--- title: Does sertraline help women with severe premenstrual dysphoric disorder? description: In this case, a 44-year-old woman with severe PMDD symptoms showed complete recovery after taking sertraline for two menstrual cycles, and was able to continu url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/antidepressant-treatment-in-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-case-report-2022/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does sertraline help women with severe premenstrual dysphoric disorder? Case report, 2022 # Does sertraline help women with severe premenstrual dysphoric disorder? In this case, a 44-year-old woman with severe PMDD symptoms showed complete recovery after taking sertraline for two menstrual cycles, and was able to continue taking it just during the week before menstruation. Early or limited evidence One 44-year-old woman with severe premenstrual dysphoric disorder. ## What they did Doctors described one 44-year-old woman with premenstrual dysphoric disorder who was treated with sertraline, a type of antidepressant. A literature review of PMDD treatment accompanied the case description. ## What they found The woman had experienced abdominal pain, anxiety, obsessive thoughts, sadness, emotional instability, lack of motivation, low energy, uncontrolled impulses, irritability and aggressive outbursts only during the week before menstruation for several years. These symptoms harmed her relationships. After starting sertraline, she recovered completely after two menstrual cycles. Six months later, she was taking sertraline only during the week before menstruation and remained stable. ## What it means for you This case shows that sertraline can help severe PMDD symptoms. Some women may be able to take it only during the week before menstruation after an initial period of daily treatment. The main limitation is that this is one woman, so we cannot know how many women would respond this way or whether this approach works for everyone. 44 woman's age in years 2 cycles time to complete recovery 1.8-5.8% prevalence of PMDD in the population ## About the study Original title Antidepressant treatment in premenstrual dysphoric disorder, case report Authors Garcia Moreno M, De Cos Milas A, Beatobe Carreño L et al. Journal European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists Year 2022 Study design Case report What was tested Sertraline (an antidepressant), initially daily then during the week before menstruation only. Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2022.841](https://doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2022.841) Original abstract Introduction: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is included for the first time in the last edition of DSM within affective disorders. It is necessary that 5 of a list of 11 symptoms (lability, irritability, depressed mood, anxiety, lethargy, being out of control or physical symptoms among others) appear in the majority of menstrual cycles but must be only present during the week before menstruation improving after its onset. It has a prevalence of 1,8-5,8% and it is associated to significant functional impairment. SSRIs are indicated as first-line treatment in severe symptoms. Objectives: To review about premenstrual dysphoric disorder and its psychopharmacological treatment. Methods: We carry out a literature review about premenstrual dysphoric disorder, accompanied by a clinical description of one patient treated with sertraline. Results: 44 years old female referred to our outpatient mental health service due to anxious and depressive symptoms. She had presented abdominal pain, anxiety, obsessive thoughts, sadness, emotional lability, apahty, anergy, uncontrolled impulse, irritability and vociferous attitude with verbal agressiveness only the week before menstruation during several years. These symptoms interfered negatively in her relationships. We started sertraline treatment with ad integrum clinical recovery after two menstrual cycles. 6 months later we indicated to take sertraline only the week before menstruation, maintaining stability. Conclusions: 1) It is important to consider premenstrual dysphoric disorder as a possible diagnosis in women with premenstrual discomfort symptoms. 2) It might be consider as a depressive disorder. 3) Antidepressant treatment should be considered in women with disabling symptoms. Disclosure: No significant relationships. Reproduced under CC-BY. ## Topics [Major depressive disorder](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-major-depression/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Relationships and partners](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-relationships/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Mood swings and emotion regulation](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-emotional-regulation/)[Irritability and anger](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-irritability-anger/)[SSRIs and antidepressants](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-ssri/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Study, 2026 What are premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder? Cohort study, 2012 How quickly does fluoxetine start working for PMDD symptoms? Review, 1999 Is premenstrual dysphoric disorder a distinct clinical disorder? Case report, 2024 How is PMDD diagnosed and treated in teenagers? Randomised trial, 2023 What does research show about PMDD neurochemistry? Survey study, 2001 How common is premenstrual dysphoric disorder and how is it related to other psychiatric conditions? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