A BELFAST woman suffering from a severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is urging Stormont to do more to help.
Teacher Katie Watson (32) told this newspaper that she was misdiagnosed with bipolar before getting a diagnosis, eight years ago, of Premenstrual Dysmorphic Disorder (PMDD).
“It went undiagnosed for years, and years, and years," she said. “The luteal phase, the week before your menstrual bleed, you go into dysphoria which is the opposite of euphoric.
“You feel really depressed and tearful and hopeless and worthless and so on.
“It’s not typical PMS. You get to the point where you feel like you don’t want to exist any more and that would be every month.
“It’s common but it’s not normal, and it’s just not a way to live really."
Katie said her symptoms were not in keeping with her usual “happy go lucky, excitable” self.
She said "the biology kicks in, and it felt very out of control”, so she explored a variety of avenues for assistance.
“When I discovered what it was the relief was short lived because I didn’t know what it was and neither did anyone really.
“I have made a lot of lifestyles changes. I don’t drink, really, maybe on a special occasion. I do lots of exercise and talking therapies.
“It was good but it wasn’t enough. About a year and a half ago I started opening up about it properly, and when I started speaking about it on my Instagram, acceptance followed, and basically the community I started—a lot of women came forward and it grew from there.”
Katie said she is “making noise about PMDD until we don’t need to explain what it is”.
She held ‘plod’ jog-walk events in the city last year, also a ‘gurlz’ group with a friend to create a safe space for women to jog together and have conversations about hormone and mental health afterwards. From there Katie started an online support group called “The Monthlies” which has grown from three people at the first event to include a variety of people including from different parts of Europe.
Katie also works with The PMDD Project based in England to raise awareness, and to make PMDD something people are educated about more.
“Stormont-wise we don’t have a women’s health strategy yet. We need to see action now. Let’s actually do something.”
Katie still experiences bouts of PMDD but how she feels now compared to how she was feeling is “like chalk and cheese”.
“I will always have this but now I have a true understanding of what it is. I know it’s not permanent. Each month when I have it I know this isn’t going to last forever. Before when I was experiencing it I thought I was stuck in psychosis and this was my life now.”
Katie says people benefit from different medications, exercise, supplements and various treatment methods.
“There should be more research done, and I am sure there is a solution out there.”
For more about Katie and a women's health forum at Stormont next month visit https://www.instagram.com/katiewatsonpmdd/
