Monday, March 25, 2013

PMS Signs and Symptoms and How to Overcome Them


The signs and symptoms of PMS or premenstrual syndrome varies considerably from one woman to another, because they are influenced by the person's diet, lifestyle and mental attitude. One symptom may be problematic to one woman, but it may not be experienced at all by another. In addition, the levels of severity can be different from one month to the next.

Here are some of the most common symptoms of PMS:

1. Fatigue

This is the most common symptom in women who are suffering from this condition. There is the sense of being restless and uninterested in executing any activity, mainly because these women feel totally drained. Although they may have done little to make them feel this way, their life force seems to have been taken from them.

2. Anger and anxiety

During this time women are being controlled by their hormones and emotions can be at a high level. There is annoyance over the slightest thing, causing a need to argue about anything and become uncharacteristically irate.

3. Irritability

Women with PMS generally are easily aggravated for no specific reason. There is a feeling of being disturbed and unexplainably upset. Tempers can become uncontrollable and normal everyday problems are blown out of proportion. Sufferers can sometimes hear themselves saying unusual things, but still are unable to correct this even when they know you are being unfair.

4. Difficulty in focus

During these times, women tend to have a hard time concentrating on any particular task. Completion of one single activity seems impossible because there is a feeling of detachment from the real person and thoughts tend to be jumbled and confusion sets in.

5. Troubled sleeping patterns

There is a tendency to oversleep, and conversely there may be times when it hard to fall asleep. Sleep patterns becomes extremely disturbed and erratic. This causes tiredness during the daytime and without a proper night's restful sleep, it is difficult to be positive about anything.

6. Depression

Some women find it hard to understand how they truly feel. They usually have significant feelings of sadness for no apparent reason. This has a lot to do with hormone levels that are in limbo during the premenstrual syndrome period. Sometimes they find themselves crying for no reason at all and they feel uninterested in things that usually cheer them up, resulting in everything appearing black, gloomy and negative.

7. Headaches

Women who suffer from PMS usually complain about headaches that last for a certain period of time. This may also lead to other symptoms such as irritability and mood swings because they are physically uncomfortable.

8. Food cravings

No, there is nothing wrong with their taste buds. Their appetite just becomes bigger than usual and typically they are attracted to sweet confectionery or chocolate and sweet or salty foods during these times. Again this hormonal imbalance causes cravings, which doesn't make them feel satisfied even after eating them.

9. Fluid retention

During PMS, women tend to feel bloated especially on body areas such as the hands, abdomen, and lower extremities. There might also have been some slight weight gain. This is mainly due to fluid retention that is often caused by high salt levels in the body which normally happens in women experiencing premenstrual syndrome. Some women can even have problems for a day or two finding any clothes that are comfortable to wear. Their stomach swells and can even require clothes of a higher dress size.

10. Mood swings

This coincides with depression and is caused by a sudden change in hormone levels. Some women feel extremely happy at one moment then upset a little while later. There is no need to worry too much when this happens. This is not a sign of oncoming madness. It is a normal symptom during PMS because the hormones are in a heightened level of dysfunction and it puts the emotions into chaos.

11. Physical Discomfort

During PMS, joint pain and backaches are common, but the most prevalent physical worry is abdominal cramps. Pain relief may be achieved through application of warm compresses and ample amounts of rest.

This unbelievable list of possible PMS symptoms can certainly be debilitating, and are purely all due to the effects of hormone imbalance. A change of diet to more healthy foods, and also concentrating on eating more foods which naturally contain vitamin B6, magnesium, zinc and natural phytoestrogens, amazingly will cause most of the symptoms to disappear. An increase in the intake of essential fatty acids in the diet and more regular exercise will also help tremendously.

Followers of these simple guidelines soon realize that all the pain, discomfort and disruption in their lives could have been avoided long ago if they had only known the real reason for their monthly problems was nutritional deficiencies.

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