The treatment of PMDD includes lifestyle changes, hormone therapy, or the use of anti-depressant drugs such as Prozac or Zoloft.
Eli Lilly has repackaged Prozac to treat premenstrual dysphoric disorder. This new drug is called Sarafem.
From the Eli Lilly website: "Sarafem (fluoxetine hydrochloride) is the first FDA-approved prescription treatment for both the mood and physical symptoms of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD). Sarafem helps you be more like the woman you are, every day of the month, even during your most difficult days. "
I have been on Sarafem for one year now and have never felt better. Not only are my mood swings gone, but I feel as if I have emerged from a cloud of darkness that I didn't even know I was enclosed in. About two months after I started taking the drug, I called Scoresby and told him that I suddenly felt interested in life again. I felt like a child, new and happy. Of course this makes me think that I might have just needed Prozac for depression. In fact, some doctors believe that Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder is really just depression which is amplified during women's periods.
Sarafem has also made me stop eating because I was sad or bored and I have noticed some weight loss due to this.