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.

Major and unrelenting stress can make PMS much worse

When you have a lot of stress in your life, when it's unrelenting and of a major kind and it is something that is rather beyond your control, this can be a major contributing factor in worse PMS symptoms so that they resemble PMDD, which is the more severe form of PMS.

For the last few months, I have been under a great deal of stress due to a very uncomfortable situation that I have been exposed to. I am trying really hard to extricate myself, but in the meantime, it means that the stress, frustration, anger and other negative emotions that I have been feeling, are contributing to my more exaggerated PMS symptoms this month, which I haven't felt in a very long time.

The one consolation I can give myself is that because I know any intense emotions I get are due to PMS, so this means I can use my little mind trick, where I tell myself, "It's only PMS. It's not real," and this brings my feelings back down to a more normal level pretty quickly.

But, as I am not yet right in the day or two before I menstruate, it still mean it could get much worse, but I hope not. I have done a lot of hard work to get my body to react more normally during PMS over the past few years and I never want to have those intense and crazy emotions that I used to get in the past, where I felt like my head felt like it had this intense pressure inside that I couldn't seem to release and was seemingly coming from nowhere. It was almost like I was going insane with all these intense, crazy emotions that had nothing to do with me, for 2-3 days almost every month and it was the most awful feeling as I could not control it.

Now, after several years of eating properly, exercising, doing meditation, taking certain supplements and massaging my body regularly, I don't feel that way any more. Yep, all without any medication, which was recommended to me, but I declined, preferring to do it the natural way, as I wholeheartedly believe the body can heal itself if you provide the right food, supplements and tools.

Just goes to show, how even if you implement everything properly, except in one area (not reducing stress) it can have a debilitating effect on your health and some of us are more susceptible than others.

PMS symptoms are fluctuating this month

I am at day 20 of my cycle, which means I have definitely been in PMS mode for about 6 days now.

I have discussed in previous posts that I can feel the PMS symptoms more keenly this month, with the fluid retention and fluctuating emotions starting right after ovulation.

At the moment, my stomach has this huge amount of fluid retention, which seems to come and go. Today it's very definitely here, my stomach has a lot of fluid retention and even when I hold my stomach in, it's still there. Lovely. At least I know it will be gone once my periods finish, but it's still annoying.

Additionally, I have felt the rise of emotion overwhelming me, having a far more intense reaction to stressful events than I normally would have, if I wasn't in PMS mode. It's almost like a physical sensation, the wave of emotion that threatens to overwhelm me and it rises so fast, that it is difficult to stem the tide.  But I try to do so, because it's not healthy to buy into it.

Whenever I feel that rise of emotion - anger, resentment, anxiety, fear - or tears, I keep telling myself, over and over again, "it's just PMS, it's not a real emotion", until the intense emotion goes away. I managed to stem the flow of angry tears even before they started just using this little strategy of mine!  So it's a big plus. Better than any medication and cheaper too, that is for sure!

While I have had the intense negative emotions, they haven't been going on that much, or that consistently, so that is a positive. On the plus side, I have been feeling more creative and more incisive and my brain feels like it's functioning better. It's always good to see the positive side of anything because it helps you cope better.

I have been exercising for about 35-45 minutes most days of the week in this last week. I am better from the flu and can manage exercising more normally now.

This past few months I have had to deal with an unrelentingly stressful situation that has been greatly upsetting, so the immense stress I have been under has made a huge impact on my PMS symptoms, making them much worse than normal, but still not as bad as they used to be, because I know how to manage them better now

PMS and PMDD Causes - Part 3: Lack of Exercise

Researchers state that there is no real known reason why PMS (or PMDD) occurs in some women and not in others. Let me tell you what I think why PMS (and PMDD) occurs (part 3):

3. Lack of Exercise
The body is made to move. All the muscles in the body need to be conditioned on a daily basis. If you do not move, the muscles do not work properly and the body becomes sluggish and unable to function effectively. This is fact.

In order to ensure circulation is working properly, the body needs to be conditioned by exercise each day. The lymphatic system and circulatory system are very dependent on movement. If there is no movement, there is stagnation. If there is stagnation in the body, certain areas are not working properly and this means the hormones are not circulated correctly, the nutrients are not absorbed properly and stress levels increase.

A few preliminary studies have found that regular exercise can ease some of the pain and stress due to PMS. In one trial, researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver had eight previously sedentary women work up to running 12 miles per week over six months. At the end of the study, the runners reported less breast tenderness, bloating, and moodiness before their periods.

