Acupressure is useful for period pain

Wind Pool (Feng Chi) acupressure point

There are a number of acupressure points which may be useful in helping to relieve menstrual pain and cramps.

The main pressure point is the one on the spleen, SP6, which helps to dramatically reduce acute period pain and cramping very quickly.

There are additional acupressure points, which also help reduce pain and cramping.

• The Sea of Energy (Qi Hai) - this is located two finger widths below the belly button. Also called Conception Vessel (CV) 6. The CV-6 point is also used to treat digestion problems, edema, and bloating.

• The Inner Pass (Nei Guan) - this is located approximately 5 cm (or 2 inches) from the wrist on the inner arm. Also known as Pericardium (PC) 6. This point has also been demonstrated, in clinical studies, to relieve vomiting and abdominal problems during pregnancy.

• The Union Valley (He Gu) - this is located in the webbing between the thumb and the forefinger. Also known as Large Intestine (LI) 4. This point is believed to aid in any problem involving chronic pain.

• The Wind Pool (Feng Chi) - this is located at the rear of the skull about two to three inches from the ear. Also called Gall Bladder (GB) 20. The GB-20 point is often prescribed for headache and hypertension.

• The Leg Three Li (Zu San Li) - this is located about one finger width from the juncture of the tibia on the outside of the leg. Also known as Stomach (ST) 36. The ST-36 point is also used to relieve any other issue involving the stomach or spleen.

• The Middle Gate (Mu Guan) - this is located about one finger width from the wrist crease on the palm. This is an extra point discovered by Master Tong, although it is on the Pericardium (PC) pathway. Mu Guan is also used for heel pain.

When doing any acupressure, use gentle pressure in a circle-like motion on the point, never press too hard and if there is any pain, stop and consult your doctor.

References:

1. AltMD: Smart Alternatives. Acupressure for Menstrual Cramps. Accessed 20 July 2010. www.altmd.com/Articles/Acupressure-for-Menstrual-Cramps
2. Lark SM. Acupressure for Menstrual Cramps. Excerpted from The Menopause Self Help Book, Celestial Arts, 1996. Accessed 20 July 2010 www.healthy.net/scr/article.aspx?Id=1371

PMS is a real and severe health issue for many women

Women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS), from mild to very severe (and severe PMS is described as having premenstrual dysphoric disorder or PMDD) have a number of symptoms which compromise and adversely affect their quality of life and the level this is affected depends on the level of symptoms experiences - the worse the symptoms, the more adversely the quality of life is affected.

Scientists have been looking at women with PMS and have come to the conclusion that women who experience PMS symptoms experience lowered quality of life as they cannot function properly (whether it is in their relationships, work, social life) and this causes increased medical costs through more visits to doctors and subsequent lab test. It also causes indirect costs to employers through lowered productivity when a woman experiences severe PMS symptoms and cannot function or think as effectively as she normally does when not in PMS.

Women with severe PMS symptoms, especially the mental symptoms of anxiety, depression, anger can be so impaired in their ability to function normally (when not in the time of PMS), that it can cause an impairment in interpersonal or workplace functioning.

Interpersonal conflicts are common for women with PMS and that can cause a great deal of unnecessary stress in a workplace or for a woman's interpersonal relationships, which if not treated effectively and continues to escalate unabated, can mean those relationships cease to exist and employment may go on to be terminated. This of course, compounds the issue and it becomes a vicious circle.

Women with PMS must seek effective treatment for the symptoms of PMS in order to maintain a better quality of life and in order not to suffer the symptoms of this, often, debilitating condition.

Your doctor can use a Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST) to help you determine how PMS symptoms are affecting your life.

There are adequate (and natural) ways to control PMS (and even the condition known as PMDD).

References:

1.  Choi D, Lee DY, Lehert P, Lee IS, Kim SH, Dennerstein L. The impact of premenstrual symptoms on activities of daily life in Korean women. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 2010 Mar;31(1):10-5
2.  Freeman EW,  Sondheimer SJ. Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder: Recognition and Treatment. Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry. 2003; 5(1): 30–39. Accessed 8 July 2010
3. Mishell DR Jr. Premenstrual disorders: epidemiology and disease burden. Am J Manag Care. 2005 Dec;11(16 Suppl):S473-9. Accessed 8 July 2010
4. Pearlstein T, Steiner M. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder: burden of illness and treatment update. J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2008 Jul;33(4):291-301. Accessed 8 July 2010

The fluid retention I experience during PMS

Fluid retention is one of the factors of PMS that I experience basically every month, to a varying degree. It used to be much worse.

This month, I have experienced, for two days, very bad fluid retention. My stomach just jutted out so much (when it doesn't normally) and it felt uncomfortable when I was sitting down. Additionally, my breasts and nipples were so bloated with fluid that I looked like I was breastfeeding and besides which it hurt a lot!  I have had a little of fluid retention since that and before that, but not to that extent.

These are profound physical changes which would not occur at any other time than after  ovulation and just before the menstrual cycle starts.

