(PMS) has a more devastating impact on a woman's life than previously thought.
In moderate and severe cases, it prevents a woman from not only working normally, but also simply living her everyday life.
Many women believe that severe symptoms of PMS are normal and put up with their condition, thinking that they have no choice.
But if PMS ruins plans and prevents a woman from communicating with other people, caring for children and working as usual, it’s time to seek help from medicine.
In one recent study, more than 400 women recorded their condition daily in a diary for 2 months. Participants rated sleep, appetite, bloating, performance, as well as feelings of irritability, depression and apathy. Women indicated how often they had to miss work and how much PMS affected them.
It turned out that women with moderate and severe premenstrual syndrome:
- Almost 9 times more likely to experience deterioration in health, which lasts for 1 week or longer.
- They complain of decreased performance 5 times more often (in 80% of women in this group it lasted a week or longer).
- People are twice as likely to take sick leave for two or more days.
True, there is no exact data on how many women suffer from complicated PMS. In the mentioned study their number was 30%.
Part of the difficulty stems from the fact that women do not seek medical attention until PMS symptoms begin to really threaten their normal lives. Although, on the other hand, the problems that are traditionally associated with PMS can be caused by other reasons.
In addition, there is no exact definition of premenstrual syndrome, so collecting reliable statistics on this problem is not easy. Some say that the problem of PMS is far-fetched, others say that it is very common and occurs in 30-70% of women.
It is estimated that approximately 4% of women have premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMD), a severe form of PMS. It is difficult to determine how many women suffer from it, since many of them do not see a doctor.
Additional research is needed to develop a unified definition of PMS. Many women have underlying health problems. For example, depression can make you feel worse before menstruation. Scientists cannot yet say exactly how hormonal changes during menstruation affect the level of serotonin, a substance that regulates a person’s mood. Diseases of the thyroid gland can also cause poor health.
In general, there is something to talk about with your doctor.
Here are some ways to help relieve PMS symptoms:
- Exercise several times a week.
- Eat right; during menstruation, eat more foods rich in complex carbohydrates (porridge, potatoes).
- Eat foods high in calcium, which will not only improve your health but also strengthen your bones.
- Ask your doctor if you can take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants.
Only a woman can understand what PMS is, since every month she experiences all the “Pleasures” of this period. Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) has many symptoms. All of them can be combined into several main groups:
1. anxiety, irritability, insomnia.
2. increased appetite, craving for sweets, weakness, weakness, headaches.
3. apathy, forgetfulness, inattention.
4. swelling, weight gain, hardening and tenderness of the mammary glands.
Symptoms can be expressed with varying severity and usually appear two weeks before menstruation.
We women owe all these metamorphoses to our female hormones. I would like to talk about the effect of PMS on weight changes during this period and changes in eating behavior.
The effect of PMS on eating behavior:
As I already said, hormones play a huge role in a woman’s life and make their own adjustments. And, of course, weight, eating habits, and appetite are no exception. During this period, the “Reign” of the hormone progesterone begins, the main purpose of which is to prepare the woman’s body for the upcoming pregnancy.
In PMS progesterone:
Promotes additional storage of adipose tissue by activating the enzyme lipoprotein lipase. Reduces the movement of food through the stomach and intestines. And therefore nutrients are absorbed most densely. Appetite.
Promotes changes in carbohydrate metabolism, resulting in increased cravings for flour and sweets. It retains water, which is manifested by weight gain due to swelling.
Progesterone works harmoniously with our other hormones, for example, with endorphins (hormones of joy. These days there is a lack of endorphins. And this explains the decrease in mood, the desire to sleep longer, and apathy.
Thus, PMS is a very “Dangerous” period in relation to excess weight gain. It is during this period that women are most susceptible to “Breakdowns” and excessive consumption of food.
During PMS, the body diligently tries to extract and absorb as many nutrients and especially fat as possible from every bite eaten. Be careful! It is important to remember that you should not lose weight during this period. It's better to wait it out and try to maintain your weight. list of products that should definitely be included in the diet during PMS and during menstruation:
Hercules porridge. The use of this wonderful product helps to increase the production of endorphins (hormones of joy) and reduce cravings for sweets.
