Living With PMDD: My Decade-Long Journey to Finding Effective Treatment
About this Episode
This episode is about my journey with PMDD and finding an effective treatment.
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD, is a severe form of PMS that affects about 3-8% of women of reproductive age. It can cause depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, brain fog, fatigue, irritability, and rage.
I was diagnosed with PMDD back in 2019, and have spent the majority of my 20’s suffering from this condition that has only gotten worse with time. This looked like spending the entirety of my luteal phase, which is 10-14 days of every month, feeling painfully exhausted, irritable, unable to focus, depressed, and even suicidal. The only thing that got me through these difficult two weeks every month was knowing that as soon as my monthly bleed would start these symptoms would go away, but this was no way to live. PMDD made me feel trapped in my own body, unable to escape the brutality of these symptoms that most doctors told me were just “a normal part of being a woman.”
I hope this episode helps you find a treatment that works for you, and if you don’t have PMDD, but you struggle to advocate for your health, this episode will give you some courage to keep fighting for the good health and healing you deserve.
Resources Mentioned
HRT Clinic, Newson Health: https://www.newsonhealth.co.uk/
FREE Workshop: The 4Bs fo Self-Care & How to Prioritize Self-Care as a Busy Mom: https://nolongerlast.com/workshop
The Blog Version of the Episode
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is not “just bad PMS.” It’s a severe, life-altering condition that impacts around 3–8% of women of reproductive age.
Symptoms go far beyond cramps or irritability. PMDD can cause depression, anxiety, brain fog, fatigue, rage, and even suicidal thoughts.
Women’s health is chronically understudied, and PMDD is a glaring example of that gap. Despite how disruptive it is, research on PMDD is limited, and many doctors still don’t fully understand it.
This is my story of living with PMDD, the years I lost to it, and how I finally—after almost a decade—found a treatment that gave me my life back.
What Living With PMDD Looked Like for Me
I was diagnosed with PMDD in 2019, but I’d been suffering for years before that. PMDD consumed the entirety of the luteal phase of my cycle (10–14 days every single month). This meant half of every month was lost to:
Debilitating fatigue
Depression and anxiety
Irritability and mood swings
Brain fog so thick I couldn’t focus
Suicidal thoughts
I began to track my cycle, and I realized the symptoms would vanish the moment my period started.
For me, PMDD started after I had children. My births were traumatic, and I must have experienced a major hormonal shift. My menstrual cycle became a ticking time bomb. Once my period started, I knew I had about 12 “good days” before the PMDD symptoms came back.
While going through PMDD every month, there were days I was so fatigued I couldn’t get off the couch, even if I needed to go to the bathroom or eat. I’d look out at a sunny blue sky wanting desperately to be outside with my kids, but instead I was trapped inside my body, silently crying and experiencing excruciating fatigue. It was during these moments that I felt suicidal.
Hitting Rock Bottom and Searching for Treatment
By May 2024, I had reached my breaking point. I had just turned 30, and I couldn’t imagine living like this for another decade. I took a break from my podcast and started carving out time on the weekend to research treatments for PMDD.
First, I tried natural remedies for months—nothing worked. Then, I begged my primary care doctor for help, but was quickly dismissed. The doctor, who was a woman, said my PMDD symptoms were “just part of being a woman.” Like so many women, I was gaslit into believing I just had to accept my suffering.
After my failed attempt to receive treatment from my primary doctor, I went to my psychiatrist who suggested upping the dose of my antidepressant just during my luteal phase and then titrating down for the remainder of my cycle…and to do this EVERY month. If you’ve been on a psych med, especially an SSRI, you know that going up and down doses can be really hard on the brain and body. This treatment option barely felt like an option at all. I knew that the side effects of adjusting the dose of my antidepressant throughout my cycle every single month would be too much for me to handle.
Eventually, I discovered Dr. Louise Newson and her women’s clinic in the UK. The Newson Clinic specializes in using bioidentical hormones (progesterone, estradiol, and testosterone) to treat PMDD, perimenopause and menopause. This type of treatment is called hormone replacement therapy, or HRT. I made an appointment and booked a flight to the UK, draining a significant chunk of my savings, but I felt a glimmer of hope for my health for the first time in years.
But with hope came fear, too. Pursuing this treatment in the UK while I lived in Portugal meant paying for flights, hotels, appointments, tests, medication, and shipping costs (to mail the medication to me)—all out-of-pocket. Because I grew up poor, I carry deep financial trauma. Spending money on myself felt extremely difficult, triggering, and overwhelming. Once I began to think about the logistical and financial nightmare of trying to pursue this long-term treatment, I got scared and cancelled my appointment and my flight.
