What is known about a woman’s menstrual cycle and her bipolar symptoms?

Some women with bipolar disorder, especially type II and rapid cycling, report mood variations that correlate with their menstrual cycles. Common symptoms include depression and irritability in the premenstrual and menstrual period followed by an elevation in mood once the period is over. Premenstrual symptoms run the range of irritability and low mood to all-out depressed and mixed states.