May 14, 2015 general

Think PMS doesn’t concern you because you’re a guy or too old? Think again. Even if you don’t have a friend or relative that is bothered by it, some of the up to 150 symptoms of PMS affect 80% of American women who deal with PMS sometimes for decades. One or more of them may be why the lady at the DMV counter is crabby and takes such unflattering photos.

For some women Premenstrual Syndrome might stand for “pardon my sobbing”. For others the main complaint is cramping, headache or bloating. Then there is the short fuse. Here is some tongue-in-cheek advice for the husband of a PMS victim:
    Dangerous: “What’s for dinner?”
    Safer: “Can I help you with dinner?”
    Safest: “Where would you like to go for dinner?”

You’ll note that above I said “American women”. That is because the syndrome is not a factor in most of the rest of the world. It is also a rather new phenomenon. In a way, that is good news because it means PMS is caused by something that we are doing (such as too little nutrition and too many toxins) and therefore can stop doing. While time will solve PMS, uncorrected menstrual troubles can lead to a much rougher menopause. PMS can result from imbalances in a variety of systems such as an under-functioning thyroid, toxic liver, yeast overgrowth, allergies or stressed adrenal glands. A complete workup by an integrative or functional medicine doctor is the best course, but below are some ideas of PMS remedies that have varying degrees of science behind them.

Vitamins

• Vitamin B₆ helps many especially with bloating and skin issues. It is also improves the usefulness of the magnesium and l-tryptophan noted below. Regular doses of 50 to 100mg (including amounts in multi-vitamins, etc.) and temporary doses of even 200mg are worth a try. I recommend also taking a B complex at another time of day to make sure you keep the other B’s in balance. B₅ (pantothenic acid) for example helps with adrenal stress which may be involved in PMS.
• Vitamin D helps with virtually everything else, so why not PMS? Current recommendations are leaning in the direction of 7,000 IU per day for general health.
• Vitamin E is usually taken for cardiovascular protection, but there is some evidence it helps with PMS. I recommend a complex like this one

Minerals – Minerals in general are often insufficient in sufferers. A recent study is just beginning to look at iron, potassium and zinc. Earlier studies focused on these minerals:

• Magnesium…of course. This is especially useful for cramping, mood and anxiety.
• Calcium. A couple of studies show relief with supplements of 1,000 mg a day. I generally recommend taking at least ½ as much magnesium as calcium.

Foods and components

• Studies show that PMS sufferers are more likely to be consuming high amounts of refined carb foods and sugars. Dairy foods don’t seem to be helpful either.
• Fish oil helps with the pain. Use Nordic Naturals and follow label instructions, but note that in one study, women who took 2 grams a day had more improvement than those who took one gram.
• GLA from evening primrose oil or borage oil (3 to 4 grams per day) helps moderate inflammatory metabolites especially for meat eaters.

Amino Acids

• L-Tryptophan is known to raise levels of the “happy hormone”, serotonin. The advice is to take 2 to 6 grams per day, but only during the second half of the monthly cycle. Take it away from meals. 5HTP may have a similar effect, and since probiotics make more serotonin than the brain does, why not try Dr. Ohhira’s?

Herbs

• Vitex (also known as chastetree) is well-studied and widely-used and has a progesterone-like effect, reducing depression, cramps and breast tenderness. A typical dose of a concentrated herbal extract is roughly 20 mg a day.
• French maritime pine bark extract (pycnogenol) lowered the need for pain medication. It is also good for menopause.
• Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound. I have a booklet from the 193’’s talking about this patent medicine for “women’s complaints”. Originally in the form of a liquid tonic in the late 1800’s it probably brought relief in part because of the alcohol content. Then it became tablets, which much to my surprise are still available today.

Hormones

• Progesterone cream. While estrogen and progesterone are both low right before the period, women who have heavy or extended periods usually still have an excess of estrogen in proportion to the progesterone. Progesterone was a big help for me, but studies don’t show that it is widely helpful. Just be sure to avoid the synthetic progesterone, Provera.
• The adrenal glands make hormone that reduce pain. Nourish the glands with vitamin C and an adrenal herb combination.

Medicines

• Homeopathics might be a natural answer for many. If it works as well as their other products I’ve tried, my choice would be PMS Relief by KingBio.
• In 1993 when the psychiatric establishment came up with the official name “Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder” (PMDD) supposedly to make it easier to do research on the issue, the action angered feminists who took it to mean that doctors (still typically male at the time) thought the condition was all in their heads. Prozac and Zoloft are often prescribed, but I think it is smarter to fix the root cause of the problem.

Other

• Probiotics are little factories producing thousands of substances that help in ways we are just beginning to understand. They reduce inflammation, help balance hormones and create neurotransmitters.
• Far Infrared Sauna is a good way to remove the toxins we’ve accumulated without putting a strain on the kidneys. (Toxins like plasticizers really jack with our hormones.) This one is my choice.
• Chiropractic can assure that there is not interference in the nerve supply to glands and organs due to a spinal misalignment.
• Acupuncture is often helpful for symptoms that mystify mainstream medicine.

Can a woman try all of these remedies at once? Well, some of these are what I consider health minimums (like vitamin D, magnesium, probiotics and fish oil) that should be taken all the time anyway. Since the items on the above list all work in different ways, therefore those in a desperate hurry could do them all. Surely, there would be a big improvement, but it wouldn’t be clear which item(s) had helped the most. One would have to stop using them one at a time to figure that out. The gal who is currently doing nothing and wants to start cautiously should perhaps begin with B₆, magnesium and probiotics.