Researchers from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development tracked over 250 women to find the answer to this question – whether PMS causes stress or whether stress exacerbates PMS symptoms.

It turned out that it is stress that worsens the symptoms of PMS. The study showed that those women who were seen as stressed were more likely to be irritable, anxious, sad, and tearful and so on. In other words, it was stress that was seen to be cause of the worsening symptoms rather than the effect of PMS.

In particular, this fact was demonstrated by the same women who were seen as being less stressed one month and more stressed the next – their symptoms and the severity of their symptoms seemed to correspond to their stress levels leading the researchers to arrive at their conclusions.

So ladies if you want to keep the PMS under control, who knows, all you may need is some pampering and some stress buster treatment – a day at the spa perhaps?

Commonly known as PMS, it is a cluster of uncomfortable symptoms that occurs seven to ten days before a woman starts her period.

Premenstrual syndrome symptoms are now believed to be caused by a hormone imbalance before menstruation.

Here are the most common symptoms every woman must be aware of:

• Headaches
• Abdominal bloating
• Breast swelling
• Fluid retention
• Increased thirst
• Increased appetite
• Cravings for sweet or salty foods
• Emotional symptoms including anxiety, irritability, mood swings, depression and hostility

So how do you deal with premenstrual syndrome? What are the effective treatments for it? Below are some of the most effective treatments for PMS:

• Take natural hormone alternatives which contain natural progesterone
• Keep your estrogen levels from rising by increasing intake of dietary fiber. Studies proved that those who are on high-fiber diets suffer less from PMS and its many symptoms
• Take calcium or eat foods rich in calcium
• Take nutritional supplements like vitamin B6, vitamin E, and essential fatty acids.
• Avoid drinking caffeinated drinks and eating allergenic foods

Premenstrual syndrome has many symptoms but they can be treated. Seek the advice of your doctor so you will know which treatment is best for you.

There are certain factors that increase a woman’s risk of having PMS and they are:

• Age is a prime factor for PMS, and it is generally found that the severity of the symptoms tends to rise with age. It is generally seen that it is women over the age of 30 who seek help for PMS and increasing age is commonly seen to make higher the chances of getting PMS
• Family history of PMS is usually a strong indicator for a woman having it
• Caffeine intake can increase risk of PMS
• Tobacco use is also shown to increase risk
• High stress levels are also seen to contribute to PMS and may exacerbate the symptoms such as depression, anger, tension, irritability etc
• Research has shown that identical twins have double the probability of developing PMS as against fraternal twins.
• Certain allergies such as those to nuts, trees, grass, and markers are seen to aggravate PMS
• Certain nutritional deficiencies such as low levels of certain essential vitamins and minerals can also be responsible

While 80% women experience at least some symptoms, about 2 to 5 % of women have significant symptoms that may interfere with everyday life. Some of the most common symptoms are:

• Tension and irritability during this time can aggravate minor grievances and reactions may seem out of proportion
• Feelings of tiredness and fatigue make even ordinary every day chores seem difficult. Some women also have difficulty concentrating.
• Anger and depression are also common symptoms of PMS. A woman may have a shorter fuse during PMS and may also be more prone to feelings of unhappiness and feels on the edge of tears
• Food cravings and appetite changes may also be seen
• Women also experience very physical symptoms of PMS such as bloating and actual weight due to water retention etc.
• Breast tenderness is also experienced by many women
• Headaches are other physical effects of PMS

Some of our earlier posts that may help in alleviating PMS are:

• Good news for PMS Suffers
• Food that may help with PMS
• Coping with PMS
• Essential Oils to help with PMS
• Diet changes for PMS
• Cigarettes and PMS

PMS, or premenstrual syndrome, can cause mild symptoms of fatigue, irritability, cramping, and mild physical or emotional symptoms.

On the other hand, the symptoms can be so severe that they interfere with a woman’s quality of life. The standard treatment for severe PMS has been prescription antidepressants, like Zoloft (sertraline), but it hasn’t been clear how long this treatment needed to continue to make a difference.