I have been taking some homeopathic medicine which has helped a great deal to stop that much fluid retention and pain associated with it.

The homeopathic medicine I have been using is the General Tonic with the 12 tissue salts, which is for overall fatigue and exhaustion. They work on all the organs and tissues of the body to help it recover and function normally and obviously are an excellent way to prevent the fluid retention for me. I think because they work on the nervous system to make it more functional and to reduce any anxiety/stress, this helps me greatly.

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)!

Fluid retention all over right now

Well I have some fluid retention most noticeably in my breasts and stomach. I can tell because my stomach is a bit more bloated and less flat (which is how it normally is) and my bra feels like it's too small for my breasts, whereas a few days ago, it was okay.

I haven't got much pain in my breasts from the fluid retention, which is good. Today I noticed that my bra feels quite small, like I need to get a bigger bra to accommodate my breasts, whereas yesterday, it didn't feel that way. My breasts also feel really heavy, much heavier than they did yesterday - as if the fluid has added a few grams of weight to them.

I have been doing a little exercise most day, but not very much at all.

I have been taking a liquid iron supplement (to build up my iron stores), some psyillium fibre and acidophilus probiotic powder. I think the iron is helping quite a lot. I don't feel as tired as I normally feel and it may be helping in other ways too - by topping up the iron in my body, I get more oxygen flowing around in my blood and this gets to my cells and helps to give me more energy. I no long feel like totally lethargic and sleepy every day, I have a bit more energy. That is something positive. I guess it means I need to finish this bottle of iron and maybe buy another one to take after my next cycle has ended.  I really don't eat much meat and don't eat enough other foods rich in iron and then I bleed heavily during my monthly flow, so it means my iron stores get a bit low.  I have to review the foods I eat and start eating an egg and some spinach every day, both of which have high levels of iron.

I have also been eating organic chocolate every day - some days more than others. If I get upset, I tend to eat more chocolate.

Officially in PMS mode for the month

I just checked my calendar and it has been three weeks and two days (23 days) since my last period started, which means I am well and truly in PMS mode.

There should be less than a week before my next menstrual cycle starts, if it's going to be on time, otherwise, it may be a bit longer than that. Still, I am very much in PMS at the moment.

When I had my jeans on today, I noticed some bloating in my stomach - it was not as flat as it normally was (and even not as flat as it was just yesterday). At first I thought maybe I had eaten too much of something (probably chocolate), but then I realised that my stomach couldn't have gotten  bloated that much in one day, all of a sudden from eating something and besides which, I didn't eat a lot of anything yesterday. That's when I thought that it must be because I am in PMS mode that my fluid levels are a bit wonky and making me retain more fluid in certain areas than others (my thighs and legs feel a little bloated too). So when I looked at my calendar to find out when I had my last periods and that's when I realised where I was in my cycle. It all made sense - PMS!

I have been keeping track of my of my menstrual cycle for a few years now, to try to make sense of the actual length of my cycle. It helps, because it means I can work out when my periods are about to start (give or take a few days), especially lately when my cycle has been a lot more regular than normal. And that is nice.

I have been taking a liquid iron supplement again, because of my heavy menstrual flow and lack of meat in my diet means I tend to get a bit low in iron and iron stores and tend towards iron-deficient anaemia. I can feel that this second bottle (I took some last month too) is making a difference as I have been feeling less tired.  I am supposed to get a blood test done in the next few days to determine levels of iron and a number of other things, so that should tell me if this iron supplement has been working.

PMS and Menustration Update

I haven't updated this blog in a while and I will try to be more diligent about it from now on, at least to post something every month, around the time of PMS and just into my menstrual cycle, to try to post how it's going with me.

The intervening months since I last posted, my periods have been quite regular, more than ever, with my periods coming usually every 28-30 days almost every cycle, other than one or two which were very irregular and my periods not starting for almost 38 days after my last one, but they were the exception rather than the rule.

In addition to this, I have been experiencing milder period pain most months. Sometimes though, I still get really painful periods for say two cycles and then mild pain for several cycles and then again the severe pain for two cycles. It's been this way for as long as I can remember, so that is normal for me.

The PMS/PMDD symptoms have been fluctuating up and down, mainly depending on a number of factors:

• what I have been eating in the preceding month
• how much I have been exercising in the preceding month
• if there have been any emotional conflicts in the preceding month

I have found that if there have been a lot of emotional conflict (especially if I am keeping in or repressing emotions) and I haven't been exercising enough in the preceding month, those two factors are enough to cause severe PMS/PMDD and cause me to have very painful periods too. So it's like a double whammy - not just the emotional symptoms, but also the physical ones too both prior to menstruation and during menstruation.

I think the emotional aspect is really an important one as it has quite a major bearing on how my body deals with the hormones that are fluctuating during PMS time. If there are many negative emotions that have not been released, this can be enough to cause PMS/PMDD symptoms to be quite severe and the more negative emotions there are, the worse the PMS becomes, more like PMDD.

