Premenstrual syndrome

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mild severity

Symptoms

irritability before menstruation breast tenderness bloating mood swings headache before menstruation fatigue food cravings

Overview

For a lay person:

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a group of physical and emotional symptoms in the week or two before a period: irritability, low mood, tender breasts, bloating and tiredness. Symptoms ease once the period starts.

For a trained medical person:

Defined by cyclical symptoms in the luteal phase that resolve after menses and impair functioning, confirmed by prospective symptom diaries. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is the severe, mood-predominant form. Options include lifestyle measures, SSRIs (continuous or luteal-phase) and ovulation suppression.

In Chinese medicine:

Maciocia (who calls it premenstrual tension) treats it chiefly as Liver Qi Stagnation, against a background of Liver Blood Deficiency, Liver and Kidney Yin Deficiency, Spleen and Kidney Yang Deficiency, or Phlegm-Fire.

When to get help: Seek help for severe low mood, or any thoughts of self-harm, before periods.

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