What can be done for really bad PMT?

Posted by: Anonymous

Date Entered: Sep 28, 2009

Last Update: Sep 28, 2009 - 5:07 PM

Every month I get really bad PMT. I am on a short fuse for about a week before my period and tend to get very tearful. I am finding it hard to keep it together in the office and have over-reacted to several situations recently. A friend mentioned that herbs can help this sort of thing.

Herbal medicine can be very effective in the modulation of hormones

Posted by: Deborah Grant

Date Entered: Sep 28, 2009

The biochemical changes that occur premenstrually can have quite an impact on the emotions. Herbal medicine can be very effective in the modulation of hormones and in getting a woman back on an even keel.

I give patients a menstrual diary to fill out. This keeps a record of any tearfulness, nausea, depression, pain, skin problems a woman may experience during the month. This information helps in my diagnosis and enables me to prescribe the herbs that will best suit the patient’s needs.

Aromatherapy treatments for PMS

Posted by: Beverley Hawkins

Date Entered: Sep 28, 2009

Pre-menstrual Syndrome (PMS) affects all women to a greater or lesser degree and is caused by the change in the balance of the female hormones during the menstrual cycle. This change brings with it troublesome, but mainly harmless symptoms. PMS can begin at any time from two days to two weeks before menstruation. Physical symptoms can include fluid retention, constipation, breast tenderness, weight gain, headaches, nausea, skin eruptions, swollen joints and nervous tension. In addition to these, there may also be psychological symptoms such as tearfulness, irritability, lethargy, low self-esteem, depression and food/alcohol cravings. Fortunately most women only experience a few symptoms at any one time. Others, who are more fortunate, experience them at such a minimal level as to not be inconvenienced by them at all.

The reason for many of the symptoms is the drop in the level of progesterone, which in turn causes the sugar and salt levels to rise. This rise in sugar and salt levels can lead to fluid retention, which will affect all the cells in the body including those in the brain. It is thought by some that this could be the main cause of the problems that arise at this time both physical and psychological.

Essential oils and essential oil blends can be very effectively incorporated into a defense strategy. This is a cyclic problem so needs to be addressed on a regular basis. The essential oil blend should be used on a daily basis, starting about two weeks before the next period is due and continue using the blend until the period is over.

Ways in which your blend could be used include:

• Topical massage of shoulders, where tension tends to build up
• Topical massage around the abdomen in circular, clockwise strokes
• Topical massage around the lower back
• Added to your bath
• Added to a diffuser or vaporizer or a tissue for inhalation

• You might also like to consider some dietary supplements such as Vitamin B6 and Evening Primrose Oil.
• Changes to the diet such as reducing dairy products, tea, coffee, chocolate, alcohol, salt and read meat has also proven to be helpful for some.
• Essential oils, which have been found to be helpful for this condition include: bergamot, chamomile (Roman and German), clary sage, cypress, fennel, geranium, grapefruit, jasmine, juniper, lavender, neroli, palmarosa, rose, sandalwood, vetiver, ylang ylang.