Eating properly and exercising adequately are normal for me to do, as I eat really well, I dont eat much that is not good for me and I do some exercise just about every day. So for me, it's the emotional aspect that is the issue with my PMS symptoms.

PMS Not So Bad This Month

This past month, I have not had such bad PMS nor did I have really bad period pain either and my periods came 28 days after the previous month's menstruation. This menstrual cycle was one of my more nicer ones, so that was a great relief.

I think it was because I didn't eat much of anything that was bad for me - I think I had only one packet of chips (and they were made with all organic ingredients) and I generally ate mostly healthy things every day, lots of vegetables and fruit (all organic of course), some protein, some nuts and seeds most day (pecans, walnuts, sesame seeds, hazelnuts, almonds) and every meal I had for lunch and dinner was home made from scratch by me. The only junk food I may have had was chocolate, always dark and mostly always organic (or at least European). But as we all know, chocolate is actually good for you, especially dark chocolate and definitely organic, so it's not a bad thing to eat chocolate.

I also did some exercise every day, just a little and that helped to ensure my circulation was working properly.

In addition to that, I did some affirmations most nights (and some days) as well as proper breathing and some meditation, plus I did a little bit of massage on my legs - both upper and lower parts - on a number of days, so that also helped with circulation.

The only part of my periods that was a little annoying was that my stomach got bloated and my ankles hurt (from the fluid retention) for a few days. The bloating though, stayed throughout my whole period, but as soon as it was over, my stomach went back to being flat again. The other thing that is really annoying about my periods is that I get excessively tired (hypersomnia) for 2-3 days just before my periods, during PMS and all through my periods. I think it is because of the iron loss in the blood so I am replacing it with an iron supplement this month to prevent this next month, as I know that I am slightly anaemic.

The PMS I had was less severe and didn't affect my ability to function, so it was quite bearable. I only felt it at certain times on a few days, but it was not anything severe so it was nice. I can only wish my cycle was this good every month with little PMS and basically no menstrual pain.

PMS/PMDD continues to improve

Well, it's been over 2 months since my last post and I have an update on my PMS/PMDD as well as my health in general.

My periods the last two months have continued to be regular and that is really unusual for me.In April, my periods came 4 weeks and 1 days after my last ones and in May, my periods came exactly 4 weeks after my last ones.

This means my menstrual cycle has been incredibly regular and consistent for the last 5 months and having such regularity for many months in my menstrual cycle is totally unusual for me as my cycle has always been very unpredictable and irregular - anywhere from 28 days to about 35 days, with no regularity between one month and the next. That was before. Now, it is totally different. Now I am getting much more regularity and it is so nice to know when I am going to menstruate, as I can plan things around it. In addition to the regularity of my cycle I have also noticed that I am getting much less pain during my periods and that allows me to have a much more normal life.

PMS also is staying constant and I am not getting the symptoms that I used to get to the same level that I used to get - breast swelling and tenderness, irritability, fluid retention - I have found that these symptoms continue to be significantly reduced. In fact, last month when my breasts did start swelling a little and were a little sore (but not as sore as prior to starting this blog), I did some more meditation and the next day and until I got my periods, I had no more breast swelling or soreness. It's pretty clear that meditation helped. My moods are also more stable, even when I do get irritated, I don't get irritated to such an extreme level, now I am much more calmer.

In addition to this, I noticed I have been feeling really tired lately and when I got a blood test it showed that I have iron deficiency, that my iron stores are very low. My doctor suggested that this could be due to my heavy menstruation. This is right, as I do menstruate quite heavily for the first three days of my periods and the challenge of having such regular menstruation for me now is that I am menstruating more than before, so I am losing a lot more blood than before and I hadn't been eating enough iron-rich foods to replenish my iron levels. Due to this iron deficiency, I have been eating a lot more meat and particularly liver (which I find totally disgusting, but it's more palatable when I mix it with chicken and lots of vegetables) and as liver is one of the richest sources of iron (as well as other vital nutrients such as selenium, vitamin B12 and vitamin A). I also eat some food rich in vitamin C with the meat, as it helps the iron get better absorbed and I have noticed a major improvement in the reduction of my tiredness within only a few days.

Food is medicine!!

Regulated Menstrual Cycle

One more thing I forgot to mention in the previous post was that this month, my cycle was exactly 29 days, to the hour!

Last month my periods started at 7pm, this month, they started at 7pm 29 days later. That has never happened before!

Normally my periods are so irregular that I have no clue when my next menstrual cycle will start. Always in the past, my periods would start at any time and I wouldn't know when. I would always know when it's 28 days after my last cycle, but my menstrual cycle could occur anywhere from about 29 days to 35 days and I wouldn't know when. I just had to keep a pad or panty liner in my bag from day 28, just in case. Sometimes I got caught, when I took the pad/panty liner with me for a whole week and they didn't start, then I decided not to take anything with me to school/uni/work one day and that's the day that my menstrual cycle would start.

So to have my periods become this regular is amazing!

Hopefully this means that my cycle will be more regular from now on and pain free! Yipee!!