A PMDD self-check:
PMS, or something more?

By Ben Jonas Goedeke · 5 min read · checked against its sources · updated 13 Oct 2026

If you are in danger right now, call or text 988 in the US, or your local emergency number.

This short check asks about the symptom areas doctors look at in PMDD and, just as much, about timing. It takes about two minutes. Your answers stay on this page: nothing is saved or sent anywhere, and closing the tab clears them.

One thing first. This is not a test, and it can’t tell you that you have PMDD. No online quiz can. IAPMD is clear that the diagnosis rests on daily ratings across at least two cycles, read by a doctor. What a self-check can do is tell you whether that tracking is worth starting.

The questions

Think about your last few cycles. Answer yes if it happens to you in the days before your period in most months.

In the days before your period, do you…

have mood swings, feel suddenly sad or tearful, or feel hurt by rejection more easily?

feel irritable or angry, with more arguments than usual?

feel down, hopeless, or very hard on yourself?

feel anxious, tense or on edge?

lose interest in things you usually care about, like work, friends or hobbies?

find it hard to concentrate?

feel tired or low on energy?

eat a lot more, or crave particular foods?

sleep much more or much less than usual?

feel overwhelmed or out of control?

have physical symptoms such as sore or swollen breasts, bloating, headaches, or joint and muscle aches?

Timing and impact

Do these feelings mostly show up in the week or two before your period?

Do they ease within a few days after your period starts?

In the week after your period, are they mild or gone?

Do they get in the way of work, school, your relationships or your usual plans?

Why timing matters more than the list

Almost everyone with a period recognizes a few of these. The US Office on Women’s Health says over 90% of women report some premenstrual symptoms, such as bloating, headaches and moodiness. What sets PMDD apart is how strong the symptoms are and how tightly they follow the cycle. IAPMD describes symptoms that appear in the one to two weeks before a period and resolve shortly after it begins, month after month.

That is why three of the questions above are about timing. If you feel much the same all month, the cause is more likely to be something other than PMDD, and that deserves a doctor’s attention just as much.

How PMS and PMDD differ

PMDD is far less common than PMS. The Office on Women’s Health puts it at up to 5% of women of childbearing age, and IAPMD at about 1 in 20 people who menstruate. The NHS describes its symptoms as much more intense than those of PMS. For a diagnosis, a doctor looks for five or more symptoms, including at least one about mood, in the week before the period, easing after it starts, across cycles you have tracked day by day. There is a fuller comparison in PMS or PMDD? How they differ, and the criteria in plain words in the PMDD symptoms checklist.

What to do with your result

Whatever the check says, the next step is the same one doctors ask for: write down how you feel every day, on the day, for two cycles. You can print our free PMDD chart or keep the record on your phone. Then take it to a doctor, together with a few notes on what the hardest days were like. PMDD questions to ask your doctor can help you prepare.

If symptoms are already getting in the way of work or relationships, you don’t have to finish two cycles before booking an appointment. A doctor can start looking at other causes while you track.

About this check

The questions follow the PMDD symptom list as IAPMD and the Office on Women’s Health describe it, written in everyday words. It has not been tested as a screening tool, and it gives no score. Even IAPMD says its own self-screen is not a diagnostic instrument. The check runs entirely in your browser with a few lines of script; no answer leaves this page.

Keep the record your doctor needs. Tideline is a period and mood tracker for iPhone: write or say one sentence a day, and after two cycles it puts the week before your period next to days 4 to 10. No account, no ads, and your entries stay on your phone. Logging is free; the doctor’s report is part of Tideline Plus, a paid subscription with a free trial.
Get Tideline on the App Store

Common questions

Is there a free online PMDD test?

There are free self-checks like this one, but no online test can diagnose PMDD. IAPMD says diagnosis needs daily symptom ratings across at least two menstrual cycles, read by a doctor. A self-check only tells you whether that tracking is worth starting.

Can a quiz tell me if I have PMS or PMDD?

No. A quiz relies on memory, and PMDD is diagnosed from ratings written down every day for at least two cycles. A quiz can point out whether your pattern looks cycle-linked and strong enough to track and discuss with a doctor.

What is the difference between PMS and PMDD?

Both bring symptoms in the days before a period that ease after it starts. PMDD is much less common, affecting up to 5% of women of childbearing age according to the US Office on Women’s Health, and its mood symptoms are severe enough to disrupt work, relationships and daily life.

What should I do if the self-check suggests PMDD?

Rate your symptoms every day for two cycles, on paper or in an app, then take the record to a doctor. If symptoms already disrupt your life, book the appointment now and track at the same time.

Keep reading

Sources

© 2026 Ben Jonas Goedeke · Tideline keeps a record. It does not diagnose, treat or prevent any condition.