You are in a bad mood all the time.
You have no energy, and nothing is fun. You don’t want to spend time with anybody because all they do is make you mad. You don’t even want to spend time with yourself. You especially don’t want to look in the mirror because you look fat and ugly, with a bloated belly and zits on your face.
All you want to eat is chocolate or potato chips, or something equally piggish, even though your gut isn’t working right.
You have headaches, and your breasts are two sizes bigger, but you can’t enjoy that because they hurt.
You move like a cow under water. You don’t sleep well or concentrate well. You hate your life, and you’re expecting your period any minute now.
If this sounds like you, you probably have PMS. If you are a guy, don’t stop reading. This might help you understand the women in your life.
PMS stands for premenstrual syndrome. A syndrome is defined in the Encarta Dictionary as “a group of signs and symptoms that together are characteristic or indicative of a specific disease or other disorder.”
The second definition is “a group of things or events that form a recognizable pattern, especially of something undesirable.” If you have ever had or witnessed PMS, you will agree with that last statement wholeheartedly.
PMS is no fun for anyone.
PMS symptoms fall into two categories: physical and emotional.
Physical symptoms might include headaches, acne, dizziness, fatigue, tender breasts, back pain, fluid retention and bloating, constipation, diarrhea, cramps, achy joints, clumsiness and sugar cravings.
Emotional symptoms might include depression, anxiety, irritability, poor concentration, insomnia, low self-esteem, lack of libido, mood swings and social isolation.
Some party, huh? The joy of being female.
What causes PMS?
Nobody knows for sure. Genetics, lifestyle, hormones, neurotransmitters, stress, diet and psychology have all been implicated. It looks like different factors play different roles in different women. The common denominator is that a woman’s symptoms occur during the week or two before her period and resolve after she starts her period.
If PMS gets severe, especially emotionally, to the point that you have five or more emotional symptoms that are interfering with your daily functioning, you might have PMDD, or premenstrual dysphoric disorder.
This is basically really bad PMS, and thankfully only a small percentage of women qualify.
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If this is you, get professional help.
Not every woman gets PMS. But those who do usually know it, and so do those around them. “A pit bull ain’t no match,” sings Dolly Parton in her terrific number, “PMS Blues.” Prickly people, those PMS-ers.
The good news is you can calm the beast — to an extent.
Regular aerobic exercise is great for preventing PMS.
Thirty minutes at least three times a week. Adequate rest is really important, too. Don’t skimp on sleep. How and what you eat matters as well. Smaller, more frequent meals can reduce that bloated feeling.
Avoid salty foods, because they’ll cause water retention, making the bloating worse. Caffeine can increase breast tenderness, and simple sugars and alcohol can rock and roll your mood.
Try to eat more whole grains, vegetables and fruit.
Since PMS involves hormones, many women manage it by taking birth control pills. These pills supply exogenous (from the outside) hormones, which suppress natural endogenous (from the inside) hormones.
A woman’s natural hormones fluctuate throughout her cycle, and oral contraceptives flatten out the fluctuations and calm PMS.
If you don’t want to go as far as hormone manipulation, you might try vitamins and supplements. Calcium and magnesium are major players in PMS. If you don’t get enough calcium in your diet, which most of us don’t, take a supplement. Recommended total is 1,200 milligrams a day.
Vitamin B6 has been shown to soften the emotional impact of PMS.
Some herbal supplements are useful, too. Chaste tree eases physical and emotional symptoms. Evening primrose oil and ginkgo biloba during PMS time can ease the bloating and breast tenderness. Black cohosh helps some with emotional symptoms and valerian at bedtime can help you sleep.
If depression is a major symptom for you, you could try St. John’s Wort.
Over-the-counter medications that can help are anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen or naproxen for headaches and cramps, diuretics like pamabrom for bloating, and sleeping pills like diphenhydramine for insomnia.
If these don’t work, ask your health care practitioner for something stronger.
Prescription medicines might also include antidepressants, tranquilizers, or sleeping pills.
Last but never least, mind-body measures like psychotherapy, meditation and relaxation techniques are helpful for many kinds of emotional and physical discomfort, and PMS qualifies in spades.
Guys and gal pals, one of the best things you can do for a woman in a premenstrual pickle is to ask her, “What can I do for you?” Of course you might get any answer, from “A backrub would be lovely” to “Get out of my face!”
PMS-ers, you can ask yourself same thing.
What would make you feel a little better right now? See if you can get it, from yourself or those close to you. Be gentle and kind to yourself.
Oh, and even if you don’t like country music, find Dolly Parton’s song and crank it up loud. I guarantee you will feel better when you are belting it out along with her: “Got those can’t stop cryin’, dishes flyin’, PMS blues …”
Dr. Peggy Spencer has been a UNM Student Health physician for 17 years and a Daily Lobo contributing columnist for three years. E-mail your questions to her at Pspencer@unm.edu. All questions will be considered, and all questioners will remain anonymous. This column has general health information only and cannot replace a visit to a health provider.