- Brown rice.
- Buckwheat is a core.
- Dried fruits.
- Beef.
- Eggs.
- Fatty fish (salmon, trout, mackerel.
- Dairy products.
- A small amount of butter.
It is also worth enriching your diet with vitamin B-6 and magnesium. They are also necessary for the production of endorphins to reduce the intensity of PMS symptoms.
And, of course, don’t skimp on your sleep, dear women! Healthy, full sleep will protect you from attacks of irritability, uncontrolled eating behavior and breakdowns!
In the end, I want to say: don’t be upset if over these days the scales have moved 2-3 kg more. Calm, just calm! It also happens that a woman gains up to 5 kg during PMS and menstruation! Weight does not mean fat!
Thus, if you did not overeat at this time and ate restrainedly, then most likely the excess weight is excess water, which will also go away unnoticed and will not affect the amount of fat tissue in any way.
Do not weigh yourself during this period, so as not to be upset in vain. I wish you health and beauty! : Margarita Kuts is a nutritionist, gastroenterologist and body mesotherapist. Website: Tvoytrener. com.com.
It is customary to write about premenstrual syndrome (PMS) in an alarming way: they say, the reasons are clear, but not completely, there are many symptoms, the treatment is ambiguous... But what if you look at PMS from the point of view of benefits for women's health?
Let's say you are sitting at work and talking on Skype with a young man with whom you are terribly in love and with whom you plan to live happily ever after. But you are somehow worried that he probably doesn’t love you, and you are trying to extract signs of attention from him. The young man honestly writes you a paragraph of compliments, but at the same time notices that he is irritated by direct demands for them.
And then you start to really cry! Turn off Skype! Write him a text message saying that you should break up because you are not suitable for each other! Write a detailed letter about this! Refusing the meeting! Two days later, you come to your senses and think: “What was that?!” and are trying to establish contact - and you are still very lucky if your interlocutor has not managed to rent an apartment by this time, completely agreeing with you that yes, you cannot be happy together.
Not all women reach such tragic manifestations, but the risk of conflicts with others is very high. This is premenstrual syndrome, a completely officially recognized disease included in International classification diseases. The range of possible PMS symptoms is mind-boggling. Women experience headaches and muscle pain, nausea, breast pain, fatigue, inadequate hunger, they cannot concentrate, they feel anxious, irritable, tearful, etc.
According to the Medical University of South Carolina, 85% of women experience at least one PMS symptom—usually behavioral disturbances—every month. About 5% suffer from premenstrual dysphoric disorder, the most severe form of PMS, in which a woman is forced to take antidepressants because otherwise her poor health, combined with panic attacks and mood swings, makes it impossible for her to function normally or maintain social connections.
Progesterone: works as a sedative
Progesterone itself has no effect on the psyche. But it turns into allopregnanolone in the body. Progesterone processing products, like alcohol, like benzodiazepine tranquilizers, act on the most important inhibitory system of our brain and have a colossal anti-anxiety effect.
That is, as long as the body maintains a high level of progesterone and its metabolites, the woman seems to live on sedatives. If their concentration changed smoothly, the psyche would have time to adapt to the changes, and there would be no significant effect on mood. But before menstruation (as well as around childbirth or abortion), progesterone levels drop sharply, and in this situation the brain is quite sincerely convinced that everything is bad and life has not gone well.
And even if a biologically savvy woman realizes that a drop in progesterone increases anxiety, this does not particularly help her. On days like these, a normal woman thinks: “My husband doesn’t love me, my children are stupid and evil, my employer can barely tolerate me, and I myself am kind of stupid and ugly.” A woman biologist thinks: “Well, it’s not enough that the husband is completely objective! - doesn’t love me (and further in the text), so in addition to all the troubles, I also have PMS!”
