The Menstrual Cycle

The ovaries produce estrogen throughout the menstrual cycle. Estrogen causes the lining of your uterus (endometrium) to build up during the first half of your menstrual cycle.

It peaks during the second and third weeks of the menstrual cycle. It declines during the last week of the cycle. The ovaries produce progesterone during the last two weeks of the menstrual cycle, called the luteal or secretory phase.

Symptoms of Premenstrual Syndrome

What Is Premenstrual Syndrome?

It refers to the physical and emotional symptoms that exist during the one or two weeks before the beginning of menstruation (the time in a woman's monthly cycle when she bleeds, also known as a woman's period). Sometimes premenstrual symptoms last a few days after menstrual bleeding starts.

PMS has been seen since the times of ancient Greece. It has been reported in Eastern (Asian) cultures as well as throughout the Western World. Modern scientific study of PMS has been going on since the early 1930s.

A woman is considered to have PMS when her pms symptoms :

cause significant discomfort
interfere with her daily life
occur primarily during the last two weeks of her menstrual cycle
cannot be implicated to other conditions

At least 80% of menstruating women have some premenstrual symptoms :

About 40% of menstruating women have PMS
About 10% have severe symptoms, a condition called premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Nine million women, or

For most women PMS symptoms are mild. For others, the symptoms can be considered as severe and even incapacitating. The severity of a woman's symptoms has much more to do with her body chemistry than her personality.

PMS can occur perpetually after puberty, but more women experience symptoms in their 30s and 40s than in their teenage years. Women who have had more children tend to have more severe symptoms, and women whose mother had PMS are at increased risk. PMS tends to get worse as women age and experience hormonal changes. Women with a history of depression have a higher risk of PMS.

Click here to read about the symptoms of PMS

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