“The selective barriers of serotonin reuptake (ISRS) are extremely effective for PMDD,” explains Andrew Novick, MD, PHD, deputy professor of psychiatry in Cu Anschutz and psychiatrist at Women’s Behavior Health and Wellness Center in Aurora, Colorado.
SSRIs are actually more effective in treating PMDDs than for major depressive disorders or generalized anxiety disorders, Dr. Novick explains.
“SSRIs are first-line treatment, and we often see very fast and amazing results with drugs,” he said.
Interestingly, SSRIs are not used for their serotonin properties for PMDD, as is the case when people take them every day for anxiety and depression, explains Shah. “We use them to stimulate the brain to make sure that steroid hormones are as stable as possible at the end of the menstrual cycle,” says Shah.
Although there may be a link between inflammation and the symptoms of the PMDD, there is no evidence that histamine causes or controls symptoms in PMDD, explains Novick.
“If solid research ends up getting out that we should use antihistamines in PMDD, I would be delighted to adopt it – the more we have tools in our arsenal to treat this disorder, the better.” He says.
But for the moment, Novick does not think there is enough evidence to start recommending antihistamines for PMDD.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/VWH-GettyImages-1150374865-f40ec9455c5544aeb083b9378caa78fc.jpg?w=390&resize=390,220&ssl=1 "What happens to your body when you replace sugar with monk fruit")