Today is PMS, tomorrow is a healthy pregnancy
The glass, as always, is not only half empty, but also half full. Yes, falling progesterone levels increase anxiety, and this is sad. But, on the other hand, high levels of progesterone reduce it, and this is very good. Experiments on rats confirm that in behavioral tests that assess stress levels, pregnant animals with their elevated progesterone levels behave as calmly as animals given a dose of synthetic progesterone or a dose of standard anti-anxiety drugs - and much more calm than normal animals. not pregnant and not receiving medications.
Being nervous during pregnancy is very, very harmful. Stress hormones suppress the production of sex hormones in the mother and can cross the placenta and directly affect the fetus. As a result, stress can lead to miscarriage, heart defects, low birth weight, delays in child development and a number of other disorders. This means that progesterone's ability to reduce anxiety is an incredibly important benefit that should have been heavily favored by natural selection because it allows women, all other things being equal, to give birth to healthier children.
So, if you are a woman and experience severe anxiety during PMS, this means that it is your psyche that responds well to the presence of progesterone, which will allow you to experience pregnancy more calmly.
And if you are a man and every month they blow your mind, take it philosophically and set a reminder in your phone for the corresponding dates: “She doesn’t hate me, she just thinks so.” And let you be consoled by the thought that you and this anxious young lady can have wonderful children.
I recently walked out of the entrance in the evening and heard men's voices. - Well, all the men, let's go to the last one and go home. - Whatever you want, I’ll also smoke. I have PMS and it’s better not to show up at home. - Why? - Last time I asked: “What are they feeding you today?” - so she threw a plate at me. She screamed so horribly, and then burst into tears. And this happens every time! Well, off to the bathhouse, such a hassle!
This overheard dialogue got me thinking. It's true, but it's true PMS (premenstrual syndrome) not only torments many women, but also affects many men.
Many women experience this madness when joy is replaced by tears, tears by aggression, aggression by depression, depression by hopelessness. The circle closes, and the continuous change of feelings and moods exhausts not only you, but also those around you.
Experts have found that according to statistics With age, the percentage of women suffering from PMS inexorably increases. After 30 years, he torments every second woman. By the way, men, if your woman is sexually active and also choleric, beware! It is this type that is most susceptible to PMS, especially if there are thyroid disorders or nervous disorders. You will experience the whole gamut of her emotions.
The main cause of PMS is the influence of the hormones progesterone, estrogen and prolactin. In addition, there is a hereditary factor, B6 deficiency, etc. Since science cannot yet 100% accurately determine the causes of PMS, we will not go into medical details. One thing is clear: PMS is not only changes in behavior from a psychological point of view (depression, aggressiveness, tearfulness, irritability, fatigue), but also physiological suffering.
PMS can manifest itself high blood pressure, swelling, headaches, nausea, vomiting, fever, even allergic reactions and attacks of bronchial asthma.
Certainly, It’s hard for men to understand why a plate is suddenly flying at you, especially when you can’t explain it to yourself. You say to yourself: “Whoa, whoa, honey, stop! Stop beating the ground with your hooves,” and steam is already pouring out of your nostrils, and you scream hysterically: “How I hate you, you brute!”
Just yesterday you would never have allowed yourself to say such a thing to your loved one, but today you are ready not only to limit yourself to words, but also to attack him with your fists. Of course, in five minutes it will be replaced by tears, apologies and self-pity for your beloved, but you still won’t be able to explain to him clearly what it all meant.
The mind says: “It’s worth huddling in a corner, hiding from everyone and sitting out so that no one gets hurt or falls under the hot hand. Don't call, keep quiet. Shut up! But these words become more illegible. The wave of madness is already nearby, you feel its growing aggression. I want to scream, swear, if only there was a reason, just touch me.
