Painful Periods? Check Out These Potential Causes of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder

By: Julie Sarton, PT, DPT, WCS

Getting to the root cause of this has helped me overcome this life altering disorder.

Click to read more about Julie’s journey with PMDD.

To honor the month of April being Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) Awareness Month, I recently shared my story about suffering with PMDD. Today, I would like to dive a little deeper into this hot topic, so I’m sharing what exactly sets the stage for PMDD.

What Causes PMDD?

The exact cause of PMDD is not 100% clear, however, it is believed that PMDD is linked to the brain's abnormal response to the monthly hormonal changes a woman experiences with estrogen and progesterone. While most women do just fine with fluctuations of these hormones, 3-8% of us do not. We experience a heightened response to these hormonal changes that occur before menstruation. Make no mistake—these heightened responses can rock our world!

In women who suffer with PMDD, it is suggested that these hormonal fluctuations can lead to a deficiency in the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin is found in the brain and gut, and 90% of it is produced in the digestive tract. This means that an unhealthy gut majorly influences PMDD—a huge aha! moment for many. Serotonin helps regulate not only mood, but also appetite, digestion, bone health and sex. It is a precursor to melatonin, a chemical involved in the body’s sleep-wake cycle. I discovered that helping my serotonin levels become more regulated would become a game-changer for me.

Additionally, it is also believed that women with PMDD have lower levels of allopregnanolone, a metabolite of progesterone that helps to calm the nervous system. Other underlying causes that have been linked to PMDD include:

a decreased ability to detox (think methylation), i.e. yes, I am MTHFR positive
lack of blood sugar regulation, i.e. yes, I am a hypoglycemic

As I dug deeper, I found all of the above “issues” played a significant role with my PMDD.

Slowly but surely, I began to address each one of these culprits, and—low and behold—my symptoms started to improve. At that point, I saw a huge improvement in my quality of life!! While I am by no means at the finish line yet, I am embracing this as a learning process and have become fascinated with how much we can do to heal on all levels.

I can't wait to share more on how I am attacking each of these underlying perpetuating factors in my next post!

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