Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

Following the American Cancer Society’s guidelines for the early detection of breast cancer improves the chances that breast cancer can be diagnosed at an early stage and treated successfully. Therefore, it is important for women to take an active role in early detection. Your physician can provide information for the proper schedule of checkups and symptoms to watch for. This advice will be based on a woman’s age, medical history and other factors.

Symptoms …What to look for

Early breast cancer usually does not cause pain. In fact, when it first develops, breast cancer may cause no symptoms at all. But as the cancer grows, it can cause changes that women should watch for:

• A lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm area.

• A change in the size or shape of the breast.

• A discharge from the nipple.

• A change in the color or feel of the breast, areola or nipple (dimpled, puckered or scaly).

A woman should see her doctor if she notices any of these changes. Most often, they are not cancer, but only a doctor can tell for sure. Breast exams save lives!

There are four important early detection procedures:

• Clinical Breast Exam

• Breast Self-exam

• Mammogram

• Digital Mammogram

Clinical Breast Exam (CBE)

A breast exam by a physician or nurse is typically a part of a routine annual check up for all women. During a CBE, a health professional will carefully inspect and palpate (feel) a woman’s breasts and under her arms to check for lumps or other unusual changes while she is lying down.

A clinical breast exam is not a substitute for regular mammography for women over 40 years of
age.

Self-examination Techniques

By regularly examining her own breasts, a woman is likely to notice any changes that occur. The best time for breast self-examination (BSE) is about a week after your period ends, when your breasts are not tender or swollen. If you are not having regular periods, do BSE on the same day every month.

For monthly breast exams use the fingerpads of your three middle fingers to feel your breast.
Always use your left hand for your right breast and your right hand for your left breast.

Three Methods

Use one of the following methods consistently each time you examine yourself:

1. Circular motion in an oval pattern.

2. Vertical motion in a rectangular pattern.

3. Wedge motion in an oval pattern.

Check for any lumps, hard knots, swelling, dimpling, or thickening. Observe for abnormal change of size, shape, color or discharge.

Standing in front of a mirror, look at both breasts while your arms are at your sides. While raising your arms slowly, look for swelling or changes in nipples or breasts. With your hands on your hips, flex your chest muscles and compare your breasts.

While in the shower, extend your right arm up and examine your right breast. Switch (extend left arm, examine left breast).

While reclined on your bed or floor on your back, place a pillow under your right shoulder so your right breast is flat. Examine your right breast with your right arm under your head. Switch (place pillow under left shoulder and examine left breast).

Mammography

A mammogram is a special x-ray. It is actually two x-rays of each breast, one taken from the top and one from the side. The breast must be compressed between two flat surfaces in order to obtain clear images. While this compression may be uncomfortable (not painful), it lasts for only a few seconds. In many cases, mammograms can detect breast tumors that are too small to be felt or cause symptoms. A mammogram may also show small deposits of calcium in the breast. A cluster of very tiny specks of calcium (called microcalcifications) may be an early sign of cancer.

Mammography should be done only by specially trained medical staff using equipment designed for taking x-rays of the breast. The x-ray images should be read and interpreted by a qualified radiologist. (See information about new digital mammography.)

To learn where you can get a mammogram, talk with your doctor or phone Boone Hospital Center scheduling to make an appointment (573-815-8150) or call the National Cancer Institute’s

Cancer Information Service (1-800-4-CANCER)

The Dr. Hugh Harris Breast Screening & Diagnostic Center performs mammograms in a comfortable, private setting staffed with highly qualified health professionals. Mammography screening remains the single most effective method to detect breast cancer in early stages. However, because no medical test is always 100% accurate, mammography is no exception. Therefore, it is important for women to have their breasts examined regularly by a doctor or nurse and perform BSE’s.

Information provided by the National Cancer Institute and NBCAM.

Q: How does migraine display?
A: Migraine is a prolonged severe headache that lasts 4 – 72 hours. The headaches can be recurrent, common or disabling. There are several common symptoms typical for migraine disorder. They include pains in one or both throbbing sides of the head, the character of these pains can vary from moderate to severe, they can be stable or periodical, repeating during long period of time. As a rule the pain worsens during usual physical activities like walking or going upstairs. Light and sounds are also irritants that can cause symptoms worsening.

Sometimes migraines are accompanied with visual effect known as aura. As for menstrual migraine it is usually occurs without aura that includes such fortification figures as light spots, sparkling, lines appearing before the eyes. Sometimes aura worsens to the loss of sight. Most patients with migraine prefer to stay in the dark room during the painful attack, it is better for eyes. Migraine is not a fatal disease, but it affects everyday life, disabling a person from doing usual activities.

