ProNurse

Hi.  I suffer with awful PMT and my GP recommended an AD to help with the way I feel prior to my period.  I feel really low two weeks before my period, get really sore boobs, bloated stomach and generally feel really low.  I have tried other treatment such as reflexology, st john's wort, meditation, exercise and yet nothing seems to be working.  I only feel 'normal' for two weeks of the month.

What would be the best treatment for this?  I also suffer with mild anxiety and on occasion panic attacks.   She mentioned Citalopram.  Anyone know much about this medication?

Thanks in advance.

you cannot take st johns wort with a prescribed anti-depressant. be careful.

I too am confused. I'm not sure that starting on citalopram would be good idea without first trying varying forms of contraceptive pill to try and balance out the hormones.

I too am on citalopram for anxiety and yes it works but not easy to come off as I have been finding.

Does your GP intend to place you on this indefinatly? As stuart says, this needs to build up in your system and wouldn't work if you took it on an ad hoc basis and I would advise you not too.

Just seems a little extreme to me.

Do you suffer with pain at this time as well/ other symptoms or is it just mood change?

Also how often does your anxiety affect you... do you often have panic attacks?

sorry not being nosey just seeing if the GP is trying to kill two birds with one stone maybe...

Hello,

I used to suffer terribly with PMT and anxiety/panic attacks. I was a real nightmare to live with and i like you only really felt normal about 2 weeks in four. I was prescribed antidepressants as i was really low - Prozac.

However after taking these for a few months i gained a stone in weight. The doctor said i shouldnt worry about the weight if i felt happy. Obviously i wasnt happy about the gain in weight so i felt more down.

I was also suffering from chronic period pains every month. A friend suggested the "coil" as she said she had no periods at all.

To cut a long story short a did get the "Mirena Coil" and ive never looked back. I rarely have any periods or pains now.

My PMT also seems to have disappeared.

It really did work for me and i cant recommend it enough. I know what you are going through belive me you are not on your own.

Best wishes

Julesx

Anonymous says ...

Hello,

I used to suffer terribly with PMT and anxiety/panic attacks. I was a real nightmare to live with and i like you only really felt normal about 2 weeks in four. I was prescribed antidepressants as i was really low - Prozac.

However after taking these for a few months i gained a stone in weight. The doctor said i shouldnt worry about the weight if i felt happy. Obviously i wasnt happy about the gain in weight so i felt more down.

I was also suffering from chronic period pains every month. A friend suggested the "coil" as she said she had no periods at all.

To cut a long story short a did get the "Mirena Coil" and ive never looked back. I rarely have any periods or pains now.

My PMT also seems to have disappeared.

It really did work for me and i cant recommend    it enough. I know what you are going through belive me you are not on your own.

Best wishes

Julesx

Hi Karen.  As a sufferer of PMS and anxiety, my GP also recommended anti-d's which did seem to help but I couldn't stick the side effects so came off them.   Anyway, I suggested CBT and she said "there is a long waiting list, plus it is too expensive" so never did refer me.   I'm certainly not in a postition to pay for the treatment myself.

I agree, the causes of PMS and/or anxiety could be due to feelings that haven't been dealt with, as the PMS and later the anxiety appeared after some trauma in my life.  

Not sure where to go from here as most GP's seem to presribe anti-d's as a quick fix and their cheaper than therapy.

oh and I forgot if youwork for a health trust you should have access to a staff counsellor - free and a shorter waiting list!!!

Somebody mentioned magnesium (and Vit B) earlier on...

I don't suffer (terribly) from moodswings but suffer from terrible period pains. Or used to, at least. A friend suggested magnesium supplement with calcium (don't know why both) and raspberry leaf tea. I was suspicious but decided to try them anyway.

It's only been a couple of months but I've felt SOO much better. No longer needs loads of painkillers and my machine, neither do I need to crawl under the duvet for a day or two.

GP suggested going on the pill but I figured I could try supplements first. Never thought they would help.. shocker :)

Anonymous says ...

Anonymous says ...

This is confusing.

Citalopram is a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI). This means that it targets the neurotransmitter, serotonin. It works by building up serotonin levels gradually over several weeks.

I'm no expert in PMS but I'd have thought that the issue is hormonal rather than serotonin based. I'd also have thought that it's a short-lived recurring problem rather than the chronic sort of disorder that SSRIs are designed to treat. Surely the normal serotonin production for the Central Nervous System would simply adjust to accommodate the prescription anyway - thus negating any short-term effects in acute PMS.

What's the rationale for this - or is it just the same desperation-induced prescribing that results in so many anti-depressant prescriptions?

If there is a proper medical rationale for this suggestion what is it? Does anyone know? I'd genuinely love to know how a long-term SSRI can help acute PMS. Bear in mind that short-term SSRIs are pretty pointless.

Cheers,

Stuart

 

"SSRI's are known to help in women suffering with PMS "

There is much enthusiasm for the use of a class of antidepressants called  SSRIs (eg Prozac) in the treatment of severe PMS where the symptoms are mostly depression, mood swings, irritability, etc.

The results of treatment are often dramatic and are supported by scientific studies. Side effects can sometimes be a problem. Discussion with a GP or specialist is essential before starting treatment.

Women who suffer from PMS may possibly have a lower than normal level of a certain chemical in their brain (serotonin), which may explain some of the non-physical symptoms such as irritability, depression and mood swings".

