PMS or Premenstrual Syndrome symptoms is nothing but a set of an assortment of diverse symptoms that are related to menstruation cycle of a woman. Usually they occur in a certain cyclic pattern few days before you start experiencing your periods. Most of the time, you can recognize these patterns and make certain predictions about their occurrence if you chart your symptoms for few months.
Nonetheless, it is important to understand that, there is a considerable difference in types, gravity and duration of symptoms between two women. It is not necessary that you should be experiencing same symptoms as of your friend, relative or even sister. For some these PMS symptoms are very subtle to cope with while others can suffer from severe forms. Even the duration vary from woman to woman.
On the basis of the area of their impact, these PMS symptoms are grouped under three main categories. Let us explore more about these symptoms in details…
Physical PMS symptoms
- Breast tenderness and swelling – Medically referred as mastodynia or mamalgia, this symptom is characterized by extra sensitivity, discomfort or pain in breasts after the application of pressure.
- Fluid retention and bloating – Irregular functioning of ovaries cause this that leads to bloating (fullness feeling in abdomen region)
- Loss of energy and fatigue – A feeling of tiredness or weariness that is a result of altering hormonal levels during this phase and goes along with other disorders like drowsiness and insomnia.
- Appetite changes – Due to altered level of estrogen that initiate insulin secretion in human body, increased craving for sweets is experienced.
- Headaches, Migraines, Joint pains – Due to the changes in secretion serotonin, these pains are commonly experienced in PMS.
- Other common physical symptoms include alteration in bowel routine, vaginal dryness, loss of libido, nipple discharge, changes in sleep pattern, constipation, nausea, skin itching, heart pounding, acne etc.
Behavioral PMS symptoms
- Mood Swings – A very common symptom characterized by the sudden change in mood; at one moment the woman concerned is in happy mood and suddenly she starts feeling sad, agitated, and helpless.
- Depression – Feeling of sadness, helplessness overwhelms the suffering woman
- Anxiety, irritability and anger – Small reasons are often enough to irritate resulting in anger. Feeling of keeping on edge starts creeping in.
- Nervousness, feeling of overwhelmed all the time are some other symptoms.
Mental PMS symptoms
- Forgetfulness or loss of memory – You often keep forgetting simple things of daily lives.
- Loss of concentration – You face difficulty in focusing on any specific issue.
- Confusion – PMS is often characterized by confused state of mind.
If your PMS symptoms are severe then you may need to take treatment to counter them. Treatments vary from patient to patient.
