Women with PMDD have repeatedly been misdiagnosed or had their concerns dismissed by doctors, personal stories reveal. Laura Nicholson, diagnosed after experiencing uncontrollable rage following the birth of her son, told The Independent that her GP laughed at her when she sought help. According to The Independent, she described feeling like she needed a padded cell and said she could see herself doing things but could not stop.
She was later referred to a specialist women's health unit and now manages symptoms with hormonal injections and exercise, while awaiting a hysterectomy. Mandy McCarthy, who first experienced symptoms at age 15, told BBC News that PMDD feels like an 'uncontrollable rage' and that misdiagnosis is common, with doctors fobbing patients off for years. Some women were misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder, anxiety, irritable bowels, or depression before receiving a PMDD diagnosis, according to support group members.
You become somebody else, and it takes over what you say and how you feel.
Lorna Mayers told BBC News she felt relief after diagnosis, having thought she was losing her mind. Abigail Grierson was diagnosed at age 23 after a lecturer spotted her symptoms, calling it a gift to know early. Rachel Bertenshaw waited 23 years for a diagnosis.
TV personality Vicky Pattison, who took five years to be diagnosed, said her symptoms were dismissed as 'hysterical' and she was 'gaslit'. According to Daily Mirror, she worries about what kind of mother she would be due to PMDD. At a press conference, Pattison described the experience as medical misogyny, saying her pain and explanations were ultimately dismissed and she was gaslit.
The tears, the anger, the self-hatred, suicidal thoughts, losing relationships, friendships... you can't control it. There's nothing you can do about it.
She added that a doctor told her to bring her partner to be taken seriously. PMDD can cause severe mood swings, suicidal thoughts, muscle pain, breast tenderness, headaches, and insomnia, according to major media reports. 6 million women in Sweden, published in JAMA Network Open, found a bidirectional link between premenstrual disorders and psychiatric conditions.
Women with premenstrual disorders were around twice as likely to later develop a psychiatric disorder, with the strongest links to depression and anxiety, but also elevated risks for ADHD, bipolar disorder, and personality disorders. No clear association was found with schizophrenia. The study authors suggested shared biological or genetic mechanisms, not a one-way cause-and-effect.
Misdiagnosis is very common. Doctors just fob you off for years and years and it's like beating your head against a brick wall.
The Department of Health and Social Care said a new health strategy will ensure women are 'listened to and taken seriously'.
We called it medical misogyny. It can fall under many umbrellas but I always felt that when I went to talk to any medical professional, any medical practitioner, that my pain, my feelings, my explanations of what I was going through was ultimately dismissed. I was gaslit. I think that's because, as a woman there's this idea that there's a hysterical element to what you're saying.
I was actually told that if I wanted someone to seriously advocate on my behalf, I should bring my partner and that way I would get the help I needed.
In my darker moments, I had dark intrusive thoughts. No wonder I was being hysterical after not being listened to for five years. And I was still told 'If you want someone to take you seriously, bring your partner'.
I worry what type of mum it will make me. It's a very real concern. You see yourself as being this fun mother who's reading stories and making sourdough from scratch or whatever. But, when I'm in the trenches of my PMDD fog, I can barely get out of bed.