Premenstrual Syndromee

Most women know the feelings: breast tenderness, acne, weight gain, bloating, mood swings, food cravings, headaches, nausea, diarrhea and constipation. They’re the telltale symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, or PMS.

Experts still aren’t sure exactly what causes PMS. Some research shows that it’s related to hormonal changes that occur during a woman’s menstrual cycle. The symptoms may arise during ovulation or just before menses, or they may appear, disappear and reappear during the same cycle. For about one in 20 women, the combination is so bad that it creates a general depression that affects the daily course of their lives. The natural remedies in this chapter—in conjunction with medical care and used with the approval of your doctor—may help ease premenstrual symptoms, according to some health professionals.

Acupressure

To relieve tension and bloating, press points Sp 12 and Sp 13 in the pelvic area, says Michael Reed Gach, Ph.D., director of the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, California, and author of Acupressure’s Potent Points. Both points are located in the middle of the crease where the leg joins the trunk of the body. Sp 12 is slightly lower and a little more toward the center than Sp 13. (To help locate these points, refer to the illustration on page 564.) Dr. Gach says you can stimulate all of these points at one time by positioning your left fist over points Sp 12 and Sp 13 on your left side and your right fist over the points on your right side. Lie on your stomach with both fists in place, using the weight of your body to apply gentle pressure. Find a comfortable position and relax for at least two minutes, suggests Dr. Gach.

He also recommends pressing Sp 4, which is located in the upper arch of each foot, one thumb-width from the ball of the foot. (For help in locating these points, refer to the illustration on page 566.) He says to firmly press one Sp 4 point with your thumb for one minute, then switch feet and press the other Sp 4 point.

Flower Remedy/Essence Therapy

Women who suffer severe PMS symptoms often have deep anxieties about their sexuality, says Cynthia Mervis Watson, M.D., a family practice physician in Santa Monica, California, who specializes in homeopathy and herbal therapy. She recommends taking the California flower essence Pomegranate throughout the months to balance the female organs and encourage a healthy acceptance of reproductive processes. Over time, this may improve premenstrual symptoms, according to Dr. Watson.

Flower essences are available in some health food stores and through mail order (refer to the resource list on page 635). For information on preparing and administering flower essences, see page 37.

Food Therapy

“PMS is improved with a low-fat diet,” says Michael A. Klaper, M.D., a nutritional medicine specialist in Pompano Beach, Florida, and director of the Institute of Nutritional Education and Research, an organization based in Manhattan Beach, California, that teaches doctors about nutrition and its relationship to disease. High-fat foods, especially animal fats, increase symptoms and pain, so he advises that you cut down—or cut out—beef, lamb and pork. And he says to replace butter with polyunsaturated omega-3 oils such as flaxseed, canola, walnut and pumpkin seed, which are available in most health food stores.

A woman with PMS may want to try Progest HP cream, which is made from wild yam, says David Edelberg, M.D., an internist and medical director of the American Holistic Center/Chicago. To use the cream, apply ¼ to ½ teaspoonful over your hips, stomach, buttocks or thighs three times each day from the time you ovulate to the end of your period. He also suggests reducing dairy products and eliminating caffeine, sugar and alcohol. And he says that a woman with premenstrual symptoms may want to use the following regimen of dietary supplements: 400 international units of vitamin E twice a day; 50 milligrams of pyridoxine twice a day; 50 milligrams of B-complex vitamins a day; 400 milligrams of magnesium twice a day; and one capsule of evening primrose oil twice a day. Pyridoxine and evening primrose oil capsules are available in most health food stores.

Herbal Therapy

To prevent or reduce premenstrual symptoms, Barre, Vermont, herbalist Rosemary Gladstar, author of Herbal Healing for Women and other books about herbs, recommends a daily regimen of fish oil, flaxseed oil, evening primrose oil or black currant seed oil. These oils are high in gamma-linolenic acid, which helps relieve PMS symptoms, especially breast tenderness, she says. She suggests taking 500 milligrams of any one of these oils three times a day (every day, not just when you’re experiencing symptoms) or following the dosage recommendations on the product’s label. The oils are available in most health food stores.

