How to deal with symptoms of PMS?

Premenstrual syndrome, or PMS as it is often referred, is a group of symptoms that usually start around 14 days before a women’s menstruation period. The symptoms usually stop soon after the period begins. Girls and women have to deal with premenstrual symptoms all of their reproductive lives.
There are over 150 symptoms associated with PMS and the number, type, and severity of symptoms vary among women. They may also be different in the same woman from month to month, making correct diagnosis difficult at times. In addition, the exact cause of PMS is not yet known and thus prevents a specific diagnostic test to be developed that can be used to confirm PMS.

Some scientists believe that the many women exhibit symptoms of PMS as a reaction to the hormonal changes that occur during the menstrual cycle, but more studies are needed in order to pinpoint the exact causes of the PMS symptoms.

PMS symptoms usually appear just before the beginning of a woman’s menstrual cycle and completely subside shortly after menstruation begun. PMS symptoms are both physical and emotional and can range from mild leg cramps to severe depression. For small percentage of women their symptoms are so severe as to interfere with their daily life activities.

Some common symptoms of PMS include feeling tired, appetite changes including food cravings, constipation, crying spells, depression, fast heartbeat, feelings of irritability, or feeling anxious, headaches, hot flashes, joint pain, muscle pain, mood swings, decreased interest in sex, tender or swollen breasts, trouble concentrating, trouble sleeping, swollen hands or feet, acne, back pain, bloating, not wanting to be as social as usual, and weight gain.

There is no known cure for PMS, but keeping a healthy life style by eating right, exercising regularly and taking PMS medications may alleviate some of the many symptoms. Your doctor may prescribe medicine for you, depending on your particular symptoms and their severity. Finding the right remedy may mean trying a few before finding the ones that will work to alleviate your symptoms.

Some women will try home remedies first before going to the doctor for prescriptions. Many women have found PMS relief with changes in their diet, aerobics exercise, acupuncture, relaxation techniques, yoga, meditation and vitamin and mineral supplements including calcium supplements and magnesium supplements. Over-the-counter pain medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen have been used effectively to treat headaches, backaches or stomachaches associated with PMS.

When home remedies and over-the-counter medication are not enough, your doctor may prescribe antidepressants to deal with the anxiety, irritableness and depression common to PMS. Usually antidepressants are taken every day. The doctor may also prescribe diuretics to help rid the body of the extra sodium and fluid that contribute to the bloating, weight gain, and breast tenderness, in addition to the stomach cramping. Diuretics works best when used before the symptoms occur in the menstrual cycle.

Your doctor may also prescribe hormonal treatment for PMS symptoms, such as birth control pills that work to balance out the hormone levels throughout the entire menstrual cycle. Even though the pill usually makes the PMS symptoms less severe, the pill can have negative side effects. For some unknown reason, some women do not feel any relief for the PMS symptoms using birth control pills.

Your PMS symptoms will determine the treatments that your doctor will prescribe and he may change the treatments as your symptoms change so be sure to keep he up to date of any changes. There is no cure, but effective treatments are available that will bring about PMS relief.