Who discovered PMS?

PMS symptoms were first reported in medical literature in 1931 by Drs. Frank and Horney.

The term premenstrual syndrome was not coined until 1953 by Dr. Katharina Dalton, a GP. Dr. Dalton was herself a PMS sufferer, whose most noticeable symptom was a monthly migraine. She set up the first PMS clinic in Britain with endocrinologist Dr. Raymond Greene, and ran it for 40 years, until her retirement in 2000 at age 84. Dr. Dalton was often sought out to give expert testimony supporting female defendants who claimed diminished responsibility due to premenstrual syndrome.

In 1987, PMS was rechristened late luteal phase dysphoric disorder (LLPDD) in the “Bible” of psychiatry, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-III). In the 2000 edition of the DSM-IV, it was again renamed to premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Most lay people still refer to it as PMS. PMDD usually connotes a much more serious condition.

What does not cause PMS?

Stress or emotional problems do not cause PMS, but they can aggravate it. Researchers have ruled out the following “likely suspects” that were erroneously implicated as causing PMS :

• Excess estrogen hormone
• Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) deficiency
• Electrolyte imbalance (sodium, potassium, bicarbonate)
• Estrogen withdrawal
• Poor glucose metabolism
• Fluid imbalance

It is now well established that the above causes are definitely not responsible for PMS.

Click here to read about the symptoms of PMS