Researchers compared women who were given a 4 month course of treatment against women who were given a 12 month course of treatment. They found that women treated for only 4 months experienced a relapse of symptoms about 60 percent of the time.

Women who were treated for 12 months experienced a relapse only 41 percent of the time. Not only did the women who were treated longer less likely to relapse, but it took twice as long for symptoms to resurface.

Women whose symptoms were completely relieved by the medication were less likely to have their symptoms resurface regardless of how long they were treated.

If you experience severe PMS, you may want to talk with your doctor about a longer course of treatment, or about finding a medication that can completely relieve your symptoms.

The monthly menstruation cycle can lead to both physical and emotional symptoms of great discomfort such as mood swings, bloating, increased anxiousness and breast tenderness.

Up to 85% of women have several PMS symptoms, but only 8% of them have severe symptoms that interrupt their daily activities. There are various ways of coping with PMS symptoms such as a well-balanced diet.

Some types of foods increase the serotonin levels in your body that give additional energy to work against and cope with PMS symptoms.

How diet helps with PMS symptoms?

• Eat a well-balanced diet consisting of foods from various food groups such as grains, fruits and vegetables, proteins and dairy. For instance, magnesium and calcium relieve breast tenderness and bloating. You can get calcium from dairy products such as milk, cheese and yogurt, and cereals and bread also have sufficient calcium levels.
• Consume foods rich in vitamin B6, which can be found in eggs, potatoes, carrots and eggs. This vitamin allows your body to use serotonin, which again helps to reduce depression.
• Consume foods rich in vitamin E. Sufficient vitamin E levels reduce breast tenderness and headaches, and nuts and green leafy vegetables are also good sources of vitamin E.
• Take multivitamin supplements to get necessary nutrients.
• Consuming foods rich in carbohydrates help to reduce PMS symptoms, and foods high in carbohydrates and fiber help to increase serotonin levels.
• Limit your intake of sugar, salt, alcohol and caffeine as they can worsen PMS symptoms.

Some of you can experience worst effects including depression and lack of energy while others can have routine menstrual cramps and bloating.

Despite of intensity of the pain and other PMS symptoms, you need to cope up with PMS to get better relief from the problem. Here are few successful ways that can help you long way.

Successful ways to cope up with PMS

Get better relaxation

Explore different ways to relax yourself and implement them in your regular periods. Deep breathing techniques and developing positivity in mind are best ways to train your mind and body for better relaxation.

Get enough sleep at night

Always remember the more you are tired, the harder will be PMS symptoms. When you are tired extremely, get good night sleep because sleep is one of the best ways to relax your body.

Get balanced diet

Diet always plays a major role in the treatment of various health concerns including PMS. Consult any diet  specialist and follow the diet accordingly to get better relief.

Get enough physical activity

Don’t allow PMS to rule your daily routine and physcial activty. Your periods must not be an excuse to practice exercise. However, don’t try to practice excessively, rather go for low intensity exercises like walking.

Almost 85% of menstruating women has some form of PMS symptoms and about 8% suffer with severe PMS symptoms.

However, you can reduce the severity of the symptoms with simple diet changes. Here are few diet tips that can hopefully help you to manage PMS symptoms.

Limit sodium intake

Bloating naturally happens during PMS and sodium drastically increases the condition during your menstrual periods. So, try to decrease your intake of salty foods that are rich in sodium content, particularly during regular menstrual periods.

Eat lots of fruits and vegetables

Fruits and vegetables contain all essential nutrients and vitamins for your body. The soluble fiber present in fruits and vegetables help greatly to alleviate the symptoms of PMS.

Avoid refined sugar

Consumption of refined sugar aggravates bloating and also potentially lowers chromium levels in blood. Excess intake of sugar during PMS can trigger fatigue, mood swings and also depression.

Limit caffeine and alcohol

Caffeine mainly increases the estrogen levels in your body and aggravates PMS symptoms. Even alcohol can cause depression and severe headaches during menstrual periods. So, try to reduce the consumption of caffeine and alcohol as much as possible.

