Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

Birth control medications are now used for treating the severest type of premenstrual syndrome – premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). The first such drug that was approved by FDA is Yaz. It was clinically proved that Yaz is able to relief PMDD symptoms with efficiency not less than 50%. These results motivated FDA for its approval.

What is more, Yaz showed its effectiveness in removing both physical and emotional disorders caused by PMDD, positively influencing on daily activity, relations with people and emotional stability.

Yaz, as other hormonal birth control medications, contains estrogen and the unique form of progestin. Its unique characteristics are very helpful in fighting PMDD, if to follow its 24-day intake schedule, according to the latest release from Berlex Inc., the American representative of Yaz manufacturer (Schering).

Andrea Rapkin, MD from UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, reports: “Yaz is able to solve both problems. It combines facilities for effective contraception for preventing unwanted pregnancy and for reducing the PMDD impact on female organism”.
It is common for the most of women to experience PMS problems, but PMDD occurs only in 5% of cases. PMDD has the strongest symptoms that impact women making them unable to do their everyday activities.

PMDD: Aggressive PMS Successor

For the most of doctors and patients PMDD is something like PMS squared. For diagnosing PMDD women has to experience at least five of the symptoms described below:

· Mood swings, frequent wish to cry

· The feel of apathy, sadness or hopelessness

· Increased irritability worsening relationships with people around

· Tenseness or anxiety with no reason

· The feel of losing control

· Shortage of energy

· The loss of interest to things and people that usually were interesting

· Appetite changes like intense desire to eat, overeating

· Problems with attention and its concentration, slow mental work

· Slumber problems: not getting enough sleep or excessive sleeping

· Physical disorders like headaches, pains in muscles and joints, swelling, breast tenderness, increase of weight, etc.

It is required to experience one of the first four symptoms to give a diagnosis of PMDD. As a rule these symptoms appear the week before periods and totally disappear in a couple of days after they start.

PMDD is very hard to stand, that is why doctors often prescribe the whole complex of medications for its treatment, including antidepressants, hormonal drugs, water pills, vitamins. Nowadays many kinds of birth control pills are used to treat PMDD, but Yaz was the first one that received FDA approval.

The most popular side effects caused by Yaz are headaches and pain in breasts.