The PMS Blues: "I Just Want to Roll Over and Die"

A sufferer of severe PMS symptoms wonders how she can keep the monthly agony at bay and remain productive at work.

Case #: 1396

Concern：

I tend to suffer from a hodgepodge of PMS symptoms—cramps, heavy flow, moodiness and headaches. I hate it. My sister experiences only minor cramping, but I experience major everything. When I experience the symptoms, I don’t want to leave the house. I just want to roll over and die. But, since that’s not an option, I need a solution. What do you recommend to allay my pain and help me refocus on my career?

Discussion：

Although millions of women around the world share your plight, PMS seems to affect each sufferer differently. An estimated 75 percent of menstruating women develop some combination of the signs and symptoms at some point in their lives, which include a bevy of physical and emotional disturbances.

Some Contributing Factors behind PMS

In addition to painful menstrual cramps and headaches, PMS may also comprise digestive problems like bloating and diarrhea, bodily aches and pains, breast tissue tenderness and skin breakouts. Although the precise mechanisms behind PMS are ill documented, one widespread assumption is that excessive hormone and neurotransmitter fluctuations at the end of the ovulation cycle are to blame.

Progesterone, a pituitary hormone, plays an important role in stimulating contractions in the uterus and cervix that cause uterine shedding. Progesterone is also important for the expulsion of shed endometrial tissue through the cervix and vagina. The pain of menstrual cramps occurs when shed tissue and blood from the uterine lining are forced through the cervical opening. Therefore, a high ratio of progesterone in the cervical area may contribute to a heavy menstrual flow combined with severe cramping.

Available levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin may also rise and fall during PMS. As an important chemical for regulating mood, serotonin is linked with clinical depression when it falls below normal levels.

Personally, as a fellow PMS sufferer, I have to wonder how many of the mental side effects of PMS are simply psychological reactions to being in pain or feeling physically under the weather. For example, how many of these symptoms social withdrawal, irritability, poor concentration, insomnia, etc might you also expect to see in someone who had recently slammed their finger in a car door, or come down with the common cold?

Regardless of what causes PMS, virtually everyone who has experienced its unpleasant symptoms agree that they can make day-to-day professional and social obligations seem unbearable when left untreated. As if that weren't enough, many people consider menstruation a taboo subject, leaving a large percentage of PMS sufferers around the world with no choice but to endure in silence.

How to Feel More Like Yourself during "Period Week"

You may be able to limit the problems that your menstrual cycle causes each month without resorting to over-the-counter painkillers. Since many of the symptoms of PMS are believed to be mediated by hormone interactions, you can try herbal remedies formulated to ease the process of menstruation by calming the hormonal fluctuations that cause problematic reactions. (TRY: Natural Formula for Menstrual Symptoms Relief)

What to do

PMS: Pretty Miserable Syndrome – No More!

Often, the distress and pain associated with PMS is normal and endurable. But for some women, the pain can be a source of agony and stress. Most of the discomfort can be reduced or relieved thanks to a realignment of the body’s hormonal production...