Taking Claritin For PMDD Update
10/16: I’ve been taking Claritin for about ten days now. My cycle was scheduled to come on the 13th but it hasn’t yet – it’s the 16th as I’m writing this. It’s not that unusual, though, for my cycle to come later than expected (by a day or so) but this is starting to get a bit weird – no, I am not pregnant. But I have been experiencing cramps and all the usual things that happen when my menstrual cycle arrives. I feel like those symptoms weren’t reduced at all with the Claritin. I wonder if the Claritin is what delayed my cycle?
I seem to have caught some kind of flu and I’ve been sick this week so that could also be delaying it.
We’ll see what happens!
Update 10/19: My cycle finally came six days later. I forgot to take the Claritin this morning and I’m wondering if that’s why.
Update 10/22: I’ve been wondering if my cycle will be shorter or longer than usual because of the Claritin but it seems to be going at its normal length. Once again, the usual symptoms that I have during my cycle don’t seem to be weakened by my taking the Claritin from what I can tell. There is a difference between the symptoms I experience in the time period before my cycle comes and what I experience once it actually comes. Like others who have PMDD, the worst usually happens before it comes. It’s a little bit of a bummer that the Claritin hasn’t eased this part of my menstrual cycle but I’m not that bothered by it. Maybe some of these symptoms would be reduced if I had started taking it earlier at the start of ovulation as someone suggested. I’m going to post this soon and then hopefully remember to do an update after my cycle is over!
*I also want to add that while I’m so grateful to have found something that alleviates my symptoms, there are other important things that also help with easing PMDD symptoms like making necessary dietary changes (for me, that involves avoiding foods that I already know I have a sensitivity to like things that include gluten, dairy and soy – because I have a sensitivity to those things already outside of PMDD, eating them on or around my cycle makes symptoms so much worse), staying hydrated and managing stress and monitoring my emotions (I’m so thankful to be able to lean on Christ through this and any other problems I face in my life. God makes the difference for me when it comes to any emotional intensity I experience due to PMDD. Yes, I still experience the depression, sensitivity, rage, etc. but God gets me through those moments and also has made it easier for me to recognize when an emotion is occuring as a result of the PMDD and is not in alignment with how I actually feel about something or someone. Regarding emotions, I also want to say that I have noticed that for me, some of those intense emotions I feel around my cycle are not always unfounded. Sometimes, those emotions are things that I already feel toward a particular situation/person but they’re just more intense and feel overwhelming around the time of my menstrual cycle. This indicates that some of these emotions and sentiments are things that do actually need to be addressed outside of the PMDD. Again, being able to take things like that to Christ is a gift that I do not take for granted.)
