By Jess Harris
Hello, I’m Jess. About a year ago I was just arriving home from hospital after major surgery to remove my uterus, ovaries and cervix. I didn’t do this because of physical pain, I chose this drastic but life changing procedure due to emotional turmoil caused by Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD).
PMDD is a mood disorder caused by nvormal hormone levels and fluctuations during the menstrual cycle and April is PMDD Awareness month. For a while now I have wanted to help other people find answers about PMDD faster, and with fewer barriers than I faced (or ideally none at all). My mate Ash and I have put together The PMDD Gig on April 12th to raise awareness about the condition, and raise funds for a new not-for-profit organisation called Premenstrual Disorders Australia (PMDA).
PMDA will provide education, resources and support to people like me who have, or suspect they, have PMDD.
A little about my experience…
I was susceptible to symptoms for up to two weeks per cycle, yep two weeks out of every four which equates to half of my life. My two ‘good’ weeks were spent dealing with my period, recoiling from severe depressive episodes, risk managing my symptoms and prepping for the upcoming luteal phase.
My symptoms were both caused and exacerbated by stress and sleep deprivation. I tended to have a real bad one every three or four cycles, needing a week or more off work to go into survival mode waiting out the suicidal ideation.
I learnt to self advocate after many poor experiences with health professionals. My initial diagnosis was set back by two years after a GP completely dismissed any hormonal link to my symptoms. A psychologist once tried to tell me that PMDD was invented by big pharma in order to sell Prozac.
There are other barriers like 12-month plus waiting lists for PMDD specialist clinics who can only offer a one off appointment, medications not being covered by PBS, inability to access treatment or surgery via the public health system. If my surgery were performed in a public hospital I would have had to plead my case in front of a hospital ethics board for approval.
It doesn’t feel great paying around $300 for a psychiatrist to keep asking “what would you like to talk about this week” because they don’t know how to help you. For me it took about seven years between noticing the pattern of my symptoms and finding the right specialists who could treat me.
Are you starting to see why we need to raise awareness?
On April 12th I’ll be performing with my band Jess Shreds & The Unmade Beds at Mamma Chens in Footscray, along with a stellar lineup of passionate performers including: Yelo, Prairie Nischler, Ash Acid and Brian Morley. We’ll have ‘PMDD Sux’ merch for sale designed by local artist ‘Brascha’. It’s free entry from 7pm, a percentage of bar sales on the night will be donated to PMDA.
Mamma Chens is an accessible venue with front entry ramp and toilet meeting disability access requirements as well as a lowered section of the bar and seating available in the bandroom. Visit linktr.ee/thepmddgig for further information about the cause, the venue, how to donate and links to resources.
