Do you feel ‘horrendous’ before your period, like Corrie’s Helen Flanagan? It could be a little-known hormonal disorder that triggers ‘hot poker’ pain, fatigue and even psychosis… and it’s not as rare as you might think

Ache so intense, it seems like ‘a sizzling poker’ within the abdomen, crushing fatigue and overwhelming despair. Matches of tears, violent rages and even full-blown psychotic episodes and suicidal emotions. 

It sounds excessive, however these are signs of a extreme premenstrual situation that impacts as astonishing a million girls in Britain, in response to consultants.

Known as premenstrual dysphoric dysfunction, or PMDD, consultants say whereas widespread, it’s little recognized about. 

This implies sufferers are sometimes misdiagnosed with psychological well being issues, and miss out on hormone therapy might finish their agony. 

Earlier this month, Coronation Avenue star Helen Flanagan, who has beforehand spoken about her personal psychotic episodes, revealed she ‘feels horrendous’ earlier than her interval. 

Now MailOnline has spoken to 3 girls hit by PMDD about their very own battle with the situation. 

Journalist Nilufer Atik, 48, has battled with the debilitating signs of PMDD for greater than a decade. 

The mother-of-one from London at all times suffered delicate cramps earlier than her interval, however in her early thirties began to expertise extreme ache, nausea, blackouts, and moments of despair.

Each month she would expertise low moods, bouts of vomiting and fatigue so unhealthy she couldn’t get away from bed.

Some days she would wrestle to maintain meals down, with even the considered sipping water making her abdomen flip, or she discover herself fainting on public transport.

She additionally suffered temper swings, blissful one minute then crying the following. These grew to become so unhealthy her associate of seven years was unable to ‘take the pressure of it’, they usually broke up.

PMDD usually flares up within the fortnight earlier than a interval. 

This is named the luteal section of a lady’s menstrual cycle which is between ovulation and menstruation.

Regardless of PMDD being widespread and affecting thousands and thousands worldwide, a lack of knowledge amongst healthcare professionals means some girls can anticipate a decade or extra for a analysis, in response to the Worldwide Affiliation for Premenstrual Problems (IAPMD).

Therapy for PMDD varies from taking anti-depressants and the mixed contraceptive tablet to remedy and painkillers and even surgical procedure to take away the uterus, psychological well being charity Thoughts says.

Ms Atik herself has been prescribed a cocktail of medication through the years in bid to deal with her signs, however not the trigger.

For instance, one one event her GP prescribed her a light dose of the anti-depressant citalopram.

Nevertheless,  her instincts advised her this wasn’t proper as she wasn’t depressed and her low moods solely occurred for a short while within the run as much as the beginning of her interval.

She was additionally prescribed painkillers, anti-sickness and anti-inflammatories to handle signs, however these medicine left her feeling much more nauseous and drowsy, so she restricted their use.

Ms Atik was finally given HRT to suppress ovulation and he or she learnt to handle her signs with meditation, train, and therapeutic massage remedy.

However, properly over a decade later she continues to be battling the ache, nervousness, and fatigue of PMDD.

‘Naively I might have assumed that if I used to be beginning perimenopause, it will have affected hormones sufficient to counteract the PMDD. However in precise truth, each appear to be working alongside each other, which is hell,’ she advised MailOnline.

Since being recognized with PMDD she has given start to her son Milo, who’s now seven.

She described being pregnant as a ‘bliss’ because it gave her a break from signs.

‘Whereas I did get morning illness and get the type of niggles and aches and pains, I wasn’t having the hormonal ups and downs, ache or fatigue, and naturally, I wasn’t having intervals. It was heavenly,’ she mentioned.

She added: ‘I bear in mind for the primary 12 months I had my son Milo, it wasn’t too unhealthy after which the bodily signs returned and acquired progressively worse.

‘Now in perimenopause with the occasional sizzling sweat, it’s worse than ever. I expertise dizziness too.

‘Final month signs lasted your entire month. That is by no means occurred earlier than.’

Whereas she takes prescription painkillers these now aren’t sufficient to deal with the ache.

Regardless of following a nutritious diet and exercising for 2 to 3 hours a day, she has gained weight and experiences bloating. Inside the house of a few weeks her weight can fluctuate by 3kg, which is sort of half a stone.

She compares the extraordinary ache she feels to a ‘sizzling poker’ that is been ‘caught’ in her abdomen.

Ms Atik mentioned: ‘Generally it is so unhealthy I am unable to arise; I am unable to stroll, and I’ve had days in mattress. Fortunately, I do business from home largely which implies I’ll typically find yourself with a sizzling water bottle on my abdomen, sizzling water bottle on my again, and a laptop computer on my lap in mattress. And that is how I work.’

