PMS or PMDD? The Two-Cycle Diary That Tells You Which
If you turn into someone you don't recognise for a week every month, and then turn back, you are describing something real and specific. Sorting out exactly which thing it is takes two cycles and a piece of paper — and it genuinely cannot be done any other way.
PMDD cannot be diagnosed from memory. The diagnosis requires daily symptom ratings across at least two cycles, because when women who report premenstrual symptoms actually keep those ratings, only a minority turn out to meet the criteria — in one study of 200 women, 19%. The diary is not preparation for the test. It is the test.
Get the two-cycle daily diary and the full guide
A printable daily rating chart for two full cycles — covering all eleven symptom groups and the three areas of interference — with instructions for reading your own chart. Enter your email to read and download it. We send the guide and occasional articles on period health. Unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
Board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist, licensed in Colorado. Diagnostic criteria per DSM-5-TR; treatment framing per ACOG Clinical Practice Guideline No. 7 (2023).