---
title: Does taking citalopram starting when symptoms appear help PMDD?
description: Yes. All eight women had clear improvement in PMDD symptoms when they took citalopram from the start of premenstrual symptoms until their period began.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/symptom-onset-dosing-with-citalopram-in-the-treatment-of-premenstrual-dysphoric-2007/
---

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- Does taking citalopram starting when symptoms appear help PMDD?

Case report, 2007

# Does taking citalopram starting when symptoms appear help PMDD?

Yes. All eight women had clear improvement in PMDD symptoms when they took citalopram from the start of premenstrual symptoms until their period began.

 Early or limited evidence

8 women aged 18-45 with PMDD

## What they did

Eight women aged 18-45 with PMDD took 10-20 mg of citalopram starting when their premenstrual symptoms appeared and continuing until their period began.

## What they found

All women showed clear improvement in PMDD symptoms with this approach.

## What it means for you

Taking an antidepressant only when symptoms start, rather than every day, may help PMDD. The main limits are that this was a small study with only eight women and there was no control group to compare against.

8

women studied

10-20 mg

citalopram dose per use

18-45

age range in years

## About the study

Original title Symptom-onset dosing with citalopram in the treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD): a case series Authors Ravindran LN, Woods SA, Steiner M et al. Journal Archives of women's mental health Year 2007 Study design Case report What was tested Citalopram 10-20 mg from symptom onset until menstruation Read the paper [doi.org/10.1007/s00737-007-0181-0](https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-007-0181-0)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[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

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