Q: What is the reason of migraine?
A: Migraines are the result of chemical imbalance inside the brain that influence on blood vessels. The migraine pain is not connected with blood pressure drop, it is caused by vessels expanding. Some matters can stimulate migraine pains, they are alcohol, caffeine, nuts, chocolate, onions, nitrates and MSG in food, etc. The emotional triggers are stress, depressions. The increased eye strain also can cause migraine attack, as well as weather changes, bright light or magnetic storms. Women can struggle from migraine due to the hormonal changes in their organisms during periods.

Q: Menstrual Migraine: what is it?
A: There are two types of Menstrual Migraines also known as hormonal migraines – Pure Menstrual Migraine (PMM) and Menstrually Related Migraine (MRM). PMM is a migraine attack happened during menstruation period and a short time before and after it. MRM is another type of migraines that occur during the periods and other phases of women’s cycle like ovulation. They occur several times per cycle.

Q: What is the reason of Menstrual Migraine?
A: The causes of Menstrual Migraines are still not studied properly. There is an obvious connection between hormone changes due to menstrual cycle and migraine attacks. The studies admitted that migraine is certainly caused by hormonal level change that precedes periods. Women suffering from Menstrual Migraine pains react on hormonal trigger in such a way. It is an individual characteristic of their organism.

Q: How often does Menstrual Migraine occur?
A: There are about 21 million of US women experiencing migraines. 60% of them struggle from MRM or PMM.

Q: How does Menstrual Migraines differ from usual migraine?
A: As a rule Menstrual Migraine is characterized by more severe headaches that take longer. Menstrual Migraine attacks can occur more often than usual migraines among men.

PMS (pre menstrual syndrome) is a well known syndrome connected with women menstrual cycle. It usually starts from 2 days to 2 weeks to the menses. Actually it’s characterized with several symptoms among which the most well-known are anxiety, headaches, pains in breast, mood changes, appetite changes and overweighting.

Doctors have no single idea whether this syndrome is connected with hormonal changes in the body or not, but it’s a well-known fact that in this period the level of serotonin in the body lowers. Serotonin is the very hormone to correspond for the appetite, sleep habits, mood swings and so on. So, during pms period this level becomes lower. As a result, mood changes, insomnia, appetite changes like overeating, aches and spasms. In this period a woman can feel depressed and a bit under the weather. What is more, in some cases there are feelings of loneness, anxiety and tearfulness.

One should remember that at this period many chronicle disease can exacerbate (most common is asthms). In this case, a woman should consult the doctor to get the treatment as some symptoms like headaches, muscle spasms can be quite painful and they need relief. Without some medicines a woman can really suffer from pms symptoms.

At this period there is sometimes so-called pms depression, which is not a really terrible disease, but, nevertheless makes some troubles and discomfort for daily activity. One shouldn’t mix up neurosis and typical depression with pms depression. At first sight one can think that they are very alike as the symptoms are quite similar, but it’s not true! Really, at initial examination a woman can enumerate all the symptoms similar to neurosis, but their nature is in essence different.

As pms depression is connected with the menstrual cycle, as ordinary depression is connected with stress, bad body condition and other causes and reasons. To indicate exactly pms depression a woman should report all the changes in the body for two a three menstrual cycles. First of all it’s made for a woman to find the very pms period as the similar changes in the body and mood indicates the starting and the finishing point of pms. Secondly, it’s made for a doctor to understand whether these symptoms are connected with the pms depression or with neurosis or exacerbation. Surely, pms depression doesn’t last for a month or two. In this case a woman should consult a doctor.

There are some medicines, herbal tablets and physical exercises to relive the pain or to ease the spasms. But, surely, they should be prescribed by the doctor. Some easy exercises are possible to find in the internet as they just ease the pain. But in case of worsening, there should be prescribed medicines. PMS depression are treated clinically quite rare as the basic treatment are some antidepressants. Pms depression and catastrophic symptoms are treated individually.

So, pms is special period of menstrual symptoms which is characterized with wood swings, increasing of tearfulness level, anxiety, some physical symptoms but mostly connected with the level of serotonin in the blood. Many of pms symptoms as the whole condition of the body during this period is quite individual. If there are some changes in the pms symptoms or pms period, a woman should consult a doctor. Another thing is these symptoms and condition shouldn’t be mixed up with pregnancy symptoms.