Women 27 to 44 years old who smoke are twice as likely to develop premenstrual syndrome over the next two to four years, especially hormonally-related symptoms like backaches, bloating, breast tenderness, and acne, Dr. Elizabeth R. Bertone-Johnson of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and her colleagues found.

“Our findings lend further support to the idea that smoking increases the risk of moderate to severe PMS, and provides another reason for women, especially adolescents and young women, not to smoke,” Bertone-Johnson told.

Up to 20% of women have PMS severe enough to affect their relationships and interfere with their normal activities, Bertone-Johnson and her team note in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Smoking has been shown to affect levels of several different hormones, and the handful of studies looking into PMS and smoking have suggested that women with the syndrome are more likely to be smokers, the researchers add.

To investigate the relationship further, they analyzed data from the Nurses’ Health Study II, which has been following 116,678 US registered nurses since 1989.

The researchers looked at a subset of women who were PMS-free during the first two years of the study, comparing 1,057 who did go on to develop PMS to 1,968 who did not.

Read more at Reuters

Then you might be suffering with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).

If you think that you are the only person suffering with this disgusting condition, then just try to throw away such kind of thinking.

It has been estimated that almost 75% of all menstruating women can experience mild to moderate premenstrual symptoms.

But, at least 2- 10% among these can repeatedly experience this kind of depressive mood swings, before their regular menstrual periods.

Role of hormones!

This premenstrual dysphoric disorder doesn’t appear to happen just simply because of an imbalance in your ovarian hormones. Many researches have found that there is no difference in estrogen levels and progesterone hormones across the menstrual cycle of females with PMDD and those without any symptoms of PMDD.

On the other hand, some of the researches assertively declared that these changes in the hormone levels must play a crucial role in the functioning of ovaries. This is due to the reason that the symptoms, which are especially responsible for PMDD, actually disappear when the ovaries do not function properly or even when they are completely removed.

Premenstrual syndrome and PMDD!

Certain physical symptoms associated with premenstrual syndrome are quite similar with PMDD. Even, certain emotional symptoms of PMDD are also quite similar with premenstrual syndrome and they are also considered as significantly more serious with PMDD.

It is believed that in PMDD, you’ll be typically affected with more emotional symptoms rather than physical symptoms. When you are affected with premenstrual syndrome, you can experience sadness or mild depression. However, if you have PMDD, then you can significantly sway towards depression and hopelessness. In most extreme cases, most of women can feel like killing themselves or others.

Main strategies to follow in order to overcome PMDD!

Most of the strategies, which are used for treating premenstrual syndrome, are typically used for treating PMDD. In fact, the treatment for premenstrual dysphoric disorder is mainly classified into four main forms. These four main forms can mainly include:

• Better nutrition: Most of the health experts usually recommend that women with post dysphoric disorder must follow better nutrition plans, in order to relieve from the most disgusting symptoms of post dysphoric disorder. You must also limit your intake of caffeine, refined sugar, alcohol and also salt. Certain essential dietary supplements like calcium, vitamin E and vitamin B6 and also magnesium contents must be necessarily included in your regular diet.
• Regular body exercises: Even though if you are not suffering with PMDD, it is highly recommended to practice regular body workouts. Regular aerobic exercises like walking and swimming can help you greatly to get better health and also helps you to relieve from the symptoms of PMDD.
• Counseling: Try to attend effective counseling programs, in order to develop effective coping tactics. Certain therapies like relaxation therapy, yoga, meditation and reflexology techniques can also help you in treating PMDD.
• Medications: If you are suffering considerably with PMDD, then your doctor will prescribe certain anti-depressant medications. You must take these medicines either continuously or intermittently depending on the severity of symptoms, just through your 14 day premenstrual period.

It becomes very important for you to review your manifestations of PMDD with your doctor. A careful and systematic medical evaluation can significantly help you to determine the exact symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder. So, whenever you suspect any indications of PMDD, immediately consult your doctor in order to get better treatment at right time.