What is premenstrual syndrome (PMS)?
All joking aside, PMS affects many women and it’s no picnic. Generally, symptoms of PMS occur sometime in the two weeks prior to the onset of your period. In most cases, symptoms subside once your bleeding starts. PMS may be so troubling that it interferes with your normal activities at home, school, or work.
The syndrome is characterized by a varied but recognizable group of symptoms: Breast swelling and tenderness, headache, acne, swelling of hands or feet, upset stomach, bloating, constipation or diarrhea, appetite changes or food cravings—and most famously—tension, irritability, mood swings, crying spells, anxiety or depression.

An overview of current research indicates that the cause of PMS is linked to the body’s response to changing hormone levels during the menstrual cycle. Nutrition also seems to play a supporting role. Though PMS is not caused by stress or psychological problems, they may make PMS worse.

So what’s a woman to do?
Here’s the bad news: There is no known “cure” for PMS. Your body has a unique response to the monthly cycle of hormone changes. You may have to handle these symptoms for years.

However, there is good news. There is plenty you can do to help yourself. Below is a list of things to try as you find the right mix of support to feel your best at this sensitive time of the month:

1. Avoid salty foods during the two weeks prior to the onset of your period. It will reduce fluid retention and you’ll feel less bloated.
2. Cut back on fatty foods like meat and cheese, and reduce or eliminate alcoholic beverages because they place an added burden on your liver. It seems clear that heightened hormones affect liver function, and these foods place high demands on your liver. Give it a break.
3. To reduce tension, irritability, and to ease breast soreness, cut back on caffeine.
4. Increase your consumption of whole grain carbohydrates. Beans, brown rice, nuts and soy products increase your serotonin levels. Serotonin, known as “the mood hormone,” increases feelings of well being.
5. To increase your energy, increase your intake of potassium-rich foods such as fish, beans, broccoli, bananas, raisins, oranges, beets, leafy green vegetables and nuts.
6. Because exercise reduces stress, raises serotonin levels and increases oxygen in the blood, it’s always good for you. In the two weeks prior to the onset of your period, exercise moderately. Walk, swim and bicycle in the week before your symptoms usually begin.
7. Some vitamin therapy may help: Vitamin B6 (100mg, twice a day), taken before the onset of your period may help with mood swings. Calcium (approximately 1,200 mg taken daily) should be taken daily prior to the onset of menopause.
8. There are some helpful herbs as well. Chamomile tea has long been recognized for its calming properties; drink it up when you’re feeling down. Chaste tree berry (Vitex agnus castus, also known as Chasteberry) is one of the best-researched herbs for women. German studies show it stimulates progesterone production and may regulate estrogen as well. Take 4-20 mg a day in the two weeks prior to period onset.

Because each woman is unique, you will need to find the right regimen for yourself. It will take some time, so try not to get discouraged as you explore the things that work best for you.

Treating the tough cases

If your PMS makes each month a crisis, seek help from your healthcare provider. He or she has a varied toolbox of treatment strategies. Diuretics can help rid your body get rid of extra sodium and fluid, easing bloating, weight gain, breast pain and abdominal pain. For some women, antidepressants may help with the severe irritability, depression and anxiety. Birth control pills can help regulate hormone levels and some women find them quite helpful. Most over-the-counter PMS medications combine aspirin (acetaminophen) with caffeine, antihistamines or diuretics, and can help reduce the multiplicity of symptoms that accompany PMS.

Though menstruation is not an ‘illness,’ it does have symptoms that can be extremely uncomfortable. Probably 40% of menstruating women benefit from supportive therapies—even if it is just the suggestion to take it easier and drink a cup of tea. A relatively small proportion of women could be experiencing symptoms that are quite severe. There’s help for you. You don’t have to struggle alone.

This information is brought to you by Care for Her, a women’s health center operated by Mendocino Community Health Clinic, Inc. in observance of National Women’s Health Month 2006. For more information about women’s health, contact Care for Her at 468-1010.