She added: ‘I can get two or three days when I’m actually tearful, and I imply sobbing hysterically for no purpose. I’ve this consciousness that nothing has upset me, however it’s fairly scary and might go on for 12 hours.

‘I be certain my son doesn’t see any of this although and once I’m with him, he helps take my thoughts off the ache. Generally once we are enjoying collectively, I wince when a cramp shoots by my abdomen and he pushes his fist into my tummy slightly below my ribs as a result of he is aware of it helps relieve the ache. He’s so candy.’

However for some girls PMDD would not simply trigger intense cramps and make them really feel sometimes tearful, it may well additionally plunges them right into a fortnight of despair and intrusive ideas.

Ms Atik mentioned: ‘I do know companions of girls who’ve killed themselves, as a result of they’ve to some extent the place they can’t deal with both the psychological or bodily signs though on the floor, they appear to have a contented life. 

‘They do not really feel they will converse out and say, “It is my hormones making me like this. I am not mad”. 

‘I additionally know girls who’ve been prescribed anti-psychotic medicine corresponding to lithium as a result of they have been misdiagnosed as having a psychological sickness which PMDD just isn’t. After all, the drug has executed nothing to assist them.’

About 72 per cent of individuals with a PMDD analysis report ideas of suicide in some unspecified time in the future of their lives, in response to IAPMD.

Compared, within the normal inhabitants roughly 10 per cent of individuals report suicidal ideas of their lifetime.

For Ms Atik, since she has been going by the motions of early perimenopause alongside PMDD, she has been hit with excessive fatigue.

‘I am not motivated to do issues, whereas I train every single day, I’ve to actually pressure myself, I might sit there all day on the couch. Completely shattered like I’ve run a marathon,’ she mentioned.

The only mum mentioned her friendships have even taken successful due to it.

‘I am going to typically make preparations with pals and cancel, it isn’t good for them, however what am I going to say? “It is my interval?” It’s extremely laborious to elucidate to a different girl who simply has peculiar intervals,’ she mentioned.

‘As a single father or mother I’ve the house and time to exit with pals when my son is together with his dad. However I save all of my power for once I’m with Milo and outdoors of that, it is like I am unable to be bothered, which isn’t like me in any respect.’

After already attempting HRT and numerous painkillers, she is now going to get her hormones totally assessed at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London. 

Different girls have shared their tales of struggling to get medics to take PMDD critically. 

Stephanie Grey, 30, a nursing scholar from Edinburgh solely obtained her analysis following the direst of circumstances, a suicide try on the age of 19. 

This was after years of fighting suicidal ideas, temper swings and extreme despair every month earlier than her interval.

She felt suicidal each single time of the month – however mentioned it took years for her signs to be taken critically.

‘Essentially the most problematic symptom was the fixed temper swings,’ she mentioned.

‘I used to be changing into suicidal each month earlier than my interval arrived. I’d shift from comparatively regular life to being suicidal, and that occurred each single month with out fail.

‘I used to be very temperamental – I might fly off the deal with very simply at sure occasions of the month.’

Like many different girls with the situation, she mentioned it additionally affected her relationship with others.  

‘The week main as much as my interval, I don’t suppose I used to be a really good individual to be round,’ she mentioned. 

‘It wasn’t till I went college in 2013, aged 19, that every little thing got here to a head.’

‘I used to be commonly suicidal and isolating myself. I made an try on my life throughout my time at college as a result of I wasn’t in a position to deal with the signs.

‘After some time, it simply grew to become relentless. I knew it was coming and it was one thing I couldn’t conceal away from or change, I simply needed to brace myself for it.

‘Fortunately, I’ve an excellent help system round me, and I lived at house on the time, and we braced for it.

‘I made it out, however it will simply make it more durable to face it once more the following month.’

Ms Grey started attending remedy and was prescribed antidepressants – however her signs nonetheless continued.

It was solely when her mom, Loraine, heard Denise Welch sharing her experiences with PMDD on an episode of Unfastened Girls that the household thought of it a doable reply to Ms Grey’s signs. 

Whereas Ms Grey eagerly shared the information along with her psychiatric nurse, she dismissed her principle – beginning a years lengthy technique of acquiring a analysis.

‘I believed that it was precisely what I used to be experiencing. I simply knew that’s what it was,’ she mentioned. 

‘I bear in mind going to the nurse and saying that that appears like me, this explains every little thing and makes a lot sense.’

‘She didn’t chortle, however she smirked, and advised me it wasn’t doable – that my hormones can’t have an effect on me that a lot.’

“I didn’t actually perceive why she’d simply fobbed me off. It annoyed me, however I used to be so sick on the time that I feel I used to be detached.’

‘I used to be nonetheless so sick that I didn’t have hope anyway. I feel it affected my household extra as a result of they actually thought the professionals would hear and not less than examine somewhat bit.’

