PMS or depression - HELP

LegacyUser

I beleive my sister in her 20s is suffering from pms or deprssion or maybe even both. She is never happy and her mood swings are absolutly unbearable. I found that her mood swings get worse at particular times of the month. Her mood swings are very severe. One minute shes fine the next she is off like a madman. She has hardly any social life so she is not on drugs. She has been like this for years since she was teenager but its just getting. worse. My mam never got help for her. She needs help from the doctor but how do i get her to the doctor. If i tell her i beleive she has a problem of some sort and to get help shes not going to listen to me. I would like to help her out for the sake of peace and the whole family because if i don't i know for a fact i won't even speak to her in 10 years time. I'd cut her out completely from my life as soon as i start making my own way and get my own house and i won't speak to her.

Lazarus2.0

It could well be both at this stage . That said it may be neither . Unless you get her to go to the doc you may never know . Certainly ( I speak from my wife's point of view) stress builds up from one cycle to the next if there is no outlet for it . My good lady was grand for years but then PMS became a lifestyle rather than an occasional issue . She went to the doc and got prozac prescribed to her . She hasnt looked back since .
Doctor , in a nutshell . How you get her to go there is a tough one .... would she go with you if you were the one being seen ? Maybe you could project the symptoms on to yourself so at least your sis would hear a professional opinion ....

b3t4

My thoughts on how you approach this would be to do the following
1) Use the word "I" as opposed to "You". Using "You" will only cause her to become defensive. For example rather than saying "your moods cause so much trouble" say "It really upsets me when you get so angry/upset at me" She cannot question your emotions as they're yours and it's how your feeling.
2) Tell her that you are worried about her.
3) Your sister will always be your sister and a part of your life. Learning how to deal with someone so different to you is a good lesson in life :-)

Loxosceles

First of all, she should see a doctor.

When I had postnatal depression several years ago, my sister told me to mention Lexapro to the doctor, because she took it. She agreed with me, and gave me a scrip for it. It's very effective with hormonally related issues and normal daily stress.

It's a far lower dosage serotonin reuptake inhibitor than other things on the market like Prozac, and it's far more effective for people who want to keep a good sense of control and who may simply be getting through a tough spot in life. For me, it took the ups and downs and simply leveled them out so I felt more in control of my actions. But I also couldn't touch alcohol at all for several months, which was good since I didn't need it anyhow. I had a few rare minor slight dizzy spells as side effects, which felt like a blue haze for a few minutes, but otherwise, I was fine.

I asked for the lowest dosage which was something like 5 milligrams, and the doctor agreed that it was perfectly adequate. Prozac for me would have been like trying to hammer a nail with a sledgehammer. But either way, a doctor would know best. Just be sure to mention it and ask them what they think as they may recommend something else.

BTW mods, disclaimer: I am not providing medical advice: I am mentioning my own course of action that only a doctor could provide, so in essence I'm just saying, see a doctor.

lox.