TV star Helen Flanagan has opened up about her diagnosis with a severe mood disorder and how a cheap pill known as the 'female viagra' helped to save her life.
The 35-year-old, who was a regular in Coronation Street for over a decade, spoke to The Sun recently about her premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) diagnosis, and how the health condition ruled her life until she discovered a cheap solution.
Flanagan, who also dated and had three children with footballer Scott Sinclair, spoke candidly about the impact of PMDD on her everyday life. The condition is described as a severe mood disorder that involves intense emotional and physical symptoms, such as extreme irritability, depression, anxiety, and physical pain.
She said: “It’s something that really rules my life. To be quite honest with you, I really struggle with my PMDD. I can get severe depression, and it can really take over my life.
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“I really do struggle with my mental health massively, and it's quite debilitating.”
Flanagan suggests that the condition makes it hard for her to have relationships, and that she's no longer looking for a partner, after recently splitting up with another former footballer in the form of Robbie Talbot.
She added: “Everybody that is close to me is very aware of my PMDD, I don't think I've ever had a relationship with a man, or even when I've dated someone, that they don't know about my cycle, because it massively changes everything.
“I could be really happy and great and positive, and then suddenly I'm really quite depressed.
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“Especially in relationships, I could be very irritable, could get angry, overly emotional and anxious so it can be extremely, extremely challenging.
“I think I struggle with relationships as well. I don't want a boyfriend at the moment, but I do think PMDD can make it very difficult to be with someone because men don't really usually understand how you're feeling.”
On one occasion, she felt so awful she was in bed for two days, adding: "I never actually do that."
However, things changed for the celebrity when she took things into her own hards and discovered a supplement branded as The Golden Pill, offered by Elle Sera, a women's health brand.
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It's made from maca root extract, tribulus terrestris, ginkgo biloba, Siberian ginseng and beetroot extract.
Although it is advertised as helping to boost libido, which Flanagan suggests she didn't need, she claims that the £1.66 a day pill helps to balance her out.
She said: “I've always had a good sex drive. But I think it's just made me feel stronger, more level, more balanced out. I haven't felt the dramatic lows before my period.
“My PMDD can be so extreme, so it really does depend on what's going on in my life as well.”
Dr Jen Graham from private healthcare company RevitaMed Health added: “PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) can greatly affect quality of life, yet treatment choices are limited. As GPs, we mainly use antidepressants or the contraceptive pill. These help many, but not all.
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“The Golden Pill stabilises hormone fluctuations that can make symptoms easier to manage, offering better support for some patients.”
Topics: Mental Health, Celebrity News
James Moorhouse