PMS stands for premenstrual syndrome and refers to the physical, psychological and emotional symptoms a child-bearing age woman can experience as she goes through the phase of her menstrual cycle that occurs between ovulation and the start of her monthly bleed.
In the loose meaning of the term, PMS, it is interpreted to mean any difficulty a woman experiences during her menses but the true meaning of PMS is that it refers to symptoms experienced only during a two-week period of time between the time her monthly egg is released and the monthly flow begins. The abbreviation PMS is more frequently referred to rather than the term premenstrual syndrome.
Some say that all menstruating women experience at least one symptom of PMS, while others say only a percentage of menstruating women experience true PMS. There are a smaller still percentage of women who experience symptoms so severe that they are incapable of functioning in daily tasks. This small percentage of women experience what is called premenstrual dysphoric disorder or PMDD.
The symptoms of PMS include those that are physical, psychological and emotional. The symptoms range in intensity from mild, moderate to severe. The symptoms number 150+ and women can get one or several of them each month. Her symptoms vary not only in intensity each month but she may experience different PMS symptoms one month and other symptoms the next month.
Common PMS symptoms include more acne than usual, abdominal bloating and cramping, breast tenderness and swelling, anxiety and depression, feeling tense or stressed out, insomnia or other difficulties sleeping, back or joint or muscle pain, headaches or migraines, fatigue, mood swings, and a worsening of other conditions and disorders such as asthma getting worse or skin disorders getting worse when she has PMS.
Women who are especially at risk for developing PMS symptoms are those who have a high caffeine intake, those under stress, women of child-bearing age, women with a history of depression, women with a family history of PMS, women who have a poor diet or those who consume large amounts of fat or lack calcium in the diet.
Studies have shown that female identical twins have a high occurrence of PMS than female fraternal twins. There also seems to be a higher occurrence of PMS among women who suffer from affective disorders such as bipolar disorder and depression.
There is no cure for PMS and to date, there has not been established a definite causes or causes for PMS.
There is no one definitive test for the presence of PMS or unique physical finding that can verify that a woman is indeed suffering from PMS. A doctor is required to assess the physical findings as well as to ascertain what symptoms the woman is experiencing and how these symptoms are affecting her daily life. Many doctors ask women complaining of PMS symptoms to record the symptoms she has for a two-month period of time along with how the symptoms affect her life in order to determine if she has PMS. Many doctors use the Calendar of Premenstrual syndrome Experiences (COPE), and the Prospective Record of the Impact and Severity of Menstruation (PRISM), and the Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) to help make the diagnosis of PMS.