Thus started a search throughout the nation for a health care provider who would take her situation critically.

After years, Stephanie discovered a sexual well being clinic who helped her get an official analysis of PMDD and prescribed her a mixed contraceptive tablet to assist handle her signs.

‘The method took years. Nobody had heard of it.

‘We began reaching out to totally different folks on-line, attempting to see if anybody knew of somebody that was even remotely conscious of PMDD in Scotland, and finally we heard of a clinic in Edinburgh.

‘It was years – years of not being believed, and finally slowly getting assist for hormones normally at that sexual well being clinic.

‘The primary line of therapy fortunately labored for me. It’s a mixed contraceptive tablet, and that fortunately labored for me alongside totally different life-style modifications.

‘I’m actually fortunate, as a result of loads of girls find yourself having to have a hysterectomy to aim to enhance their signs.’

Ms Grey she hopes that girls sharing their tales of PMDD will increase consciousness each the situation each in potential victims and the medics treating them.  

‘I couldn’t see any mild on the finish of the tunnel, particularly when folks weren’t listening to me.

‘When folks suppose you’re simply being loopy or dramatic – and when even professionals don’t hearken to you – it’s a very darkish place.

‘It dominated nearly all of my life. Every single day was a wrestle for an excellent few years.’

Ellisha Blake, 27, who goes by the nickname PMDD girly on TikTok, remembers experiencing ‘intense disappointment’ earlier than her interval and even suffered with ‘intrusive ideas’.

The content material creator, actor and PMDD advocate advised MailOnline that ‘it was like chopping 10 days out of your life’. 

For 2 weeks each month she felt like she was ‘dwelling in a glass field’, every little thing was ‘blurry’. 

‘I might really feel terrible and dreadful after which I might begin bleeding and I might love myself once more. It gaslights you each time and also you neglect you’ve gotten it whilst you have these extreme ideas and emotions, complications and achiness,’ she mentioned. 

Ms Blake was about 13-years-old when she realised she was ‘totally different’ to everyone else earlier than her interval.

Her pals questioned why she was ‘actually defensive’ and would simply ‘change’. 

‘Once I was 16 I went to my GP and advised them I felt very indignant earlier than my interval, and he simply smiled and mentioned I might get anger administration. I knew I wasn’t truly an indignant individual I believed there was one thing happening,’ she remembers. 

She continued to go to the GP on and off through the years however PMDD was by no means talked about. When she turned 16 she went on the conceptive tablet in hopes it will handle her signs, however on account of struggling ‘stroke’ like signs she got here off it simply two years later. 

After that she ‘struggled in silence’ and did not obtain a analysis for 10 years.  

Ms Blake admits the scenario has been ‘robust’ on each associate she has ever had. However she is grateful that her present associate Dillon Lewis, 27, is supportive and ‘understanding’. 

Nevertheless, not all her pals have been as sympathetic. 

‘It affected friendships in my 20s. Within the two weeks earlier than my interval I might not wish to exit and cancel plans final minute. It’s extremely in contrast to me, however folks would not actually perceive they’d simply query why I used to be bailing once more,’ she mentioned.

The actor additionally put her struggles at drama faculty right down to the psychological signs of PMDD. 

‘It actually affected me at drama faculty, I might be stood there in rehearsals and simply stand there clean and I would not know the place I used to be, like unhealthy mind fog. Then I might get unhealthy suggestions,’ she remembers.

However she continued to really feel ‘helpless’ for years till her ‘intrusive ideas’ grew to become an excessive amount of. 

She mentioned: ‘On one significantly unhealthy month, I had a complete meltdown and advised my mum that we would have liked to do one thing about my intrusive ideas as I used to be afraid I’d do one thing I would remorse.’

‘My therapist saved encouraging me to see a health care provider for a analysis, and in March of 2023, I lastly acquired my PMDD analysis, I fortunately had a fairly supportive GP.’

Ms Blake admits she was ‘very fortunate’ to be recognized in a single session, however she felt she wasn’t given many choices however to go on anti-depressants. 

She mentioned: ‘I used to be advised they did not have something aside from anti-depressants and the tablet, they could not give me any checks or refer me any additional.’ 

‘I gave myself per week to seek out different choices that weren’t anti-depressants, I by no means picked them up. It felt too rushed.’

Ms Blake determined to do a session on Holland & Barrett’s web site and he or she was suggested to take quite a lot of dietary supplements, together with vitamin B6, vitamin D, calcium, 5-HTP, which can’t be taken with anti-depressants. 

‘Inside three cycles, I used to be very confused why I haven’t got a darkish cloud over me as I believed it would not work.’

Nevertheless, she stresses that this solely labored in her personal expertise and advises everybody to hunt medical recommendation from a GP first.