PMS: What It Is and How to Prevent It

Why Am I Like This Every Month? PMS: What It Is and How to Prevent It

What is PMS ? There is a huge range of symptoms associated with premenstrual syndrome. They may be mild or severe and incapacitating and tend to increase in severity with age. Symptoms can appear after the first menstrual period and may appear after severe illnesses or major physical, emotional, or sexual traumas. They may last 1-2 days to 2 weeks and sometimes longer. Generally, however, symptoms appear with the onset of menses or shortly thereafter, and then disappear, often abruptly. Symptoms may occur some months and not others but there is usually some consistency.

Physical Symptoms Symptoms caused by PMS include bloating and water retention; abdominal cramping (up to 2 weeks before menses) that may also be felt in the back, thighs, or vaginal area; lack of coordination, slurred speech; acne, hives, and rashes; alcohol intolerance (lower capacity for alcohol); back or joint pain, muscle aches, and stiff neck; breast swelling and pain; confusion, absentmindedness, and indecisiveness; excessive interest in food, which may lead to eating disorders; eye difficulties (from excessive dryness or tearing, difficulty focusing, aching eyes); fainting and dizziness; fatigue and lethargy; hand tingling and numbness; nausea; insomnia; lactation difficulties; heart pounding and irregular heartbeats; sensitivity to noise, touch, or smell; sex drive changes; sweet or salt cravings (especially if it significantly interferes with your life); and weight gain.

PMS may also exacerbate existing conditions, such as asthma; headaches (which may be menstrually related); hemorrhoids (may be more troublesome); infections (sinus, sore throats, herpes, UTIs, etc.); menstrual cramps (which are not part of PMS); seizures; and urinary difficulties (increased frequency, burning).

Emotional Symptoms These may include anger; anxiety; crying; depression; irritability; loss of self-esteem; panic states; paranoia; suicidal thoughts; tension; violence; and withdrawal.

These symptoms and PMS in general are often treated casually or as if they are being imagined by women. Obviously, this can be very frustrating, so charting your symptoms may help prove to you and others that they do exist. Perhaps more importantly, this can help you get in touch with your body and find out more about yourself.

Adjusting your diet to reduce PMS If you think that you may suffer from PMS, you'll probably want to prevent symptoms before they appear or at least reduce them once they occur. You may find that changing your diet helps. According to Self-Help for Premenstural Syndrome, you should be prepared to follow this diet all month long for at least four months. However, this may be impractical on a college student's budget and schedule. The New Ourbodies, Ourselves suggests that it may still be helpful to follow these rules even for only a week before your period. If you do decide to follow the diet all month, give yourself time to withdraw from sugar and caffeine and adjust to any new substances. You will probably find that withdrawal peaks around 10 days and is relieved in about 2 weeks. You may also find it helpful to eat small quantities of food every 2-3 hours rather than large meals with fasting in between. Remember that the diet is not to lose weight but to ameliorate symptoms of PMS.

Don't be too daunted by the following list; remember that you can eat anything that's not on the list. Also, if you're not comfortable with changing your diet this much, another method to reduce PMS may work better for you (see below).

It is important that your food be well-balanced, varied, and sufficient. Many women find it helpful to eat more whole grains and whole flours, beans, vegetables, fruits, and brewer's yeast.

What to Avoid

Sugar, honey, molasses, artificial sweetener, malt, corn syrup, etc.: sugar produces a drop in blood sugar. The small amount of sugar in non-sweet bread is permissible.
Caffeine, including decaf tea and coffee, colas (including diet), chocolate, and many painkillers and cold preparations: substitute herbal teas, grain beverages, and spring water with lemon or lime
White flour products: substitute with whole wheat, soy, and jerusalem artichoke flour
Alcohol: avoid alcohol completely, since it contains sugar and is a central nervous system depressant
Nicotine: try to avoid this but it is not as important to give up as other substances
Also, limit fruit to about 3 servings a day (around 1/2 cup fruit or 4 oz. of juice). Limit especially sweet fruits (cherries, dates, figs, mangoes, papaya, pineapple, prunes, raisins) to 1 serving a day.

Even cutting out some of these substances may help ameliorate PMS.

Exercise It's important to do some physical activity and to set time for yourself throughout the menstrual cycle. This exercise must be pleasurable, daily, and at least 30 minutes long. However, uninterrupted quality is more important than quantity.

Start your program when you're not premenstrual to give yourself a month or two to establish your regular exercise program. Keeping an exercise journal may be helpful.

Reducing Stress Try to schedule a regular time every day to concentrate on yourself. Methods of relaxation include meditation, self-hypnosis, breathing exercises, visualization, yoga, massage, expressive arts (i.e., painting, music, dancing), and journal writing.

Home Remedies

Cramps and backache: recommendations include herb teas, especially raspberry leaf tea; calcium and magnesium supplements; heat on your stomach or lower back; orgasm (some research indicates an increased risk of endometriosis); non-prescription drugs (i.e. aspirin or ibuprofen); marijuana (may cause other menstrual problems); and massage.
Depression, tension, moodiness, bloated feeling: some women recommend vitamin B6 or pyridoxine (discontinue if you get tingling or other signs of temporary nerve damage); decreased sodium intake and increase potassium; increased use of diuretics (including plain water), but use these with caution, since most, except for water, deplete the body of potassium.
Tiredness or paleness: check your iron level for anemia.

Symptoms, diet, stress, and exercise information comes from a very helpful book called Self-Help for Premenstrual Syndrome by Michelle Harrison, M.D. The book also contains examples of symptom charts. Home remedies and supplemental diet information comes from Chapter 12 of The New Our Bodies, Ourselves (1992 ed.). You may also find the World Wide Web a helpful resource, although you should take anything you find there (including this site) with a grain of salt. One relevant page is Kristi's PMS page, which also has information on herbal relief for vaginal and bladder infections, birth control by herbs, a list of related books and a fascinating list of herbs and their uses.

Go home!