PMDD and Suicide in the Luteal Phase Needs More Research: You can help!

Below is a request for help from a fellow PMDD Advocate.  Please contact her if you can help.  Together we can save lives.  And please go here to see the documents she has found so far.

Hey all

I need help.

Tonight I piqued the interest of my psychiatrist when I quoted a post from another PMDD group, "23 completed female suicide autopsies were performed - 22 of those were in the LUTEAL PHASE of their cycle." His jaw dropped. 

Last night I did 20 mins of research into the following theory that has been in my head for the last 12 months. 

Here it goes:

The true number of completed suicides resulting from PMDD cannot be known until all coroner reports are researched to see where the individual was at during her menstral cycle. Right now, even if 100% were in the luteal phase or menstruating phase of their cycle, it is highly likely those individuals would have a previous mental health diagnosis of another kind. For example, borderline personality disorder or bipolar, given PMDD mimics the symptoms of these two illnesses. Therefore, the completed suicides would then be attributed to either of those illnesses and not PMDD. 

IF PMDD is the culprit and merely mimicking BPD or BP, until further research is done and looked at, PMDD suicide rates will not be truly known. The accuracy of actual lives taken by PMDD cannot be measured. 

Therefore, it is imperative that further research into historical data on completed suicides and the menstral cycle stage the individal was at during the time of death is done - the true cost of lives due to PMDD suicides will not be known and neither will the severity of PMDD and it's potential to kill be taken seriously (thus SAVING lives). This is intricately connected to the amount of knowledge and extensive research that has been completed on BPD/BP and the lack of such for PMDD. 

If menstral cycles are indeed playing a part in the timing of completed (or attempted) suicides, it is currently the ghost in the machine.

Until this is ruled out, or confirmed, the true cost of life via PMDD deaths will not be known and neither will PMDD be taken as seriously as these other well known illnesses that it mimics. 

Could it also be that these illnesses are so prevalent in women to men (75:25) because of the mimicking and this unreasonable ratio of women to men is because PMDD is being counted as BPD or BP? If studies were completed and found menstral cycles to be a factor in completed suicides, could this be the turning point in diagnosing and treating PMDD in a more efficient and successful manner? 

Could understanding if menstral phases play a large part in completed suicides completely change the way in which the entire mental health system treats women? 

If the answer is yes, we are talking absolutely ground-breaking earth-shattering information that would change general practice, gynecology and psychiatry. It would blow everything out of the water. All of it. The whole medical industry would be brought to their knees... because right now, it is dismissing it as merely bad PMS when in fact, it is possibly one of the largest contributing factors to SUICIDES in the female population. 

So while my Doctor listened to me ramble about this, at the end of the spiel he told me that he thinks I'm on to something. I have spent an hour on Google and I am finding research mostly in Asia and India into this, but some say there is no evidence to show menstral cycles play a part in suicide while others have found 90% of 200 women were either menstruating or in the luteal phase when they died! 

If I can find studies for him - good/bad/ugly/useless, he is going to present it to one of the most prestigious universities in Australia as a PhD Thesis option for students. 

He flat out agrees that something is not right here. 

So.

I'm asking if everyone can help me out and comment with links they find into anything about this (please include the citation and page number). I can't do this alone and I really need some help this time. 

I feel this may be a big opportunity. I could be wrong, but ANY research into PMDD and ANYTHING that could save another life from being stolen by this illness, is worth our time. That's why we are all here. 

Australia is starting to light up and the ball has started to roll. This is another opportunity to possibly change something most of us think we won't live to see happen. 

Maybe, we will. 

If you can help me, please. I really need help with this one. 

