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Can you Explain Premenstrual Syndrome to Me?

Perhaps your doctor has concerns that you may have premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or someone you love or know may have been diagnosed with PMS and you have questions or concerns about what it is. This article should address your concerns and answer most of your questions about premenstrual syndrome. Please speak with your doctor so that your individual issues can be addressed.

Premenstrual syndrome involves both physical and emotional symptoms that a woman can experience a week or two before her monthly menstrual flow (period) begins. The symptoms usually go away when the period starts but may hang around for a few days. There are many signs and symptoms of PMS and not everyone has the same symptoms or experiences the same intensity of symptoms.

The most common PMS symptoms are mood swings, being oversensitive, irritability, fatigue, acne, bloating, breast tenderness, anger, appetite changes including food cravings, crying spells sadness and even depression.

There is a severe form of PMS, called "Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD). This disorder is also called late luteal phase dysphoric disorder. The unusually severe symptoms that characterizes PMDD causes the woman to be unable to function.

It is common for women to experience pre-menstrual symptoms so common that 80% of women will have some kind of "warning sign" of her impending period such as bloating, cramps or a headache. Out of the 80% of women who experience pre-menstrual symptoms approximately 20 to 30% of them experience moderate to severe symptoms classified as PMS and about another 2 to 6% have symptoms so severe as to be classified as having PMDD.

The mood swings of PMS have been described for a long time; in fact as far back as the ancient Greeks there has been notation of such a condition. It wasn't however, until 1931 that the disorder was officially recognized by the medical community. The name for the syndrome, "premenstrual syndrome and PMS", was not coined until 1953.

The wide range of symptoms makes it difficult for doctors to accurately diagnose PMS. There is no cause as of yet for PMS, although there are some theories that have not been scientifically proven yet. There is evidence though that hormones and the brain chemicals called, neurotransmitters cause alterations or interactions that may result in the symptoms we know as PMS. There are some studies that have shown that stress does not contribute to PMS as some may think.

There are a vast array of symptoms that women have experienced over the years in association with PMS but the most frequent of the mood-related symptoms include anger and irritability, anxiety, tension, depression, crying spells, being overly sensitive, and having overly exaggerated mood swings. The most common physical signs and symptoms of PMS are fatigue, bloating of ankles and feet due to weight gain, puffiness of abdomen caused by the abdomen wall swelling which between the abdomen and the swelling ankles and feet - weight gain results, and acne, breast tenderness, sleep disturbances - either getting too much sleep or not getting enough sleep (insomnia) and also appetite changes such as overeating or having food cravings.