Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS)
Around 40% of all women in the reproductive years suffer from
PMS at some time. For 10% of sufferers the condition is serious and
debilitating… and in some cases even life threatening. Women with severe
PMS are more likely to commit suicide or have a life threatening
accident. While PMS can effect any reproductive age woman, it has been my
strong observation that it is more common and severe in women leading
already pressured and stressful
lives.
Suspect PMS if you suffer from physical or emotional
symptoms that appear cyclically, occurring in the 2 – 14 days before the
onset of your period, and disappearing with the onset of
menstruation.
While there is still much to be learned about the
intricacies of female hormone imbalance, one thing is for sure…. PMS is
about hormonal imbalance, and is NOT just “all in your
head”!
SYMPTOMS
Symptoms of PMS are diverse, and different from woman
to woman, or sometimes from month to month. The most commonly occurring symptoms
include:
*mood issues – anxiety, depression, tearfulness,
anger, irritability
*poor concentration and
forgetfulness
*clumsiness and lack of
coordination
*fatigue
*headaches or migraine
*breast tenderness
*abdominal bloat
*weight gain and fluid
retention
*sugar cravings and increased
appetite
*abdominal cramping
*acne
Treatment
PMS can be treated extremely effectively with a combination of
naturopathic lifestyle and dietary change, and Traditional Chinese
Acupuncture.
Dietary modification may include: a low glycemic index diet;
changing the type of dietary fats you eat; eliminating alcohol and
coffee; increasing fruits and vegetables and high fibre foods; reducing
dietary salt.
TCM understand PMS as resulting from several possible energy
(qi and blood) imbalances.
These include:
Liver Qi Stagnation (with emotional stress, anger and
frustration as a key causal factor).
Symptoms usually include: Pre menstrual mood issues including
anger, irritability and depression; breast tenderness and/or lumpiness;
abdominal distention; migraine or
headache
Deficiency of Heart blood (often as a result of excessively
heavy periods, or chronic illness).
PMS symptoms include: heart palpitations, feeling of faintness,
insomnia, sadness, fatigue, poor memory and concentration, pale
complex.
Spleen qi deficiency (as a result of overwork, over exertion of
the mind, worry, and poor diet).
PMS symptoms include: fatigue, feelings of heaviness, fluid
retention in ankles and lower legs, dragging feeling in the abdomen, pale
complexion, shallow breathing and loose
stools.
Kidney qi deficiency (often resulting from extreme exhaustion
and adrenal fatigue, or long term anxiety and fear).
PMS symptoms include: lower back soreness, dragging and
stiffness before period; fatigue; feelings of cold; diarrhea at onset of
period; cramping after period begins; watery menstrual blood.
Acupuncture is given once or twice weekly
for a variable number of sessions depending on the individual
picture. Some women
experience marked improvement after only one cycle of
treatment. For others it may
take three menstrual cycles before a clear improvement is noticed.
Links
Testimonies>>
Arrange a consultation with
Lynda>>
Articles
|