Brie

(The Faces of PMDD) 

Differences Between PMDD and Bipolar Disorder

The following is a guest post inspired by fellow PMDD advocate Danielle Lasher Bosley, who answers countless questions in Facebook groups regarding what she's learned about PMDD.  Today's topic is about the differences between bipolar disorder and PMDD, which are commonly confused in the medical arena.  Welcome, Danielle!
I've had a few women message me lately about the tangled web of bipolar disorder and PMDD and how to tell the difference between them. This is a question that pops up more and more. And the answer is tricky, but I'm going to try to address it since it keeps coming up.
One thing I've noticed is most women who ask me about this do so privately. So many seem ashamed over the idea they could have bipolar disorder (which affects up to 3% of the population). I get it. Having PMDD - an autoimmune hormonal issue - seems a lot less stigmatized than saying you have a well-known mental health disorder people make fun of and mock all the time. So yes, I get it.
Buuuut... The longer you go treating one disorder (like PMDD) when you may not even have it and ignore the other (like bipolar), the worse it gets.  Liana adds: The reverse is also true—you could be taking medications for bipolar disorder when you actually have PMDD. Either way, The treatment plans and medications are not the same. Something to think about.
So... The diagnostic criteria for PMDD and bipolar disorder are different. There are different types of bipolar, too. I'm not gonna get into all of that right now. What I will say is - in the majority of cases with bipolar, there is some level of mania. Yes, there is one type that doesn't have mania. There is also hypomania which is milder. These cases are not the majority of bipolar cases. Most will have mania. Bipolar disorder also brings with it certain typical behaviors: reckless behaviors like frequent sexual partners and impulsive spending. These are not typical of PMDD. Do they exist with PMDD? Sure, they can because we are all different and have differing personalities, but as a whole, it's not a commonly recognized symptom like it is with bipolar.  Liana adds: PMDD impulse control issues generally have to do with mood swings and saying things we don't mean. That doesn't mean we don't indulge in a little retail therapy now and then, but not to the scale of shopping sprees during manic episodes of bipolar.
Most importantly: PMDD doesn't happen outside the luteal phase (the last two weeks of your menstrual cycle). Yes, stress and surprises and emotional upset are still hard for a woman with PMDD to handle. But the depressive lows or extreme highs will not suddenly hit you on Day 8 of your cycle. That's not PMDD.
Now, there is also PME, which throws many with bipolar disorder off track and onto PMDD. Women with PME experience prominent symptoms in their luteal phase because the fluctuating hormones worsen the underlying bipolar disorder. But the difference is that bipolar symptoms are still present outside of the luteal phase. Bipolar disorder is not predictable like PMDD symptoms are and with bipolar disorder it's not happening during the same timeframe month to month.

With bipolar disorder... your depressive state may lead to suicidal thoughts that change over to feelings of euphoria  and endless energy. These extreme mood swings can occur more frequently – such as every week – or show up more sporadically – maybe just twice a year. There is also no defined pattern to the mood swings. One does not always occur before the other – and the length of time you are in one state or the other varies as well... 

Also, and this is the most important part: if you don't have physical symptoms, it's very likely not PMDD. The diagnostic criteria for PMDD is used to emphasize this better. Since it was tweaked in 2013, we are seeing more women with bipolar disorder being misdiagnosed or self-diagnosing with PMDD. Traditionally, the most common physical symptoms of PMDD are extreme bloating, an all over heaviness, joint and muscle aching, acne, lethargy and fatigue, weight gain, and food cravings... And most with PMDD have more than one or two of these physical symptoms. If you're dealing mostly with mild mood changes and the physical stuff is more along the lines of PMS, the issue may actually be bipolar with PMS, not PMDD.
Substance abuse (whether it's pills and needles or you're the woman who "needs" wine every day) is also far more common in women with bipolar disorder than PMDD.
Danielle sums up: This is how I differentiate between bipolar and PMDD. You don't have to agree, but I think the differences need to be mentioned and that women who suffer with either PMDD or bipolar disorder need to recognize what exactly they have, own it, and get the help they need. As we well know, doctors haven't been the most helpful in this regard over the years. So we need to be our own best advocate. We need to be  honest with ourselves about what's going on.  Liana chimes in: I agree.  We need to do our own research.  With just a little effort, you *can* figure out the difference for yourself.  The tools are available and the information is out there.  And we deserve better than to spend years taking the wrong medication for something we don't have.
As always, get your hormones and thyroid tested annually (if only to find out what you don't have). Chart your cycles.  It's the best way to determine whether you have PMDD or not.
But most of all: Don't give up. ❤ The answer that is right for you is out there somewhere.