How do you track?

[AdminAnnie]

Cycle and symptom tracking is essential for women with PMDD. If you suspect you have PMDD but are undiagnosed, you should be tracking your cycles, moods and other symptoms. Once diagnosed and with a treatment plan in place, tracking is just as important in order to have perspective on the efficacy of the treatment. In other words, you're not going to remember what days were good, when you felt ready for a fight, when you fought back those tears. Not with foggy PMDD brain. And you'll need to correlate these feelings and symptoms with your cycle.

Thankfully it is current year! And we don't have to count the days and keep a scattered journal of notes. There are a plethora of browser and mobile apps available, many for free. This will allow you and your doctor(s) to have more reliable data regarding your condition and your progress.

My advice to those new to the tracking game is BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF & COMMIT. Acknowledge your moods and feelings and record them as accurately as you can. Written journals, diaries and stream of consciousness writing exercises during different phases of your cycle can also help give you perspective on the changes in your mindset and outlook throughout the month, as well as being a helpful and creative outlet for pent up emotions.



I'll return to list the best cycle and symptom tracking apps that I have found available.


What do you use for tracking? What symptoms do you track? What advice do you have for new trackers?

[jen]

I use the Period Tracker app which is fantastic. It tells you when you're ovulating which is helpful because I find that to be an awful time as well. I don't have the paid version, but I'm thinking of upgrading because that has a graph you can track your moods on. As it is, I just enter my moods in the calendar as notes. It's also quite good to open it and see, "oh, it's 3 days before my period, so *that's* why I cried for several hours!"