PME vs PMDD vs PMDD with PME

I started writing about PMDD about two years ago. I always write from my own personal experience and interest based on what I’ve researched for my own well-being. I’m not a scientist nor trying to present “medical” articles. I’m really just sharing my story, perspective, and tools that have helped me cope.

I’m in the late stages of perimenopause now. Though I still get PMDD, it isn’t nearly as intense as it was even a year ago. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for that. It can still take me out, but I tend to recognize it more quickly now, and I judge it a lot less.

But now, I have some new health issues, and for the first time, I’m starting to understand what it must be like for women with PME, Premenstrual Exacerbation. I’m not sure why, but I just always assumed (and read) that PME was an intensification of preexisting mental conditions like anorexia, bipolar, or schizophrenia. I never stopped to think that my period could also make physical illness much, much worse... until now. Those of us with acute and chronic pain also have to deal with the exacerbation of our symptoms at “that time of the month.”

Here’s my story. A couple of months ago, I got a shooting pain down my left arm that brought on a constant tingling feeling in two of my fingers. When it didn’t go away, I went to see the doctor. Long story short, as a result of this acute flare, I came to learn that I had a cervical hernia, cervical stenosis, and osteoarthritis. I’m still undergoing tests to both eliminate other possible issues and determine fully what is going on with my body. I’ve been coping with OTC’s, gentle movement, a nifty TENS unit, and anti-inflammatory diet, and a yummy assortment of essential oils.

But then this week has been hell-like for pain. Whenever I changed positions from sitting to standing or standing to lying, I’d get a searing heat down my arm. Yesterday, I started getting intense stabbing pain. Right now, I sleep with about 7 different pillows and cushions, and yet, last night, I couldn’t find a single comfortable position. Every piece of me hurt. When blessed sleep did start to fall, I would suddenly get jerked awake by my nerves only to start the tossing and turning again. I spent such a horrible night that I eventually ended up dreaming I rolled off the bed onto the floor where I couldn’t move or call out for help. I woke up in tears.

I’ve been thinking, why has this gotten so bad? What am I doing wrong? Why do body parts that haven’t hurt in ages hurt now all of the sudden? Am I truly falling apart? But this morning, guess what came? My period. And after a couple of hours of painful cramps, I started to feel better. Well, the muscle relaxer and ibuprofen probably helped! But I really do feel better. While it took me a couple of hours to throw off the lingering depression and overwhelm of the night before, I genuinely feel that very familiar all-over general release brought on by my cycle.

It all got me to thinking about women and genders of choice who have PMDD along with chronic pain from other conditions. It’s bad enough when our inner mental worlds are torturing us in every conceivable way. Yet, we are also supposed to deal with a body wracked with unmanageable physical discomfort? For the first time in my life, I actually felt lucky to have only had PMDD up to now.

Let’s talk about the difference between PMDD and PME. A person might think they have PMDD when they actually have PME. The main difference is that the symptoms of a condition exacerbated by PME are still present at all times of one’s cycle, becoming more pronounced during the phase leading up to a period. For example, a person with a food disorder would be even more triggered during certain stages of her cycle, making it harder than usual to cope.

However, with PMDD, the symptoms leave with the onset or end of one’s period. So in the case of someone binge eating, once the period comes (or the fluctuation passes), the binge eating stops. I don’t see a lot of literature about physical issues worsening with a woman’s cycle, but I’m living proof that that is also possible. And, unfortunately, it is possible to have both PMDD and PME.

The IAPMD has a great article distinguishing the two if you want to know more: https://iapmd.org/pmdd-v-pme

So, I mostly wanted to write this to a) let you know this is a possibility and to keep a look out for it and b) shout out to all you others out there dealing with chronic pain on top of PMDD. It sucks. It sucks bigly.

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