The Wrong Turn: Birth Control
After cancelling my Newson Clinic appointment, I went to my gynecologist here in Portugal. I explained my symptoms, my research, and how all signs pointed to HRT using bioidentical hormones as the most effective treatment option. My gyno quickly shut me down.
“HRT is for women in menopause.” She said to me, “You’re 30, not 50.”
Instead, she prescribed me birth control to stop my ovulation altogether. At first, it flattened my mood swings. But not long after starting birth control, new symptoms appeared:
Severe teeth grinding (TMJ) leading to jaw pain
Hot flashes and night sweats
Aversion to foods I used to love (even coffee)
Constant tension in my face, neck and shoulders
Debilitating migraines almost every day
I knew it was the birth control. When I followed up with my gynecologist, she dismissed these side effects as “just symptoms of my anxiety.” But when I researched, I found credible studies linking birth control to teeth grinding and TMJ. After visiting a jaw specialist, they told me I would need Invisalign to correct my now crooked jaw and to address the damage I had done to my molars.
I stayed on the birth control for 4 months—until January 2025. The last straw was when I had to go to the emergency room due to my migraine pain being extremely severe. I was given the strongest pain medication they could give me, and it did not provide any relief. The hospital staff couldn't do anything else for me, and I was instructed to make an appointment with a neurologist who then prescribed me the most high-end, expensive migraine medication I've ever had. It was about $175 for eight pills, which only made me more stressed about costs. I knew I needed to see someone who actually understood the condition I was dealing with.
Finally Getting Effective Treatment
By some miracle, the Newson Clinic had a last-minute cancellation in January. I flew to the UK that same week—scared, exhausted, (kicking myself for cancelling my original appointment in August), but determined.
For the first time, I sat across from a doctor who didn’t question if PMDD was real. My blood was drawn, my symptoms validated, and I was prescribed bioidentical progesterone to take only during my luteal phase. Each box of progesterone, which would last for one month, cost about $10—significantly less than every other treatment option that had been previously offered to me.
When my luteal phase arrived, I began taking the bioidentical progesterone. Within a few days, I felt like the version of myself before I became a mother—lighter, happier, sharper, and more energetic. For the first time in ten years, I wasn’t overwhelmed by depression, anxiety, fatigue, and pain for two weeks every month.
A follow-up phone consultation with the Newson Clinic revealed that my blood panel indicated my testosterone was low, so I began using a topical testosterone gel. Shortly after starting bioidentical testosterone my brain fog lifted. My energy returned. Even with my ongoing sleep disorder, I felt more energized and better overall.
Where I Am Now
At the time of writing, I’m six months into my treatment with bioidentical progesterone and testosterone. The difference is night and day:
No more debilitating depression or suicidal thoughts in my luteal phase
Dramatically reduced anxiety and brain fog
More energy for my kids, my work, and my life
Increased libido
Minimal side effects (some hair growth from the testosterone)
This treatment has given me my life back. And while it was time-consuming, expensive and exhausting to get here, the return on that investment is priceless.
Demand the Care and Support You Deserve
If you’re struggling with PMDD—or any condition where your symptoms are being dismissed—please hear me:
✨ You are not imagining this.
✨ Your pain is not “just part of being a woman.”
✨ You deserve real treatment and care.
It may take time, sacrifice, and persistence, but some doctors and providers will listen and help you. Don’t give up searching until you find someone who gives you the care you need.
I used to feel guilty for spending money on my health, especially when it meant sacrifices for my family. But I realized this: my health is the rising tide that lifts all boats. When I’m well, my kids, my marriage, my work, my relationships—everything in my life is better.
Living in suffering simply because you are a woman and because you’re told that “that’s just the way it is” is the biggest scam. We have to fight back and demand the care and support that we deserve.
The No Longer Last Journey® Podcast
Personal stories, inspiration, and advice to help moms prioritize their health, happiness, and well-being — hosted by Mia Hemstad.
Hi there, I’m Mia Hemstad!
I’m a mom, abuse survivor, self-care coach, and the founder of The No Longer Last Journey™ — a movement to empower mothers to make their health, happiness, and well-being a priority.
I’m also a maternal mental health policy advocate, and I live with PTSD and depression.
I love helping moms make their health, happiness, and well-being a priority!
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