At this stage, no studies have been done to determine if exercise helps with PMDD, but I assert that if exercise is part of a whole change in diet, lifestyle and stress reduction, it will dramatically reduce PMDD. I hope to be proved right (and vindicated) by some clinical studies in this area.

Exercise is an excellent way to relieve stress. Exercise releases endorphins (feel good hormones) which lighten you mood and reduce levels of stress hormones.

PMS and PMDD Causes - Part 2: Stress

Researchers state that there is no real known reason why PMS (or PMDD) occurs in some women and not in others. Let me tell you what I think why PMS (and PMDD) occurs (part 2):

2. Stress

Stress, especially if it is unmitigated and occurs long-term, is devastating to the body's health equilibrium. When stress occurs, the body prepares itself by activating the "flight or fight" hormones, which is the way the body reacts when faced with danger, real or imagined.

Now if the body is in a constant state of stress, these stress hormones (produced by the adrenal glands which are located on top of the kidneys) produce various effects on the body such as the following:

• Increase of sodium and chloride retention and water re-absorption (basically fluid retention)
• Increased excretion of potassium, which causes blood pressure to rise
• Increase in glucose levels, to fuel the muscles for "flight or fight"
• Increased use of amino acids and fats
• Decreased immunity
  
• Formation of other steroid hormones, such as oestrogen (an increase is oestrogen is part of the reason why experts think women get PMS, as progesterone is reduced in comparison, so the levels of these two hormones become askew)

Basically if the body is in constant state of stress, there is a decreased level of many nutrients as the body uses them to prepare to either get away from the dangerous situation or stay and fight. But with stress, if it is continuing, there is no getting away from it and the health of the person suffers as a consequence.

It is much more preferable to reduce stress revels and reduce the negative effects on the body that this has, especially where PMS and PMDD is concerned.

PMS and PMDD Causes - Part 1: Nutritional Deficiencies

Researchers state that there is no real known reason why PMS (or PMDD) occurs in some women and not in others. Let me tell you what I think why PMS (and PMDD) occurs (part 1):

1. Nutritional deficiencies
Diet is fundamental to good health. That is the bottom line. If you do not get enough of natural, unprocessed foods, you are doing yourself a total disservice in terms of your health.

If your diet is basically composed of a great deal of processed foods (anything you buy from a store that you do no cook yourself) and you have a lack of fresh vegetables, fruits, wholegrains, seeds, nuts, oily fish such as salmon, trout, then your diet will be deficient in many vital nutrients (vitamins, minerals, amino acids). No amount of supplements will correct this - on one hand you are effectively ensuring your body becomes inflamed and deficient from various nutrients and on the other hand, you try to balance this with supplements, when you need the whole foods for your health.

You need to eat the following foods to maintain good health and to help your body get back to optimal health:

• Vegetables - 7 servings each day and at least 3 of these servings should be dark, green or dark red leafy vegetables (different types of lettuce, kale, spinach, sorrel, broccoli, watercress)
• Fruit - 5 servings each day and try to make sure you eat lots of brightly coloured or dark coloured fruits, such as blueberries, raspberries, dark purple grapes, acai berries, cherries
• Wholegrains - 3-5 servings each day and this means not just bread, but cereals, pasta and noodles too (just make sure they are not saturated with sugar)
  
• Legumes - 1-2 servings each day, this means all types of beans, such as lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
  
• Fish - 3-4 servings per week of the oily variety, such as salmon, trout, sardines, mackerel, but just make sure you buy the fish labelled as "wild" or "deep ocean" because these fish will have the most nutrients and are less likely to be tainted by heavy metals such as mercury and lead
• Meat - 3 servings per week and only organic, because the non-organic varieties have various chemicals and hormones injected into them, which interfere with your own hormone production and can exacerbate PMS and PMDD
• Nuts & seeds - 2-3 servings per day and try to use organic, raw nuts, unsalted as they provide the most nutrients

You need to eliminate the following foods (or at least severely restrict them):

• Alcohol - too much alcohol has a detrimental effect on the body and is not useful when you have PMS or PMDD
  
• Sugar - many women with PMS and PMDD experience variations in their blood glucose levels and an excess of sugar will make the blood sugar levels spike quickly and fall dramatically, which has a detrimental effect on insulin levels, which are pumped out at great levels to reduce blood glucose levels - eating less foods high in sugar and more natural foods will keep blood sugar levels on an even level and this means that there will be less of an issue prior to menstruation, including a curbing of sugar cravings, which many women also experience at PMS time
  
• Processed foods - any type of food that comes in a packet (other than raw nuts and seeds)
• Take-away foods - any type of meal you buy from a take-away store
• Salt - try to decrease it in your meal, use herbs and spices instead and try to use organic sea salt, which has more minerals in it than normal processed salt

The essential fatty acids in oily fish as well as the nuts and seeds are vital for women suffering from PMS and PMDD. Studies have shown that this essential nutrients is necessary as they are precursors of prostaglandins, which are hormone-like substances that affect women when they have PMS and PMDD. The B vitamins, which are abundant in good quality meat and wholegrains are necessary for women suffering this condition, as they help to reduce symptoms. The magnesium found in many whole foods is a natural muscle relaxant.

