What do you know about PMDD? Yes, it's a mouthful and it stands for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. It is the more severe form of PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome) and like PMS, PMDD usually occurs the week before the onset of the menstrual cycle and it really affects women powerfully. In fact PMDD affect somewhere between 3 to 5 percent of menstruating women in the United States. Specialist Dr. Ann Dunnewold, author of Prenatal and Postpartum Survival Guide, Evolution in Treatment of Postpartum Emotional Disorders, The Motherhood Club and Even June Cleaver Would Forget the
Juice Box sheds light on the condition.
EmpowHer: Dr. Dunnewold, thank you for joining us.
Dr. Dunnewold: Thank you, glad to be here.
EmpowHer: So talk to me about PMDD. Is it relatively new to get on America’s radar or we just starting to see commercials about it?
Dr. Dunnewold: Well it has been around for a while in terms of an official diagnosis but definitely the awareness has increased because certain drugs have been approved for the treatments so then they can be advertised. So that is why as you said it is more on our radar.
EmpowHer: Is PMDD a way to explain simply a more severe case of PMS?
Dr. Dunnewold: Yeah, it feels like that for most women and they may have had PMS in their younger years and after they have a child or if they are in perimenopause both symptoms sort of flare up and becoming more intense and that would be the transition from PMS to PMDD.
More From Dr. Dunnewold Coming Soon!
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