Emma Hardy

I take SSRIs very minimally now.

So usually like without the pressure intensities of COVID with my partner being very understanding and having been through it so many times now.

Usually the DBT methods and being able to be in a workplace that allows me to take time that I need and have a more flexible structure around my cycle.

I can manage it pretty well on my own, but I do take SSRIs, specifically Prozac, which is shown to be more effective for people with PMDD because, I mean, you'll have doctors who will say this better than I can, but apparently...

It blocks some neurotransmitters that are... So PMDD is not about your body having off hormones or having bad hormonal balance.

It's about the way that your brain reacts to those hormones.

So Prozac operates on those neurosteroids that create that reaction.

So the difference that someone with PMDD feels when taking Prozac, like I did, is you don't have to wait months for it to kick in.

It, like, kicks in within hours.

It's like you feel that straight away.

So you can...

or I do at least, take a small amount of Prozac just when I'm in that luteal phase.

And that works.

It's not the best, but that works best for me in terms of minimizing side effects.

Yeah.

And ensuring that I don't feel out of control or too upset.

But yeah, I do feel like there's not really, it's like there's not a great treatment plan for it, to be honest.

And like to be fair, like I feel like quite a bit of frustration about this because I feel like, I don't know, there's all this pressure to be like a perfect patient and to be on top of your treatment.

But like the options for treatment are not fantastic.

I feel like the effects of medication on me.