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Autism and potential PMDD - tips wanted

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I was wondering if any other autistic people who are diagnosed or suspect they have PMDD have any tips for managing symptoms in the lead up to your period?

I'm autistic and I often find that in the week leading up to my period all of my sensory issues are heightened to an unbearable level, my misophonia is triggered more easily and I find it harder to calm down and relax after these sensory experiences. This often leads to me feeling distressed and unable to calm down. 

I also find that symptoms related to my mental health worsen during this period - probably due to the increased sensory sensitivity and getting overstimulated much more easily which makes already hard to deal with emotional issues worse. 

Just wanted to reach out to see if anyone has had a similar experience and/or has any helpful tips for managing it. :)

Parents

  • My GP didn't want to make a decision on whether it was PMDD or PME (an exacerbation of existing issues) but I am treated for it using combined contraception. I effectively 'skip' two out of three periods and I can plan it for a period with slightly less going on and therefore plan to not have any great demands. This allows me to basically hide, take the additional time to recover from sensory or emotional overwhelm, and not have too large an impact on the rest of my life (the year it was on my exam period was baddddd). 

    So yes I do struggle with similar things. 

    The primary ways I deal with it are: demand reduction (not always an option but a really good one if possible), giving myself additional time to manage demands (sometimes you just need time under a weighted blanket before you can do anything else), and medication. Looking at all of this written down it's mostly avoidance. 

    Other things I do a lot of the time but really make sure during the difficult bits are: taking my ear defenders/ear plugs everywhere I go, making sure I have good excuses to leave things early in case I need to do so, taking fidgets about, not overbooking if there is a socially demanding task

    Hope that makes sense?

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  • My GP didn't want to make a decision on whether it was PMDD or PME (an exacerbation of existing issues) but I am treated for it using combined contraception. I effectively 'skip' two out of three periods and I can plan it for a period with slightly less going on and therefore plan to not have any great demands. This allows me to basically hide, take the additional time to recover from sensory or emotional overwhelm, and not have too large an impact on the rest of my life (the year it was on my exam period was baddddd). 

    So yes I do struggle with similar things. 

    The primary ways I deal with it are: demand reduction (not always an option but a really good one if possible), giving myself additional time to manage demands (sometimes you just need time under a weighted blanket before you can do anything else), and medication. Looking at all of this written down it's mostly avoidance. 

    Other things I do a lot of the time but really make sure during the difficult bits are: taking my ear defenders/ear plugs everywhere I go, making sure I have good excuses to leave things early in case I need to do so, taking fidgets about, not overbooking if there is a socially demanding task

    Hope that makes sense?

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