PMS and early pregnancy symptoms

Researchers estimate that there are between 50 and 80% of women who suffer from some symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. There are over 150 identified symptoms that range from physical, psychological and emotional symptoms, mild to severe, that can have very negative effects on a woman’s life for 2 weeks out of each month.

PMS symptoms can include breast tenderness, weight gain, bloated feeling, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, anger, depression, anxiety, emotional instability, tension and irritability, mood swings, and headaches. These symptoms are vey similar to the symptoms of early pregnancy.

Women who experience the symptoms of PMS may find their symptoms change from month to month and can also change in intensity. Simple natural treatments for PMS usually involve changes in lifestyle choices, improved diet, exercise program, and stopping the use of tobacco, alcohol and caffeine.

One big dilemma that women who suffer from PMS face is the additional emotional stress at the end of their menstrual cycle when they are awaiting conformation that they may be pregnant. This is especially difficult for women who have difficulty becoming pregnant and suffer from similar symptoms of early pregnancy at the end of each month.

However, because of the serious side effects associated with many of the medications prescribed today for treatment of PMS, women who suffer from these symptoms must stop treatment while they are trying to get pregnant. Women who suffer from PMS should look to alternative methods of treatment for their symptoms that won’t cause harm to a potentially developing baby.

Many women may believe that alternative remedies for treating PMS would include using natural herbs but the true is that natural does not always mean safe. Drugs that are made in the laboratory often will use preservatives, produce side effects, and will require the use of other drugs to counteract with the side effects of the first drug. On the other hand, most medications are derivatives of natural herbal supplements anyway, and since pharmaceutical companies are not allowed to trademark or patent natural herbs, they make them in the lab and add other ingredients to make a product.

Because of the risk associated with medications and even natural herbs, women looking for some PMS relief should first look to lifestyle changes, diet, exercise and elimination of ingestion of harmful substances before considering any alternative medications. Keep in mind that these lifestyle choice changes may take several months to see results with your PMS symptoms, but the wait can mean relief from your PMS symptoms, an improvement for your overall health, ability to become pregnant and carry the child full term.