 

That's really interesting and a completely new one on me - thanks for the info. I wonder if you have any references for this research. I'd be really interested to follow this up.

I'll tell you why - it's because the use of SSRIs in this sort of situation in people not otherwise showing depressive symptoms would be contraindicated according to the training I received. If that's changed and the licensing conditions of SSRI's have changed I'd be fascinated to know what's brought that change about.

If you do have any references I'd be especially grateful if you could send me some links to independent research (not simply that conducted by pharmacological companies out to make a sale) although I appreciate that often pharmaceutical company research is all that's available. Do you know if NICE have expressed an opinion on this?

Fascinating.

Cheers,

Stuart

Anonymous says ...

Anonymous says ...

sorry not being nosey just seeing if the GP is trying to kill two birds with one stone maybe...

Or maybe they've fallen into the trap of believing that they have to come up with a solution of some sort. A lot of doctors get caught in that trap. They think that medicine has to have the answer when often it's not there - so they clutch at straws instead. It seems to spring from the cultural notion that doctors are suposed to know best when often they're just as helpless as the rest of us.

As I said - if there is a real rationale (as opposed to clutching at straws) I'd love to hear it.

Cheers,

Stuart

No Stuart, many GP's do NOT prescribe anti depressants willy nilly. They do make sure that the patient requires them and offers them councelling as well. The GP's won't do anything that will affect their budget. I was prescribed a 60mg tablet but was told I would have to take 3X 20mg as it would cost the GP sugery £102 more to give me one tablet so, I have to take 3!!

To the person who posted the research stuff on SSRIs and PMT:

Please let us have the reference of the journal or book you typed it from or failing that the weblink to wherever it was cut and pasted from. I'm really not trying to be funny - I'm genuinely keen to follow this up because it's something I didn't know about and I think I really should try to understand it better.

Cheers,

Stuart

Anonymous says ...

Hi.  I suffer with awful PMT and my GP recommended an AD to help with the way I feel prior to my period.  I feel really low two weeks before my period, get really sore boobs, bloated stomach and generally feel really low.  I have tried other treatment such as reflexology, st john's wort, meditation, exercise and yet nothing seems to be working.  I only feel 'normal' for two weeks of the month.

What would be the best treatment for this?  I also suffer with mild anxiety and on occasion panic attacks.   She mentioned Citalopram.  Anyone know much about this medication?

Thanks in advance.

The syndrome is made up of a collection of more than 150 different symptoms and is experienced by around 90% of women at some point in their reproductive lives.A good diet accompanied by vitamin/mineral supplements, a good B-complex would be a good one to pick up as well as calcium for moodiness, avoid the usual things like dairy and red meat if you can, limit soy as it tends to have bad effects on women's hormones, lots of vegetables and fruit, raw being best, at least a week prior to your symptoms normally start acting up – as always, lots of water is always a plus.

Regards,

online pharmacy no prescription

Anonymous says ...

Anonymous says ...

Anonymous says ...

This is confusing.

Citalopram is a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI). This means that it targets the neurotransmitter, serotonin. It works by building up serotonin levels gradually over several weeks.

I'm no expert in PMS but I'd have thought that the issue is hormonal rather than serotonin based. I'd also have thought that it's a short-lived recurring problem rather than the chronic sort of disorder that SSRIs are designed to treat. Surely the normal serotonin production for the Central Nervous System would simply adjust to accommodate the prescription anyway - thus negating any short-term effects in acute PMS.

What's the rationale for this - or is it just the same desperation-induced prescribing that results in so many anti-depressant prescriptions?

If there is a proper medical rationale for this suggestion what is it? Does anyone know? I'd genuinely love to know how a long-term SSRI can help acute PMS. Bear in mind that short-term SSRIs are pretty pointless.

Cheers,

Stuart

 

"SSRI's are known to help in women suffering with PMS "

There is much enthusiasm for the use of a class of antidepressants called  SSRIs (eg Prozac) in the treatment of severe PMS where the symptoms are mostly depression, mood swings, irritability, etc.

The results of treatment are often dramatic and are supported by scientific studies. Side effects can sometimes be a problem. Discussion with a GP or specialist is essential before starting treatment.

Women who suffer from PMS may possibly have a lower than normal level of a certain chemical in their brain (serotonin), which may explain some of the non-physical symptoms such as irritability, depression and mood swings".

 

That's really interesting and a completely new one on me - thanks for the info. I wonder if you have any references for this research. I'd be really interested to follow this up.

I'll tell you why - it's because the use of SSRIs in this sort of situation in people not otherwise showing depressive symptoms would be contraindicated according to the training I received. If that's changed and the licensing conditions of SSRI's have changed I'd be fascinated to know what's brought that change about.

If you do have any references I'd be especially grateful if you could send me some links to independent research (not simply that conducted by pharmacological companies out to make a sale) although I appreciate that often pharmaceutical company research is all that's available. Do you know if NICE have expressed an opinion on this?

Fascinating.

Cheers,

Stuart

 

I am not sure where I found the information but I am pretty sure i read that serotonin levels in female are  related to progesterone levels. Such that when progesterone levels fall pre menstrally (from about day 17 ish) that serotonin levels fall as well.  Some GPs prescribe SSRIs for later part of the cycle which would appear to boost seratonin levels from that time and some prescribe for whole cycle.  Yes, SSRIs are normally used for chronic depression but found also to work for PMT.

 

Hello,

Very nice forum site.... I found good information here. You have really very awesome site. Thanks for sharing....