Pre-Menstrual Syndrome – PMS

It's estimated that as many as 3 of every 4 menstruating women have experienced some form of premenstrual syndrome. Symptoms tend to recur in a predictable pattern. But the physical and emotional changes you experience with premenstrual syndrome may vary from just slightly noticeable all the way to intense.

For some, the physical pain and emotional stress are severe enough to affect their daily lives. Regardless of symptom severity, the signs and symptoms generally disappear within four days of the start of the menstrual period for most women. But a small number of women with premenstrual syndrome have disabling symptoms every month.

In some ways being a woman is uniquely challenging. Throughout the course of a regular month, we bleed out of our vaginas for a week, we enjoy one week of peace and freedom, and then we ovulate and have two weeks of fluctuating estrogen and progesterone levels, which can lead to many unpleasant symptoms. Menstruation is not supposed to be this way. It is not supposed to be painful, make you crazy, or make you depressed. Technically, you will only be diagnosed with PMS if you experience the mental symptoms, which include depression, irritability, anxiety, and mood swings. But the physical symptoms that accompany these are often equally unpleasant. What gives? Is menstruation supposed to be this way?