Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

Before, I thought that PMS is rather rare conditions for young woman, but having experienced on my sister, I understand that this is a real problem, painful and unpleasant time. In order to start treatment we have read a lot of information about menstrual cycle, PMS and its symptoms. So, here you are what I’ve find.

Most women experience some discomfort before menstruation. Some of them do not bring these feelings of anxiety, as not pronounced and prolonged. For others – on the contrary, strongly violate the overall health and deliver a lot of trouble. Uncomfortable phenomenon may last from several hours to several days, the nature and manifestations of these discomforts diverse and individualized for each woman.

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) – it’s emotional and physical discomfort before menstruation. Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) brings suffering to 80% of women of childbearing age (20-40 years). Approximately 30-40% experiencing so much suffering that disrupted their rhythm of life. And if it is left unattended and can not be cured, then over the years before menstruation discomfort will be felt stronger and stronger. And the most dangerous thing is that then premenstrual syndrome may gradually develop into menopause, and monthly pain will become daily.

The main symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) (they all don’t occur at once), which usually occur for 7-14 days before menstruation:

- Weakness, fatigue, absent-mindedness.

- Insomnia or drowsiness.

- The heightened perception of noise.

- Headache , dizziness, fainting.

- Retardation, speech difficulty, tingling, numbness or a feeling of “chills” in the hands.

- Painful breast engorgement.

- Irritability, resentment, moodiness, tearfulness, conflicts, sudden outbursts of anger.

- Edema, a small weight gain, oliguria.

- Swelling or soreness of the joints, cramps in the calf muscles, aching muscle pain, limitation of movement and discomfort in your neck.

-Skin rash accompanied by itching, acne.

- Seizures heart palpitations.

- Nausea, vomiting, flatulence (gas formation increased in intestines), and constipation.

- Fever, nasal bleeding.

- Increase in appetite, change in taste (taste for salty, sweet), poor tolerance of alcohol.

- Increased susceptibility to infections and disorders of the urinary tract, aggravation of hemorrhoids, the appearance of asthma attacks, allergies.

When you come to the gynecologist, he always asks you what your menstrual cycle is. Many patients believe that the menstrual cycle – these are the days when you have a bloody discharge from the genital tract. In fact it’s just a menses. A menstrual cycle – is a time period from one menstrual period to another and it is from the first day of the last menstrual period before the first day of the next (represents normal 23-35 days)

In addition to the cycle duration is very important it’s regularity. Ideally, from month to month duration of your individual cycle does not change. Fluctuations are allowed within 3 days. If more – this is pathological. There are also important blood amount and your subjective feelings in this period.
If you paid attention to the changing nature of menstruation, there is reason to see a doctor because this may be the first sign of some disease.

First menstruation (menses) is the most striking evidence of the ensuing sexual maturity. Most of the first menstruation (menses) begins at the age of 14-15 years. However, the full development of the girl’s body reaches an average of 18 years.

So, what is it menstrual cycle and how does it work? Consider the standard 28-day cycle, a healthy woman’s menstrual cycle has 2 phases: with 28-days cycle on the first phase 14 days on the second phase.

In the first 14 days, the women are preparing for a possible pregnancy. One part of the brain called the pituitary produces two main hormones that affect the menstrual cycle – follicle-stimulating (FSH) and luteinizing (LH).

Under the influence of FSH in a mature egg from the ovaries, the uterus is thickening of the inner shell in order to accept a fertilized egg. The main hormone secreted in the blood – estrogen. It contributes to the fact that a woman looks good, active, and cheerful. Body temperature – is normal.

Two weeks later there occurs ovulation – exit of mature egg from the ovary. This process occurs due to sharp increases in blood levels of luteinizing hormone, which reaches its peak. If the egg becomes fertilized by a sperm cell, it attaches to the uterine wall and a fetus will begin to develop. The ovulation phase typically occurs in 14 days before the start of the next period.

At this moment, some women experience slight pulling sensation in the abdomen. Very seldom, they may notice bloody discharge from the genital tract.

The fourth and final phase is the premenstrual phase. If the egg is not fertilized, the thickened lining of the uterus is shed and a new menstrual cycle starts all over again.

The body temperature may be somewhat higher (up to 37.0). At this time, on-site release eggs in the ovary under the influence of LH matures corpus luteum, which, in the case of pregnancy, will ensure its preservation.

As a rule, women stop having menses at 50, when they reached menopause (stage when a woman is no able to ovulate or produce eggs, due to this she can no longer become pregnant). Like any other health processes, menopause occurs differently in different woman, this all is rather individual, so, noticing any changes, please turn to doctor!

Read more about menstrual cycles – Menstrual cramps

Ovulation is the process when eggs come out from the ovary. As a rule this process takes place at the 14th day of the cycle, but this is very individual feature that depends on the cycle length, periods’ regularity, etc. If your menstrual cycle is regular and lasts 28 days, most likely you will experience the ovulation on the 14th day.

The symptoms of ovulation can be easily missed. The ovulation is preceded by light and clear secretions from your vagina. They much resemble the raw egg whites. Later, when ovulation finishes, you may see that vaginal secretions became heavier and got whiter mate structure. Also the secretions can disappear at all. After this period the chances to get pregnant become less.

The slight growth of basal temperature is also may be a sign of the ovulation. To define ovulation you should measure the basal body temperature regularly by using special digital thermometer made for this purpose. The best time for measuring basal body temperature is in the morning before getting out from bed. Two – three days before the raise of temperature is the best period of your fertility. Some women experience slight abdominal cramps before the ovulation.

Also there are some ovulation kits that are available on a market. They detect specific hormones in your urine that indicate ovulation.
The doctors advise to have sex once a day during the period before, during and after ovulation. Such sexual activity will increase the chances to get pregnant.