Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

I got to know about Sarafem from my gynecologist. I had constant complains associated with pain during the first days of my periods and frequent mood swings in the course of PMS, that is why my doctor recommended to start pharmaceutical treatment, which would help me to restore and normalize menstrual cycle.

According to the doctor, Sarafem medication has complex effect on the body and not only help to cope with mood swings and depression, but also regulates pain during menstruation. At first I had doubts about this medication, because they write almost nothing about it. But, considering doctor’s recommendations I decided to try it out.

Sarafem medication did not in the least take away the pain, which I always have in the first days of menstrual cycle. However, it really helped me with my depression, apathy, irritation, and aggression taking turns within several days before my periods begin. Before that I could burst crying at the slightest pretext and become cheerful again in few minutes without any particular reason. PMS had some kind of magical effect on me – I could be active and gay or, on the contrary, feeling abandoned and castaway. After I started taking Sarafem, my disposition became more stable. It would seem to me that I had found perfect pills from the unpleasant syndrome, but eventually I had to give up on taking this medication. The thing is that Sarafem did not take away the pain, which kept torturing me every 1 to 2 days of the cycle. In order to get rid of the pain, I took aspirin or similar pain killers. Together these medications provoked large hemorrhage, due to which I had to stop taking Sarafem. By the way, alcohol also mismatches this medication.

Firstly there should be mentioned that pms s not a desease. It’s just changes in the body according to some menstrual cycle changes. It’s connected with lowering of serotonin level in the body and with hormonal changes. So, all the symptoms of pms are connected with these factors.

One should remember that pms symptoms require treatment (really medical or clinical treatment) only in the critical condition of the body, like asthma  exacerbation. In the other case there should be the very treatment to relieve the pain and to normalize and stabilize mood condition as main pms symptoms are mood swings, bursts of anxiety, tearfulness, the felling of hopeless condition and so on.

Before choosing the very treatment one should consult a doctor.  In some cases to relieve tha pain and to reduce the effects of pms symptoms, one can choose simple exercise.  If a woman take up sport activities in this period there is a great chance for her not to suffer from pms symptoms I comparison with the woman who has no sport activities. It’s a well-known fact, that when a person do sport, the level of endorphin increases, it causes the feeling of satisfaction and happiness. Excersis reduce stress, help to escape daily routine concentrate on the health and to switch from the pms pain (like pain in breasts) into other type of activity.

The second way to treat pms is nutrition. Some doctors highly recommend take Vitamin B6 to increase the level of neurotransmitter serotonin in the blood. With the increasing of this level, there will the stabilization of mood, appetite habits and sleep.  Some nutritionist highly recommend at this period to change eating habbits and to keep to a healthy diet. Firstly there should be reduced the products with high level of salt, caffeine, animal fat as they may cause pms depression. There is one more advice to fallow. To give up alcohol at the very period of time. It’s recommended because of alcohol intolerance and the increase of alcohol intoxication at this period.

The third way to recommend is try to reduce the stress factors. Meditation can be recommended at this period to help women to cope with such pms symptoms as depression, anxiety, tearfulness, mood swings. It’s better for women to escape daily stress and to relax without concentrating on problems.

The alternative way of the mentioned methods is medication. There are some medication to reduce pms depression symptoms. Among them are Alprazolam, Fluoxetine (Prozac). They are most tolerant and not require special doctor control. They are also mostly safe without  side effects like GnRH which can encreas the level of osteoporosis risk. That’s why it’s taken only for a really short period of time. The type of medication is chosen by the doctor only after  health check and pms symptoms list examination.