A printable PMDD tracker
for two cycles

By Ben Jonas Goedeke · 6 min read · checked against its sources · updated 13 Oct 2026

If you think your mood turns on you before your period, the first thing a doctor will want is a daily record. Not a memory of last month, but ratings written down on the day, for at least two cycles. IAPMD calls this the only recognized way to reach a PMDD diagnosis, and there are no blood, saliva or hormone tests that can stand in for it.

A sheet of paper by the bed works fine for this. Below is a chart you can print, how to fill it in, and how a doctor tends to read it.

Download the chart: PMDD daily symptom chart (PDF, 3 pages). US Letter, landscape. On A4 paper, choose “fit to page” when you print.

What is on the chart

Each page covers one cycle, 35 days across, so a longer cycle still fits. Down the side are twelve lines to rate:

The first four, printed in colour, are the mood areas. Under the DSM-5 criteria, as the researchers behind the C-PASS scoring method summarize them, at least five symptoms have to be present, and at least one of them has to be one of these. The next seven cover the rest of the list. The last line asks how much the day was disrupted, which the best-studied daily form, the Daily Record of Severity of Problems (DRSP), asks about too.

There is also a row for the date, a row to mark the days you bleed, and space for notes at the bottom.

How to fill it in

Start a sheet on the first day of your period. That is day 1. Each evening, give every line a number for that day:

The six steps follow the DRSP, where people rate each symptom from 1, not at all, to 6, extreme. Rate the day you just had, not the week. If you miss a day, leave it empty. A blank is honest; a number filled in three days later from memory isn’t what the chart is for, since the criteria ask for prospective daily ratings, made as you go.

Mark the days you bleed in the period row, spotting included. When your next period starts, begin a new sheet at day 1, even if the old one still has empty columns. Use the notes for anything that could change how you feel: a cold, a new medicine, a hard week at work, a missed pill.

Why two cycles, and why there is a third sheet

One bad week could be anything. Two cycles show whether the pattern repeats. The NHS also suggests keeping a diary for at least two cycles before seeing a GP, for PMS as well as PMDD. There is more on the reasoning in why doctors ask for two cycles.

The comparison a doctor makes runs across the edge of a sheet. The days that matter before a period are the last seven before bleeding starts, at the end of one sheet. They are set against days 4 to 10 of the next cycle, shaded on every page. So two full comparisons take the whole of the first two sheets and the first ten days of a third. That is why the PDF has three pages.

How a doctor reads it

The question is plain: do the numbers rise in the week before your period and fall away once it starts? The C-PASS method compares the seven days before the period (days -7 to -1) with days 4 to 10 after it starts, and looks for a clear rise in the premenstrual week with the week after close to symptom-free. You don’t need to score anything yourself. Bring the sheets and let the doctor do the reading.

A few things change how the chart is read, so write them in the notes:

If the hopeless line runs high

Low mood before a period can go further than sadness. IAPMD lists suicidal thoughts among the symptoms some people with PMDD have. If you are in danger right now, call or text 988 in the US, or your local emergency number. A plan for the darkest days is worth writing on a good day.

Taking it to an appointment

Bring the original sheets or clear photos of them. Point to the two or three hardest days and say what happened on them. PMDD questions to ask your doctor has a short list to bring along. If you’d rather use a clinical form, IAPMD offers its own DRSP-based symptom tracker.

If paper gets lost

Paper is easy to start and easy to misplace in the worst week. Tideline does the same job on an iPhone. You write or say one sentence a day, it picks out the symptoms and how strong they sounded, and it asks how much the day got in the way on a 0 to 10 slider. After two cycles it lines up the week before each period against days 4 to 10. It keeps a record; it doesn’t diagnose.

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 printable PMDD tracker?

Yes. This page links a free three-page PDF chart, one sheet per cycle, with 35 days, the DSM-5 symptom areas in plain words, a 1 to 6 scale, a period row and space for notes. It is a record to bring to your doctor, not a diagnostic test.

How many cycles do I need to track for PMDD?

At least two. IAPMD says daily tracking across at least two cycles is required for a PMDD diagnosis, and the NHS suggests a symptom diary for at least two cycles before seeing a GP.

What rating scale should a PMDD chart use?

The DRSP, the most studied daily form, rates each symptom from 1 (not at all) to 6 (extreme). This printable uses the same six steps so a doctor can read it at a glance.

Can a symptom chart diagnose PMDD?

No. It gives a doctor the daily evidence they need. Only a doctor can diagnose PMDD, after reading your ratings and ruling out other causes.

Keep reading

Sources

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