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This article discusses the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, or PMS. It also covers what can can trigger these symptoms and various methods for treating them.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO SUFFER WITH PMS

Dr. Loretta Lanphier, ND, CN, HHP

We now know that premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is experienced by 60% of all women. What causes PMS has been difficult for researchers to pin down because each woman experiences symptoms differently.

PMS Symptoms
When making the diagnosis, the most important tool you can use is a chart of the cyclic nature in which they occur. If nothing is done to interrupt PMS, it often gets worse over time. You may begin by having symptoms just a few days before your period that stop abruptly as soon as your period begins. Later, the symptoms gradually begin to appear one to two weeks before the onset of menses. Over time, you may have only two or three days of the month that are symptom-free. Eventually no discernable pattern of good days and bad days can be detected. You feel as if you have PMS all of the time.

There are general symptoms that have been determined that include:

• Abdominal bloating
• Abdominal cramping
• Accident proneness, coordination difficulties
• Acne, hives
• Aggression, rage
• Alcohol intolerance
• Anxiety, irritability, suicidal thoughts
• Asthma
• Back pain
• Breast swelling and pain
• Bruising
• Confusion
• Depression, withdrawal from others, emotional liability
• Edema
• Exacerbation of preexisting conditions (lupus, arthritis, ulcers, herpes, etc.)
• Fatigue, lethargy
• Fainting
• Food binges, salt cravings, sweet cravings
• Headache, migraine
• Heart palpitations
• Insomnia
• Joint swelling and pain
• Nausea
• Seizures
• Sex drive changes
• Sinus problems
• Sore throat
• Urinary difficulties

Don’t confuse PMS with cramps occurring at the beginning of your period, which is a different condition.

Chart the Pattern
You don’t have to suffer. By keeping a chart of your symptoms, you can often begin to see a pattern emerge and predict when the symptoms will start. Keeping a daily symptom journal can be a valuable tool when trying to uncover your premenstrual symptom triggers and the issues associated with them. Many events and other factors can contribute to or trigger your PMS by resulting in hormonal changes in the body, including:

• Onset of menses
• Perimenopause
• Discontinuing birth control pills
• Amenorrhea
• Childbirth, or termination of pregnancy
• Toxemia during pregnancy
• Tubal ligation
• Unusual trauma
• Decreased light associated with autumn and winter
• Family history of alcoholism; parent or grandparent who is an alcoholic
• High consumption of dairy products
• Excessive consumption of caffeine (soft drinks, coffee, chocolate)
• High blood levels of estrogen
• Low blood levels of progesterone, either due to lack of production or excessive breakdown
• Diet that leads to increased levels of the hormone prostaglandin F2
• Excess body weight which can increase you levels of estrogen
• Low levels of vitamins B, C and/or E
• Selenium deficiency
• Magnesium deficiency causing chocolate cravings

End the Suffering
Many of the factors in this list you can control. For years allopathic (traditional) medicine has given symptomatic treatments for PMS that do not work. Most physicians do not know the latest research on hormone balancing. Some never had any training in PMS. Treating a woman’s bloating with diuretics, headaches with painkillers, and anxiety with Valium ignores the underlying imbalance that led to PMS. Many of the treatments prescribed often have side effects. Psychotherapy can provide insight about stress, but this bypasses the nutritional and biochemical aspects of this disorder.

Don’t give up! There are answers that can help you heal your PMS:

• Adopt a diet of fresh, in-season, organic fruits and vegetables.
• Review your dietary needs eliminating caffeine, sugar, dairy and excess soy.
• Take good organic multivitamin mineral supplements.
• Reduce stress.
• Consider participating in a 12-step program if alcoholism runs in your family.
• Get at least 20 minute of aerobic exercise five times per week.
• Try reflexology.
• Get more natural or full-spectrum light.
• Test hormone levels and apply natural progesterone.

For more suggestions go to www.menopause-pms-progesterone.org.

At the Oasis Advanced Wellness hormonal levels can be tested with a simple and inexpensive saliva test performed in the privacy of your own home. With these results and your symptom journal, I can determine your need for natural hormone replacement therapy (HRT). One product that is safe and non-toxic is natural progesterone. It helps to balance the effects of estrogen, and has a calming effect on the nervous system. The use of natural progesterone in combination with lifestyle changes often improves PMS symptoms. By reviewing your symptoms, I can evaluate your diet and exercise program, prescribe a treatment, and then monitor your progress.

You can find out more about the solutions in my e-Book, Balancing Your Hormones Without Drugs…You Can Feel Good Again.

Loretta Lanphier, ND, CN, HHP is a Doctor of Naturopath, Clinical Nutritionist and Holistic Health Practitioner in the Houston, TX area and CEO/President of Oasis Advanced Wellness. A teacher, educator and author, she counsels Oasis Advanced Wellness clients on the aspects of getting the body healthy and keeping the body healthy. As a cancer survivor, she is able to relate extensively, both as a patient and a practitioner, to clients suffering from disease. Dr. Lanphier has been privileged to share her cancer survival story with hundreds of people during seminars and lectures. Her passionate style of truth and straight-forwardnessin an easy-to-understand format is very refreshing to even the most discerning of audiences. Dr. Lanphier is the author of two books and many articles on health conditions written from a natural/alternative medicine viewpoint. Dr. Lanphier is dedicated to helping people create lasting changes in their health and enhancing well-being through whole body nutritional balancing including physician strength supplementation. Dr. Lanphier is Editor and contributor to the worldwide newsletter Alternative Health & Healing.