Health & Fitness Report

Premenstrual syndrome has become a convenient fallback for those days when women are just feeling irritable or bummed out for no real reason at all. While it’s true that little can be done to control your natural hormones, it’s also important to not automatically discount the possibility that an underlying condition is causing your worst emotional symptoms. In this article, you’ll learn about women’s health topics like PMS, anxiety, depression, eating disorders and thyroid disorders.

PMS is one of the most widespread health concerns for women, affecting something like 80% of women in their childbearing years in some form or another. Usually, you’ll be afflicted with headaches, food cravings, menstrual cramps and feel drained the week or so prior to menstruation. In more serious situations, you may feel exceedingly short-tempered, depressed, anxious and tense.

While it’s normal to feel a little different during this time of the month, it’s also common for women to dismiss other medical conditions as “just that time of the month.” If you think your period is interfering with your enjoyment in life, then you might wish to consult a health care specialist to determine if there’s another root cause of your misery.

For some women, the most uncontrollable part of their PMS is their food cravings and propensity to eat and gain weight during this “time of the month.” Women’s health professionals say that some women may be suffering from an undiagnosed eating disorder. During this time of the month, your serotonin levels will dip, which inevitably affects your overall feeling of well-being and your appetite regulation as well. Giving in to the urge to binge on sugar, salt and carbs will only cause hormone levels to rise rapidly and fall dramatically, causing even more mood fluctuations. You may have an eating disorder if your binges last more than a few days, if you try to rationalize why you “deserve” those treats, if you are gaining weight rapidly or if you find it hard to eat small, frequent meals instead of huge plates of cookies and bags of chips.

Sometimes women are wrongly diagnosed with PMS when they have a different condition entirely. Women’s health professionals say that related symptoms appear in women with depression, PMDD, endometriosis, uterine, leiomyomas, pregnancy, irritable bowel syndrome, hypothyroidism and anxiety. Some of these conditions can be determined with simple urine or blood tests to narrow down the possibilities. In other cases, health professionals will ask questions to guide them to a diagnosis. The good news is that there are treatment options for all of these problems. It’s just a matter of being diligent and catching the condition at the right time.

Premenstrual syndrome is no laughing matter. PMS symptoms can progress and get worse as a woman ages. Instead of a few days of feeling bad she can start to have weeks of cramping, emotional upheaval and worse. If you are ready to take charge of your body again, click here for the PMS information you need.