What is going on in my brain?
Genes, GABA, serotonin, and the add-back studies. This is the best-evidenced part of the research, and it shows these symptoms have a physical cause.
What is happening in your brain
- Strong PMDD
Your hormone levels are normal. The difference is how strongly your brain feels the shift.
Same hormone levels in women who feel awful vs fine; the difference is brain sensitivity to normal shifts (~56% heritable)
- Strong PMDD
The calm chemical your body makes from progesterone drops before your period, and sensitive brains feel that withdrawal.
Add-back paradigm ties symptoms to GABA / allopregnanolone (progesterone metabolite) withdrawal
- Strong PMS / PMDD
When estrogen dips after you ovulate, serotonin dips with it, and your calm system gets thrown off.
Review: luteal estrogen drop lowers serotonin; reduced allopregnanolone sensitivity -> GABA/glutamate imbalance + HPA activation
- Moderate PMDD
A big part of how strongly you feel this is inherited.
GWAS: premenstrual symptom heritability ~35-57%
- Moderate PMDD
Researchers can measure the difference in cells and blood flow.
Cellular Ca2+/ER-stress + brain-blood-flow studies support the ESC/E(Z) sensitivity finding
See all the research findings, each with a link to its study.
Keep reading
Three steps for the moment it happens
Niyora gives you three steps for that moment: reflect on what happened, regulate in about a minute, and respond with a clearer head.