PMS Taming The Raging Monster

Most women suffer from PMS, or premenstrual syndrome, on a monthly basis, but what exactly is it and can we make the period before our period easier?

- Dr Sly Nedic

Premenstrual syndrome is so prevalent in modern women that it is now thought to be an expected and almost inevitable event prior to any menstrual cycle. More than 85% of women with periods suffer from PMS of varying severity.

In some cases, it presents as a premenstrual dysphoric disorder, which is the most severe and debilitating form of PMS. In addition to the troublesome symptoms caused by PMS, it is also often associated with crampy, heavy and painful periods.

This widespread incidence of intolerable PMS has driven many women to relieve their symptoms by thoughtlessly taking the contraception pill: “the one pill that fixes all”. By doing this, they actually mask the ‘message’ their bodies are trying to send them: there is a hormonal imbalance! So, instead of finding the root cause of PMS, they tolerate some of the possibly less evident but nonetheless detrimental side effects of the pill, but can we blame them?

What is PMS?

Premenstrual syndrome refers to symptoms that may occur one to two weeks before a woman’s monthly menstruation.

Symptoms may vary from period to period in the same individual related to type, severity, and variety.

If women develop premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a severe form of PMS, symptoms can become harsher. PMDD is diagnosed when at least five of the following symptoms occur 7 to 10 days before the period, go away within a few days from the onset of the menstrual period, and affect a woman’s daily functioning:

• Severe mood swings

• Marked anger

• Irritability

• Decreased interest in usual activities/depressive mood

• Debilitating fatigue

• Physical problems, such as bloating and water retention

• Sugar craving

• Insomnia.

What causes PMS?