Posted by sweetmarie on August 27, 2001, at 4:28:04
In reply to Re: Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS) and Depression, posted by susan C on August 26, 2001, at 17:35:38
> I am here pitching for you. Got to it girl.
>
> Susan C.Hi again Susan
Yes it IS a serious illness, and certainly one worthy of far more attention/research than it is currently receiving (at least in this country). I think that one of the problems is men, i.e. they - at least the ones that I have spoken to about it - seem to think that we are `this way` because we don`t like having periods, if you see what I mean. I remember my father shouting at me when I was about 18 "50 million women have periods and they don`t make this fuss!" He`s very sympathetic now, but I haven`t let him forget what he said.
There are 4 main `groups` of symptoms:
PMS `A` (Anxiety) -
Nervous tension, mood swings, irritability, anxiety.
PMS `H` (Hydration) -
Weight gain, swelling of extremities, breast tenderness, abdominal bloating.
PMS `C` (Craving) -
Headache, craving for sweets, increased appetite, heart pounding, fatigue, dizziness or fainting.
PMS `D` (Depression) -
Depression, forgetfulness, crying, confusion, insomnia.
It could be that you fit neatly into one of those categories, but it`s just as likely that you suffer symptoms from more than one category (like me).
These are some other "most common PMS symptoms" :
Agoraphobia, sensitivity to light, disorientation, mouth ulcers, acne, heart poundings, cramp pains, hostility, diarrhoea, cystitis, hay fever, asthma, bad breath, excessive thirst, backache, restlessness, constipation, exzema, boils.
You don`t need it, do you? When I was talking to my sister yesterday about this (she suffers badly too), she said `doesn`t it really make you hate men?`. Obviously she doesn`t hate men at all, but feeling the way she was feeling, she just felt the unfairness of the whole thing.
Anyway, there you go. The book suggests dietary changes - mainly eating sensibly (no sugar, alcohol, caffeine, junk food, food with additives). I`ve decided to give it a go, but I`m not sure how I`ll be with the `no caffeine` bit. I think maybe one cup per day ... as for the `no smoking` aspect - that`s just out of the question - at least for now.
Cheers for your encouragement (as always),
Anna.
p.s. I was talking with one women who already suffers from depression, and she reckoned that her depression gets `7 to 8 times worse` around pre-menstrual time. Just what you need.
poster:sweetmarie
thread:76433
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010822/msgs/76558.html