Track Your Symptoms

You might know your cycle in and out, you might have used a chart or an app to track your symptoms. OR you might be unsure if your symptoms fit into a premenstrual disorder.

In any case, if you have already tracked your symptoms for at least two cycles, then you might have started noticing patterns in your symptoms. If you suspect you may have a premenstrual disorder, then we definitely recommend tracking symptoms daily for at least two months.

Symptom patterns can vary a LOT between people, and even between your cycles. Sometimes it also gets blurred because we might have one really bad rage episode, which led to a break up, while in some other cycles we might have had some arguments but also experienced some decent days in between.

Our memories are funny that way. We tend to remember emotionally charged events more than other relatively mild or neutral events. More recent studies have found that menstrual cycle phase plays a role in the things we remember. People who experienced trauma when they were in their luteal phase were more likely to experience flashback memories. Those with PMDD may also experience more intense emotions and take a longer time to recover from negative emotions, especially during their symptomatic days.

All of this to say, we can be really bad historians. When we attempt to recall symptoms, our brains have a way of filling the gaps to present a whole story rather than specific details. Or we may recall some details while forgetting others. This may affect how you present your symptoms to your doctor and what you would like to do. Or you might focus on one specific symptom, and miss out on talking about a cluster of symptoms.

In those who report moderate to severe premenstrual symptoms, only a few tend to receive a diagnosis of PMDD using daily symptom tracking.

This is not to say that those who do not get a PMDD diagnosis experience less symptoms. It is just that in the historical context, clinicians and researchers had to agree to a specific set of strict criteria to diagnose PMDD.

Regardless of diagnostic labels, tracking your symptoms daily can help in identifying patterns that you can then present to a doctor for diagnosis or follow-up.

It can also help you identify the days of the cycle that you are likely to be at high-risk and use strategies to manage your symptoms or stay better prepared. It can also help to track whether any of your strategies like lifestyle changes or treatments are helping with your symptoms.

If you are new to tracking your symptoms or unsure how to go about it, we have a downloadable symptom tracker that you can print and use. We also have a recorded webinar that talks about cycle tracking if you would like to dive a bit deeper.