PMS Medication

If you suffer from PMS you may feel you are all alone and that the world is caving in on you. Are you looking into the for drug therapy? Are you considering a  natural approach to this? Maybe a combination approach would be more appropriate for you.

Look at it this way. hardly a decade ago there were no therapies available from the medical community. Their goal is to sell you PMS medication. You mom was told "it's all in your head, dear". Treating the symptoms of PMS is its own industry now. On the drug therapy end, the medical industry is making billions on servicing this "disease", one they did not recognize until recently.

Alternative therapies have been available for several decades. While doctors were telling women it was all in their heads, the lady down at the corner health foods store was helping women get real relief without side effects. The study conducted by the WHI that was stopped because the drugs used caused serious complications was not a surprise to them. They knew synthetic hormones made women feel horrible in many cases. They had a sneaky suspicion that cancer rates were accelerating when women took these drugs.

Avoid PMS Medication: Lifestyle Changes Must Be Made

Start with diet and exercise. Seem too simple, but realize this: Drugs are a last resort. Many women find that healthy lifestyle changes decrease symptoms of PMS. Exercise, three to five days per week, improves mood, and increases physical tone. Women who exercise regularly have fewer PMS symptoms. Eating less salt may minimize bloating and swelling. Also helpful is a healthy diet, rich in complex carbohydrates and low in processed foods because they are packed with preservatives and simple sugars.

Mood Swings, anxiety  and depression  are often immediately improved by decreasing caffeine and alcohol intake. Relaxation techniques, such as meditation or yoga, decrease physical discomfort and stress. This is a case where prayer during a quiet time will work miracles. God is listening when you need Him.

There is some evidence that Calcium may decrease many PMS symptoms. Moderate doses of Magnesium and Vitamin E may also be helpful. Controlled trials have failed to show nay benefit from high dose Vitamin B6. Additionally, high doses of B6 can cause peripheral nerve damage.

PMS symptoms will probably become worse in the pre-menopause period (the years just before menstruation ceases.) When menopause really brings then premenstrual symptoms come to an end.

Are you are considering medication treatment? It may be helpful to think about and discuss some of the following questions with your health professional:

• How effective has the medication been for other women?
• What are the medication's side effects?
• How often will you have to take the medication?

Warning: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an advisory on antidepressant medicines and the risk of suicide. The FDA does not recommend that people stop using these medicines, but to watch for warning signs of suicide in those using them. This is especially important at the beginning of treatment or when doses are changed.

Women who may get pregnant: The antidepressants Paxil and Paxil CR  medicines in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy may increase your chance of having a baby with a birth defect.

PMS PMDD