Premenstrual syndrome
Why am I suffering from it?
Did you know that there are more than 150 symptoms attributed to PMS?
Some women experience annoying mood swings that make them nervous or depressed; others experience anxiety and hunger for 2 weeks before their period. Others experience physical symptoms such as fluid retention, changes in bowel habits, breast tenderness or headaches… Each woman's symptoms and experience are as unique as they are. Therefore, the treatments for each woman should try to be equally personalized.
What exactly causes PMS?
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is defined as cyclical physical symptoms and mood swings that begin sometime from the middle of the cycle to the end of menstruation. And that usually end with the beginning of menstruation or at the end of it.
The reason why premenstrual syndrome occurs is not entirely known and surely due to its variable characteristics there is not a single cause. What seems to be clear is that it is a multifactorial syndrome. For this reason, a treatment that could work for one woman may not necessarily work for another, so it will be very important to be advised by a therapist who can ask the right questions, analyze hormonal values and clinical evidence to reach conclusions that are useful. for the treatment.
Some theories are about the origin of PMS are:
- Bad liver detox
The liver is responsible not only for getting rid of the remains of drugs, alcohol from digestion, but it is also responsible for eliminating hormones and other waste resulting from our metabolism. In particular, the liver is responsible for metabolizing estrogens and progesterone that peak a few days before menstruation. If the liver is overloaded and does not perform its functions correctly and rhythmically, these hormones may not be eliminated quickly and end up accumulating in the body for longer than desired. This accumulation of hormones, also known as "estrogen dominance," is enough to account for much of a woman's PMS symptoms.
Clinically, it should correspond to accumulation of fat in predominantly female areas such as saddlebags, chest, arms or hump; with menstruation with abundant flow, with endometriosis or fibroids.
- Diet
Una diet rich in sugars and flour increases insulin and this hormone, in turn, will promote the conversion of male hormones into estrogens, through the enzyme Aromatase, which will cause a base estrogenic predominance. This may be the beginning of a slowdown in liver function due to excess hormones.
On the other hand, excess adipose tissue has been shown to be capable of behaving as if it were just another endocrine organ, that is, it produces its own hormones. These, likewise, must be eliminated by the liver, giving more work to this organ.
- Low blood calcium
Studies show that some women with PMS have low levels of calcium in their blood, and that supplementation with calcium for 3 months can reduce depression, sadness, concentration problems, and mood disorders related to the syndrome. premenstrual.
- Irregular metabolism of serotonin
The main explanation for the development of the symptoms related to the mood, characteristic of this Syndrome, is believed to have to do with a decrease in the final levels of serotonin, the hormone of happiness. Although the mechanism that causes it is not clear, estrogens are considered serotonin agonists and if the levels are not optimal they could trigger this symptomatology. Physiologically, after ovulation and just before menstruation, estrogens decrease.
Abnormal serotonin secretion has been linked to depression. And this is why antidepressants are sometimes prescribed for women with PMS.
In this sense, there are some things that we could do to boost the levels of serotonin in the system such as having a healthy intestine and eating well, sleeping correctly and sufficiently and moving.
- inflammation
Several studies confirm that having a high blood level marker of inflammation, such as high sensitivity C-reactive protein or hCRP, is associated with increased PMS symptoms such as abdominal cramps, back pain, and chest pain.
For this reason, supplements aimed at modulating the body's inflammatory response are also often recommended as an intervention for some women with PMS.
- Genetics
There are studies that associate the severity of PMS symptoms with a gene responsible for seasonal affective disorder. As well as the polymorphism in a gene for serotonin transporters and the severity of PMS.
- Cultural values
Finally, the mind and the social context carry a lot of weight in the mental dimension of pain.
Depending on how a woman lives a situation, the environment in which she lives it, the demands placed on her and the interaction that it implies with her surroundings, pain changes. It does not mean that it is something conscious or voluntary, but the suffering part of pain occurs when the mind comes into play and the person recreates in some way in it.
The suggestion would be not to fight the pain. And how is it done? Bringing the mind to the present. The mind lives between the past and the future, never in the present. Making her fall to the present makes the pain lose strength! The mind creates a certain reality and is capable of demanding a physical adaptation according to that reality.
As an example, consider the children in the park. If they fall down and are entertained they move on. But if the father or mother is in front of them, their reaction is exaggerated and they need attention or comfort. His pain is real and stronger.
In this post that I link you can see what things can you do to improve PMS. Natural remedies, lifestyle habits, nutritional changes and a lot of changes that will surely make you feel better on those days of the cycle.
It may interest you:
- Improve your fertility with an anti-inflammatory diet
- Phytotherapy: benefits and contraindications of infusions 🌱
They can help you:
References
- Hudson, T. (2008) Chapter 17: Premenstrual Syndrome. Women's Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine: Alternative Therapties and Integrative Medicine for Total Health and Wellness.
- Susan Thys-Jacobs, MD, Starkey P, MD, Bernstein D, PhD, Jason Tian, PhD (1998) Calcium carbonate and the premenstrual syndrome: Effects on premenstrual and menstrual symptoms. Am J OBGYN, 179 (2), 444-452.