Severe PMS and PMDD Treatment
Natural neurotransmitter testing and support. Women who fail to make any obvious progress despite boosting their nutritional support, improving their exercise habits, altering their diet and implementing bioindentical progesterone are considered for a more focused treatment. Taking part in a more natural neurotransmitter support plan may be the next best step for you.
Some of the ways in which neurotransmitter functions are targeted are as follows:
- Additional omega-3 fatty acids in the form of EPA/DHA (such as Women to Women’s formula), boosting to 2–3 grams per day total
- 5–HTP, 50–100 mg, generally taken in the evening. More may be needed during the PMS time-frame (up to 800mg), but dosage and timing depends on your body’s individual make-up.
- Vitamin D (25-OH vitamin D) blood testing and supplemental treatment to achieve optimal blood levels (50–60 ng/mL).
- A trial of St. John’s wort, dosage and formulation varying with the individual, and not to be taken in conjunction with prescription antidepressants.
- Neurotransmitter testing. Evaluating levels of serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine and GABA levels, as well as others, to gain an overall sense of what levels are.
- Neurologic support with Neuroscience and Metagenics amino acid and herbal combination formulas.
Antidepressants for PMS and PMDD — serotonin stop-gaps. 
If a woman is unable to get out of her bed due to extreme discomfort and becomes unsafe for others or oneself when suffering from premenstrual symptoms, antidepressants are utilized for treatment as the last resort.
This is often times necessary and can be very effective. Medications such as Sarafem, Zoloft, Lexapro, Effexor, and Wellbutrin are prescribed to patients once a thorough investigation of the individual’s health is determined. You need time and a safe place to tell your story and discuss the issues. It will help your healthcare provider to gain an accurate picture of your mental and physical health. This process can also help you heal and is essential to develop the best plan moving forward. Many conventional practitioners find it hard to determine whether a person suffers from dysthymia (a milder form of chronic depression) or another depressive disorder. In a situation where a woman requires emergency assistance, and needs the antidepressant medications, I generally acquiesce, as long as she promises to be closely monitored and guided by a practitioner skilled in advanced implementation of these medications. The antidepressants do not always have to carry a negative connotation. Often times, these serve as a bridge over troubled waters for women who make use of them, encouraging her to make healthier and conscious nutritional and lifestyle choices. Natural restoration of the neurotransmitters should always be on top of our goal list, and at Women to Women we can help get you to that stage.
Antidepressant and birth control pills seem to be the most used or also synthetic designer drugs to subdue the PMS or PMDD symptoms. What women do not realize is that these drugs temporarily block the pain and discomfort, but do not heal the body physiologically, they just block the symptoms. Long-term use of such medication often makes the situation worse. Another important key point to remember is that all women are different, and they have different stressors that induce PMS. To treat everyone with the same remedy is not the solution, as we are all different and may all need different interventions.
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