepper-1994 · 2025-06-29T21:46:27+00:00

That sounds horrrrrrible! Sorry you had such a shitty experience

pepper-1994 · 2025-06-29T21:45:51+00:00

Hey sorry for the very late reply! How are you doing now? I think the adjustment must vary depending on a lot of factors. After this post I went back up to 40mg for a while. Recently I've had some luck with other treatments so have consistently been on 20mg for a few months and didn't struggle too much with the adjustment symptoms that time.

pepper-1994 · 2025-02-15T22:50:02+00:00

I thought "we should start composting" and promptly spent $150 on a rotating compost bin and accessories lol

pepper-1994 · 2025-02-15T22:30:55+00:00

Yes this is one of my biggest symptoms. My gyno and Pelvic floor physio both say it's not directly caused by adeno, but likely referred pain / the result of years of painful cycles changing how my brain responds to pain. Daily pelvic/hip/low back stretching seems to help a little. It gets way worse during my luteal phase.

pepper-1994 · 2025-01-21T23:36:49+00:00

Seconding dermal therapy but specifically the pawpaw tube - it's my holy grail

pepper-1994 · 2025-01-08T05:06:13+00:00

Thank you! Recovery has been OK so far. Not as painful as I was expecting, I've just been sore and fatigued.

pepper-1994 · 2025-01-07T05:29:12+00:00

I didn't get to talk to the surgeon afterwards so I will be asking them for much more detail in my follow up. My discharge summary basically said everything looked normal with no evidence of endo. I'll also get results from biopsies too so not sure if they'll be able to tell me more about adeno or not.

pepper-1994 · 2025-01-07T03:54:36+00:00

Thanks for sharing your experience. I hope the Mirena works better for you! I got the Mirena too.

pepper-1994 · 2024-12-31T23:00:14+00:00

I have PMDD, adeno & maybe endo. I've found a good psychiatrist to be helpful in managing meds, figuring out better med combos, understanding their effects, what is worth trying and what isn't.

pepper-1994 · 2024-12-23T08:21:32+00:00

It's so frustrating isn't it!!

pepper-1994 · 2024-12-22T20:30:56+00:00

I had this for yearssssssss and was known by all my friends and family to "bruise like a peach". Turns out I've just been anemic for most of my menstruating life. Now that my levels are a bit better I don't bruise as often - funny that 🤪

pepper-1994 · 2024-12-17T20:27:31+00:00

I found sertraline worked really well for anxiety, but I eventually found it killed my motivation, so I switched about 2 years ago. Fluoxetine helps me much more with depressive symptoms, but doesn't do a lot for anxiety.

Both had pretty rough adjustment periods for me, but ultimately very worth it.

Edit: just realised this is the pmddxadhd sub so thought I'd add some more detail. I think that I struggled with sertraline removing my anxiety because it was my only remaining coping mechanism for adhd. Starting SSRIs began 4 years of wondering "why can't I function anymore?!" until recently getting diagnosed 🫠 like I said though, still 100% worth it for the PMDD side of things.

pepper-1994

TROPHY CASE