PMS Hell - PMS Sugar Imbalances

Ahh PMS, that word is known to bring dread to many a man - and us women who suffer it, don't think much of it either.

My PMS hell is terrible sometimes, to the point where I cannot handle the sugar imbalances I experience. They are so bad, that I have to eat something sweet or with carbohydrates every few hours, otherwise I start feeling light-headed, dizzy, anxious, have this weird taste in mouth, like I haven't eaten, I feel totally hungry all the time and no matter how much I eat, I feel like I haven't eaten enough, especially if I eat something that has protein in it. If I exercise, it makes the sugar problem even worse. Although if I eat some chocolate (or other high sugar food), I feel much better, but even still, I need to eat lots and often. 

I think it has something to do with my hormones being out of balance, but as I have not had any tests done when I am in the middle of this hell, always when I am feeling normal again, the tests are always normal, so the doctors think I am a hypochondriac! Great.

• I have been tested for diabetes - nope, don't have it.
• I have been tested for hypoglycaemia - nope, don't have it either.
• I have been tested for abnormal hormones - all normal
• I take vitamins, I take minerals, I take supplements.

The only thing I can relate it to, is constantly eating irregular meals with foods that may be too high in sugar and not enough protein, which in normal circumstances may not be healthy, but in PMS, causes such havoc.

These symptoms I experience are getting rarer and rarer, because I now know what is wrong with me and can correct it with the right (and regular) foods.

The thing is, because these symptoms present as both physical (dizzy, light-headed, unable to concentrate or think clearly) and psychological (anxiety, panic), initially I didn't realise they were connected to the same thing - PMS causing (or exacerbating) imbalances in my sugar levels. And because I experience high levels of anxiety and stress when I do have PMS anyway, these symptoms were completely exaggerated, to the point where I thought I was going crazy, but of course I wasn't, it was just the effects of the PMS I was suffering.

I insisted on going to several specialists, to get checked over properly, as I read so much and thought it had to be something sinister that was causing this serious problem. All of them, again told me it was "all inside your head", that it was just "stress" and that they "couldn't help me". What kind of attitude was that? It left me more emotional and more confused until I just thought, "Oh well, this is it. Must be some terrible disease no-one has realised yet".

Still, I researched more. I wasn't ready to give up yet. Finally I came upon some material about PMS causing blood sugar imbalances, just in the two weeks during PMS. It reminded me of many times when I had the PMS sugar imbalances, the last thing I ever did was to eat, so of course it got worse, but I remembered that when I did, I felt better. So this information struck a chord with me. I researched some more.

I discovered that there are so many layers to PMS and to health in general. I discovered the "Zone" diet and amazingly enough, it helped me. I didn't follow it religiously as I still needed more simple carbohydrates than it recommended, but because I ate more healthily, I ate more protein and I ate more regularly, it helped.
 
At the start, it was hell. 

All the nutritional stuff I was doing was making me feel even worse, even exercise seemed to lower my blood sugar levels further and make me feel awful. I discovered that I couldn't eat a low carbohydrate diet because it made me feel like I had PMS sugar imbalances (and all the other problems of PMS) all month. 

I modified the diet to suit me and I started to feel better. Much, much, much better. And all month long. The weight started to drop off me - I had been putting on all this weight in my middle zone (which is unusual for a pear shaped woman like me) - and with my new diet, I felt so much better and in control of my life again.

When I told my doctor, he was curious to know what I was doing and he seemed really perplexed by it. He said, "Maybe for you, we shouldn't just look at the blood test results, we should look at how your symptoms and recovery present themselves". That was a great vindication for me, as he really didn't think it was anything other than stress, but at least now I know what it was - simply (ha!) sugar imbalances during PMS!

All that time I researched the Internet, magazines and libraries, I found a whole gamut of information about health and nutrition. As I couldn't see this information anywhere in one place on the Internet, I decided to build the web site and put all this information in there.