Have some mild PMS symptoms at the moment

I am at day 26 of my cycle.

This means PMS is back!

This month, it is again, not too severe. The only aspect which is more pronounced is the fluid retention and weight gain, especially in my stomach and breasts (as usual). But at least I don't have major pain.

The other major symptoms I have had this month are: food cravings for sweet foods (especially my favourite chocolate) and some emotional lows.

I haven't done much about the food cravings (I give into them), but I have been able to prevent my emotions from escalating, by telling myself, "It's only PMS and not a real emotion" a few times, after which my mental status comes back to normal. It just takes a few seconds of repeating this to myself to stop the false mood swing to negativity. Thank goodness!

I have found that the more I exercise, the more fluid I pass through my urine and the better my fluid retention symptoms get. Exercise increases circulation and also helps the lymphatic system remove any excess fluids.

I'll keep doing the exercises every day (about 35-45 minutes) and that should help a lot.

PMS symptoms are worse this month

Day 26 of my cycle

Today is day 26 of my cycle, which means I should get my periods in about two days or slightly later than that. Hopefully it will not be too much longer, because I can really feel the PMS more strongly this month than in a long time.

I felt very hungry today, which is normal for me during the last week before I get my periods. I need to eat it seems every few hours and if I don't eat properly, my blood sugar levels go down too much and I feel dizzy and light headed, as well as anxious and jittery. Once I eat, all of that goes away and I feel calm again.

I also have an extremely sweet tooth during PMS, when I crave and eat, quite a bit of sweet food. About the only sweet thing I eat is chocolate. I buy organic or European, so it means it has a low glycemic index (GI) and helps with the blood sugar level problems.

I had some organic chicken soup with organic chicken wings earlier and afterward I felt really satisfied with the meal. I added a little balsamic vinegar to it, as I was craving something sour. It was absolutely delicious. But you know, it's been a few hours and I am hungry again. It's almost like I haven't eaten anything even though I have! That is part of how PMS affects me in terms of my blood sugar levels and hunger levels.

The level of PMS symptoms I have right is just like what I used to have a few years ago - really severe, really bad and more like PMDD - and it's all because of the major stress in my life, which has not yet been removed. It has been mediated a little, but not removed and that is the priority for me.

I think my last post may have been too much for some people, because I described some of my symptoms quite descriptively. I do so, because I know it helps other girls/women know that they are not alone in their suffering. It was about fluid retention in my breasts and nipples - damn annoying that it even happened this month (the bloating and pain, that is)!

PMS Defined

What is PMS?

PMS is defined as a set of symptoms that can occur for anywhere up to 2 weeks before a women menstruates. Yes, two weeks of hell for some women. There are five sub-groups of PMS symptoms, as described below:

1. PMS-P (PMS Pain)
Symptoms - cramps, reduced pain threshold, aches and pains, light or noise intolerance, joint pain.

2. PMS-A (PMS Anxiety)
Symptoms - anxiety, mood swings, nervous tension, irritability, irrational thoughts, jealousy, low self-esteem, inability to cope, insecurity, agitation, crying spells

3. PMS-C (PMS Craving)
Symptoms - sweet cravings, food cravings, headache, dizziness or fainting, increased appetite, fatigue, heart pounding (exaggerated insulin response to carbohydrates), lethargy, excessive thirst, nausea, low blood sugar

4. PMS-D (PMS Depression)
Symptoms - depression, forgetfulness, crying, mental confusion, insomnia, anger, erratic behaviour, clumsiness, crying spells

5. PMS-H (PMS Hyper hydration)
Symptoms - water retention, breast tenderness and/or enlargement, weight gain (more than 1.4kg), swelling of extremities, abdominal bloating, skin problems,

In addition to all these lovely symptoms above, PMS can aggravate pre-existing health conditions, like candida, herpes, allergies and make them a lot harder to manage.

Not all women will experience all the symptoms above every month and even some women that do experience most the symptoms will not experience them exactly the same every month.

PMDD
A very small percentage of women (between 2-9% of women who experience PMS) may have PMDD, where they experience symptoms so severe, they become destructive. PMDD symptoms have some similarity to moderate-major depression and occur in the two weeks before menstruation and subside when bleeding occurs. In addition to the emotional (or mental) symptoms, there are physical symptoms which also occur in the two weeks prior to menstruation and which subside as soon as menstruation starts (or soon after).

To be diagnosed with PMDD you must experience 5 or more of the following symptoms:

Psychological Symptoms

• anxiety and tension
• mood swings
• irritability
• fatigue
• depression
• changes in appetite
• sleep difficulties
• feeling overwhelmed and out of control

Physical Symptoms

• Bloating and breast tenderness

When PMDD is being diagnosed, the focus is usually on the psychological, behavioural, and emotional symptoms than the physical ones. The thing that should be noted, is that in PMDD the symptoms experienced are much worse than in normal PMS.

Anyone that suspects they may have PMDD needs to contact a medical professional to get all the support, advice and treatment required to manage it. Women with PMDD should also realise that it can be alleviated through nutritional means in conjunction with conventional treatment.

References:
1. "The Physicians Handbook of Clinical Nutrition" - Henry Osiecki

2. Vital Health Zone - www.vitalhealthzone.com

3. "You Can Beat PMS" - Colette Harris and Theresa Cheung