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Who is That Woman?

Does your monthly symptoms turn you into another woman every month when your monthly friend comes to visit? Do people complain that you appear to be "out of control", are paranoid, or turn into a modern day Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde of the female persuasion? Perhaps you are a victim of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)? There are as many as 150 different symptoms associated with PMS. Women can experience one or many of them in the week or two before her period is due to start. The symptoms typically start at ovulation (when an egg is released from the woman's ovary) and end when her period starts.

Do you ever get anxious, feel irritable, have unexplained crying spells, tend to be verbally or physically abusive just prior to your period each month? Do you ever feel depressed, confused, forgetful, clumsy, fearful, or withdrawn from the things that normally give you pleasure? Do you get frequent cravings for chocolate or other sweets just prior to the beginning of your menstrual cycle? Do you get headaches, retain fluids that cause bloating, and does your breasts become tender and swollen and also have you noticed weight gain just before your period starts? If you have noticed one or more of these symptoms 7 to 14 days before the start of your monthly period, you just may have PMS. Your PMS symptoms may be causing people you know and care about to look at you and say, "Who is that woman? She sure isn't acting like she normally does!"

PMS is a disorder that is connected to the hormonal changes a woman's body goes through on a monthly basis. These hormonal changes can trigger the symptoms that women have been experiencing for decades that turn them from normal, caring individuals into completely out of character, highly emotional individuals that make you want to avoid them.

Her symptoms may vary from month to month so that no two months have the exact same symptoms. She may also have them mild one month and experience severe symptoms the next month. She may even have a symptom-free month thrown in there from time to time. There are physical, emotional and behavioral symptoms associated with PMS. The syndrome was originally described in 1931 by an American neurologist and it has been talked about ever since as women and their suffering has created a market for PMS drugs, books on PMS and even story lines in movies written about the sufferings and the crazy things a woman may do while experiencing PMS.

Women tend to sympathize with each other, but men usually have no idea what the woman in their lives is going through. If the symptoms are severe, they can even have a negative impact on the relationship. It is important for any woman who is experiencing the above signs or symptoms to seek medical counsel and perhaps a diagnosis, so that she can start to feel some relief from her symptoms and others will once again recognize her for whom she really is.