PMS and PMDD compared with other conditions

Menstrual cycle

The luteal phase: what's happening in your body and mood

- The luteal phase runs from ovulation to your period, usually 11 to 17 days. - Progesterone rises then drops sharply in the final days if you're not pregnant, and that can affect mood, sleep and appetite. - For most women the dip is mild and short. For some, it builds into a pattern that looks like PMDD.

Condition

PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder), explained

PMDD, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, is a diagnosis for severe mood and physical symptoms that show up in the week before your period and ease within days of it starting. It's rarer than PMS and comes from how your brain reacts to normal hormone shifts, not from having abnormal hormone levels. A doctor confirms it with daily symptom tracking over at least two cycles.

Condition

What is PMS? Premenstrual syndrome, explained

PMS stands for premenstrual syndrome, the physical and emotional symptoms that show up in the one to two weeks before your period and ease once it starts. It's driven by the normal drop in estrogen and progesterone after ovulation. PMS differs from PMDD, a more severe diagnosis confirmed with daily symptom tracking.

PMS or pregnant

PMS or pregnant? How to tell PMS vs pregnancy symptoms apart

PMS and early pregnancy share tender breasts, bloating, fatigue and mood swings because both run on rising progesterone after ovulation. Spotting, nausea that doesn't ease, and a missed period lean more toward pregnancy. A urine test is most reliable from the day your period is due.

Condition guide

PME: when your period makes another condition worse

PME means premenstrual exacerbation: an existing condition like depression, anxiety, ADHD or bipolar disorder gets worse before your period but doesn't fully go away afterward. That's different from PMDD, where new symptoms largely clear up once bleeding starts. Daily symptom tracking over two cycles is how you and a doctor tell the two apart.

PMS vs pregnancy

Premenstrual cramps or pregnancy cramps: how to tell

Cramping alone can't tell you PMS from pregnancy, since both often start in the days after ovulation. PMS cramps build with your usual pattern and ease once your period starts. Pregnancy cramps, when they happen, tend to be milder, don't resolve into a period, and are confirmed by a test, not by how they feel.