Homeopathy

Although PMS is usually treated on a personal, case-by-case basis by homeopaths, you might want to try one of the following 30C remedies before seeking professional help, writes Andrew Lockie, M.D., in his book The Family Guide to Homeopathy. He suggests taking the remedy for the symptoms that most closely match yours every 12 hours for up to three days, beginning 24 hours before PMS usually starts in your cycle.

If your breasts are tender and your symptoms are worse in the morning, try Lachesis, says Dr. Lockie. He recommends Calcarea if you crave eggs and sweets, have cold sweats and swollen and painful breasts and feel clumsy or tired. He says Nux Vomica will help if you feel irritable, chilly and constipated, urinate frequently and crave sweet or fatty foods. If you are disinterested in sex, crave sweet or salty foods and feel irritable, weepy, chilly and emotionally detached, he says to try Sepia.

All of these remedies are available in many health food stores. To purchase the remedies by mail, refer to the resource list on page 637.

Hydrotherapy

Water treatments can ease a variety of premenstrual symptoms, according to Tori Hudson, N.D., a naturopathic physician and professor at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon. To alleviate premenstrual headaches, Dr. Hudson recommends soaking your feet and ankles in a hot foot bath for 30 minutes while applying a cold cloth to the forehead and temples. “This treatment directs blood away from the head, which is good for the congestive headaches some women get before their periods,” says Dr. Hudson.

For premenstrual mood swings, Dr. Hudson recommends a neutral bath, an extended tub soak in water just slightly cooler than body temperature. (It’s the temperature at which you start to feel chilly when a hot bath cools off, says Dr. Hudson.) She recommends soaking for about 20 minutes first thing in the morning, before bed or whenever you’re feeling particularly frazzled, adding water as needed to maintain the temperature of the bath.

Imagery

To help relieve bloating associated with PMS, try this imagery suggested by New York City psychiatrist Gerald Epstein, M.D., in his book Healing Visualizations. Close your eyes and breathe out three times. Picture yourself in a desert. Cover your body with sand and let the sun bake it into your skin. Sense the sand soaking up excessive water from your body and the sun drying up the sand. Open your eyes.

Dr. Epstein suggests that you begin doing this imagery at the first sign of premenstrual symptoms. Repeat three or four times a day, one to two minutes at a time, until the end of your menstrual cycle.

Juice Therapy

Beta-carotene and magnesium may help reduce PMS symptoms, says Cherie Calbom, M.S., a certified nutritionist in Kirkland, Washington, and co-author of Juicing for Life. She recommends increasing your beta-carotene intake during the week before your period by drinking a juice blend of five to seven carrots (for beta-carotene) and a handful of parsley (for magnesium) every day.

If you experience premenstrual bloating due to water retention, try drink ing fresh grape or watermelon juice once a day. “These are natural diuretics,” says Calbom.

For information on juicing techniques, see page 93.

Reflexology

To help control hormone balance, relieve stress and help you relax, work the diaphragm and pituitary, thyroid and adrenal gland reflex points on your hands or feet, suggests St. Petersburg, Florida, reflexologist Dwight Byers, author of Better Health with Foot Reflexology.

To help you locate these points, consult the hand and foot reflex charts beginning on page 582. For instructions on how to work the points, see “Your Reflexology Session” on page 110.

Relaxation and Meditation

Meditating for 20 minutes twice a day triggers deep muscle relaxation, which may lessen the pain of PMS, says Sundar Ramaswami, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist at the F. S. Dubois Community Mental Health Center in Stamford, Connecticut. For information on how to meditate, see page 117.

Vitamin and Mineral Therapy

“The key treatments are vitamin B₆, evening primrose oil, calcium and magnesium,” says Elson Haas, M.D., director of the Preventive Medical Center of Marin in San Rafael, California, and author of Staying Healthy with Nutrition. He suggests taking 50 milligrams of vitamin B₆ twice a day, along with the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for calcium and magnesium, starting seven to ten days before your period and continuing until your period begins. (The RDAs for these nutrients are listed in “Getting What You Need” on page 142.) For evening primrose oil, Dr. Haas says to follow the manufacturer’s recommendations on the package; these supplements are available in most health food stores.

Yoga

A pose called the butterfly (page 624) can help relieve PMS symptoms, say Dr. Robin Monro, Dr. R. Nagarathna and Dr. H. R. Nagendra in their book Yoga for Common Ailments. They recommend including this pose in your daily yoga routine whenever you’re experiencing symptoms.