A word, just one word, and there won’t be enough room for everyone! All! “Couldn’t you put your shirt in the closet?!” I’m the only one here, spinning around like a squirrel, cooking, washing! They're looking at you here, but you don't give a damn! Mom told me...” - that’s it, off we go. A word, followed by another, a third, like a snowball. The wave covers your head and bursts out with tears of endless self-pity. Swollen red eyes and emptiness, that's all that's left. The door slammed and he left. What have you achieved, and most importantly, what did you achieve?! It is difficult to understand at all what happened to you, there is no reason. All that remains is the investigation.
How can a woman explain to a man that the beast that wakes up once a month is to blame for everything? A werewolf pushed out by a wave of hormones? With claws, poisonous words and prickly stubble. It is difficult to explain something that he will never be able to experience for himself. There remains only hope for understanding and forgiveness. Let the words of these women sound like a confession, like a revelation.
“I’m not crying... At all... Well, I don’t have this sentimentality... Not for a penny... Sheer aggression is rushing... And I can’t help it... Sexual activity is also jumping up. I can't stand it until I can't stand it..."
“PMS is my nightmare... I become wildly aggressive... You don’t need to do anything with me, it’s better, really, not to approach me and leave me alone. I can lie down in the pillow, but this does not mean that something happened to me and I urgently need to find out what exactly...”
“Once I even beat my husband during PMS, but not too much, he laughed, of course. In general, I wanted to kill... Sometimes he turns from aggression to tears. You look, for example, at all sorts of dogs, or some romantic movie and roar..."
“I'm going crazy with jealousy. I’m jealous of my husband even at the telegraph pole. The aggression is terrible, I’m going crazy. I’m afraid of myself sometimes.”
“I want to eat all the time. You crawl under the blanket, turn on the TV, lie there, shed tears and stuff pies into your mouth one after another. Moreover, it seems that you can swallow an elephant, just give it to me. I want to be capricious, sometimes it’s not sweet, sometimes it’s salty sausage.”
“I can’t sleep, all sorts of nonsense is creeping into my head. You suffer all night. Everything seems to be black. Either tears or anger. My husband is also worried, but I can’t explain anything. There seems to be no reason, but everything is bad, everything is wrong.”
“As I get older, PMS gets worse and worse... My husband tries to avoid me these days, and it annoys me even more! Why isn't he talking to me? What did I do to him?!”
All these statements allow us to introduce some clarity in the female perception of the world, on which PMS leaves a strong imprint. Increased anxiety, nervousness, and physical suffering - all this is not contrived and not even accidental. This is female nature, you shouldn’t fight it. You just need to accept and, if possible, alleviate the suffering. Women, no matter how aggressive they may seem at these moments, are still defenseless, sensitive creatures. They need a strong shoulder and understanding.
Women, don't be afraid to talk to men, help them understand you. And men, try to hear and feel. Only love and respect for each other are the key to mutual understanding. Women can only be advised to be more restrained. Make your voice of reason louder and don’t give in to your emotions. Naturally, these are just words. When PMS hits you in the head, your mind is silent. But there are no hopeless situations.
Want sex? It's not even bad. Sex will help you alleviate many of your PMS symptoms. And your seductive sparkle in your eyes can always attract your beloved man. If your man can no longer cope, then he will surely cope with you.
Tormented by insatiable hunger? Well, more fruits, yoghurts and low-calorie foods. By the way, pineapple will also relieve tension headaches. Chocolate also has a good effect on mood, but, unfortunately, a bad one. So don't overdo it with this joy.
Insomnia? Don’t get carried away with sleeping pills, it’s better to drink herbal tea, and even better – have sex. Both pleasant and useful.
All of these recommendations apply if PMS is mild. If you are suffering from severe pain, fainting, epilepsy attacks, etc., it is better to consult a doctor, most likely you need the necessary hormonal treatment.
Don't start the disease. in a state of aggression, she is uncontrollable and can do many unpleasant things, including murder. A court in England counted PMS as a mitigating circumstance in murder. This once again proves the seriousness of PMS. Of course, this was an isolated case, but an increasing number of lawyers in the United States and European countries are trying to use PMS as an excuse for a crime.
So, men, beware! Otherwise, a werewolf in female form will ruin your skin with her painted claws.