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Dealing with ‘shark week’

By on December 23, 2017

Pre-menstrual Syndrome, or PMS, is a condition that girls and women – from pre-teens through to 30 years – can suffer before their period each month. They are known to cause irritability and sometimes tremendous mood swings.

Let’s have a look at an example: Tina, a very well-behaved child, was never known to get verbal, forget angry or violent. During a summer vacation before Class 7, she threw her first tantrums simply because her mother offered her younger brother lemonade first, even though she was very thirsty.

Her parents were pleasantly and apprehensively relieved when Tina woke up the next morning with her first menstrual period, mild dysmenorrhea and an apology. Her mother consoled her, acknowledging that her ‘tantrums’ were the result of PMS.

Symptoms typically begin a week to 10 days before the onset of periods and drastically cease when menstruation begins. They include feelings of bloating, fatigue, mastalgia (sore breasts), changes in appetite, irritability and at times tremendous mood swings. The pattern includes a complete absence of symptoms after the period and up to ovulation (mid-cycle). Typical changes begin a few days after ovulation and end with the onset of the next period.

The exact of cause of PMS is not understood. However, hormonal changes related to progesterone and sodium retention is probably a cause that results in accentuated reactions in the brain. Fluctuations in the levels of serotonin (a neurotransmitter) could result in irritation and depression, food cravings and insomnia.

Read the full article in 'Viva Goa' magazine copy.
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