PMDD self-check

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is a recognised condition, not severe PMS. Its defining feature is timing: symptoms appear in the week before a period and resolve within days of it starting, leaving a symptom-free interval. It frequently worsens during perimenopause, when hormone fluctuations grow larger. A formal diagnosis requires tracking symptoms prospectively across two cycles, which no questionnaire can substitute for.

PMDD is distinguished from PMS by severity and by its effect on function, and from depression by its timing. The symptom-free interval after a period is the single most important feature, and it is what this check looks for.

One thing this cannot do: diagnose. The diagnostic criteria require prospective daily tracking over at least two cycles, because retrospective recall is unreliable for exactly this pattern. If the result here points towards PMDD, that tracking is the next step, not a conclusion.

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Sources

• NHS — PMS and PMDD
• The Menopause Society — patient education
• NICE NG23 — Menopause: diagnosis and management

Other self-checks