Premenstrual Syndrome(PMS)

 We hear many girls / women complaining about PMS right a few days before they start menstruating. Have you ever wondered as to why it happens or have you always blamed God as to why is he doing so !! Why me? 

Stop blaming God for this girls and start blaming your hormones because that's the main reason behind crying for hours before your periods without even knowing exactly what are you crying about? It's just exhausting isn't it?!

But many of our ladies here don't really know about PMS and today I will be sharing little bit of knowledge regarding this issue and ways you can cope up with it. All under one roof isn't it the best thing?

So what exactly is PMS?

Premenstrual syndrome is a condition which begins 7-14 days prior to your menses and stops after you start menstruating.

There are a group of symptoms involved in PMS which are experienced by women before their menses. I will be talking in detail about it later but first let's find out why does this PMS occur , what is the reason of your suffering !?

There are 2 main hormones oestrogen and progesterone responsible for the regulation of your menstrual cycle which means because of these two hormones you get your periods regularly every month. 

The exact cause of PMS is not known but it is said that when oestrogen levels increases and progesterone levels falls down you start developing PMS symptoms and this happens just before you get your periods.

The second reason can be VitB6 deficiency because VitB6 is responsible for serotonin production in the body and serotonin is our mood booster , it helps uplift your mood.

Low levels of serotonin can cause various mood swings and emotional changes , so girls it's time to increase your VitB6 intake !!

You can find VitB6 in various food items such as

1) Milk (cows milk or goats milk)

2) Eggs

3)Spinach

4) Chicken or any other meat product

5)Carrots

6) Sweet Potato

7) Bananas

All these food will not only provide you VitB6 alone but will also help you increase your levels of Calcium , VitA as well as VitB12 , isn't it just like a bonus?!

PMS is a condition which is not taken very seriously but it should be because in many women it can affect the body physically as well as mentally and incapacitate the women to continue her day to day activities such as going to work or even simply getting out of bed.

Now let's get to the physical symptoms which women develop during PMS.

Have you ever noticed you just get so plump a few days before your menses? 

Yes , that is because of the bloating present which can be seen in the abdominal region that is stomach and your weight can increase by 1 kg during the period of PMS.

Secondly waking up early in the morning with pain in breasts , which can continue all day long. Your breasts start feeling heavy and their size might increase upto 20% during PMS.

There can be symptoms such as headache , cramps in the body which is caused due to fluid retention so drink as much as water as you can during this period of time.

Oh those cravings!! You just cannot stop craving for sweets or any other food that pops up in your mind and the ravenous hunger along with the cravings!!

With these you can also experience symptoms such as faintness , dizziness , nausea and vomiting.

PMS symptoms differ from one person to another it's not compulsory that you might get all these symptoms in one person .

Now let's move on to the main point that is the emotional and behavioural changes all girls go through during the period of PMS. Sometimes these emotional changes can be more painful than the physical symptoms.

The symptoms which you might experience are 1)Sudden loss of interest in regular work , when you just don't feel like waking up from the bed or avoiding your regular work

2)Low performance

3) Difficulty in concentration , your mind might just keep shifting from one scenario to another and you just cannot concentrate on the current situation

4) Anxiety can be regarding any issue or sometimes you don't even understand what are you anxious about , along with anxiety you can have palpitations and slight breathlessness as well.

5) Feeling lonely even when you are surrounded by people and loved ones.

5) Feeling like crying over small things or even without any reason as such.

6) Depression , but remember depression can be something which might be present since a long time and might increase in intensity during the period of PMS.

You have to constantly pay attention towards these symptoms as to when do the appear , like are they always present? Or do they actually start a few days before your menses? 

If they start a few days before your menses then girls you know the reason why!

It's time you start paying attention towards the signals your body is giving you , once you know that you are suffering from PMS you will eventually start working on a way to deal with it , but if you don't pay or give this condition any attention you might eventually land up in more trouble.

There are many ways you can cope up with this problem such as :

1) If you know that you just cannot deal with the outburst of emotions and you cannot handle them , then you should take help of a counsellor ! It's time we normalize going to a counselor and talking about our issues.

2) Secondly PMS can be treated with the help of medicines also , so if even you don't want to go to a counsellor do consult your doctor.

3) Increasing intake of VitB6 as well as VitE will also help you deal with the problem.

4) The most important point for all the lazy girls out there , it's time you start working out . You can try Yoga , Meditation or any other forms of workout. Working out regularly will help in increasing your levels of serotonin which will help in uplifting your mood as well as improve your sleep cycles and appetite.

I hope that now you do have a better understanding regarding this issue and along with yourself you can help even other women to deal with PMS and spread knowledge .