PMS and PMDD glossary

Term

Corpus luteum: what it means

The corpus luteum is the temporary gland your ovary forms right after releasing an egg, and it's the main source of progesterone in the second half of your cycle. It also produces the calming hormone allopregnanolone. When it breaks down about two weeks after ovulation, progesterone and allopregnanolone drop fast, a shift that triggers PMS and, in some people, PMDD symptoms.

Glossary

Luteal phase: what it means

The luteal phase is the second half of your menstrual cycle, from ovulation to the start of your period, when progesterone and estrogen rise then fall. That drop in the final week is when PMS and PMDD symptoms usually show up. PMDD means reacting more strongly to that same normal shift than most people do.

Term

What Does PMS Mean in Text and Slang?

PMS in a text almost always means premenstrual syndrome, the physical and emotional symptoms that show up in the one to two weeks before a period. People use it both literally, to name real symptoms, and as casual slang for being irritable or tired. It isn't the same as PMDD, a more severe diagnosis with its own criteria.

Term

DSM-5 and PMDD: what it means

DSM-5 is the American Psychiatric Association's manual of mental health diagnoses, and it's where PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) became an official diagnosis in 2013. It lists exactly which symptoms, how many, and over what timing are needed to confirm PMDD, usually tracked daily across two cycles.

Term

Allopregnanolone: what it means for PMDD

Allopregnanolone is a brain chemical made from progesterone that normally calms you down. It rises and falls with your cycle, and in PMDD, the leading explanation is a different sensitivity to that shift, not higher or lower levels (Schmidt et al., 1998, NEJM). Drugs that target it are still experimental; current PMDD treatment relies on SSRIs, certain contraceptives and CBT.

Term

Late luteal phase dysphoric disorder (LLPDD) explained

Late luteal phase dysphoric disorder (LLPDD) is the older clinical name for what's now diagnosed as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). The DSM-IV replaced the term in 1994, and the DSM-5 made PMDD a full diagnosis in 2013. You'll still see LLPDD in older research studying the same symptoms.