Pharmacy Corner

Let's Talk About Your Period PMS Symptoms

Symptoms of PMS can be put into three categories, mood, behavioural and physical. These can occur together or separately and can vary depending on the person.

Mood	Behavioural	Physical
Sadness	Fatigue	Bloating
Anger	Food cravings and/or overeating	Breast tenderness/pain
Anxiety	Aggression	Headache
Irritability	Changes in sexual interest	Acne
Mood swings	Trouble sleeping	Weight gain
Forgetfulness	Tension	Muscle pain
Difficulty concentrating		Constipation or diarrhea

PMS can be diagnosed by using a diary chart to log in your PMS symptoms you have and when they occur. If you get PMS symptoms for at least 2 menstrual cycles (once a month) and you a have at least a week where you have no symptoms, then it can be diagnosed as PMS. For a sample diary chart go to this link: https://www.womenshealth.gov/files/documents/pms-symptom-tracker.pdf

What Makes PMS Worse?

Smoking can cause a major increase in your PMS symptoms. If you smoke, quitting can make a major difference²⁷
Stress and lack of exercise
Being obese²⁸
Not getting enough vitamin D and calcium^{25, 26}
Traumatic life events

You must enable JavaScript in your browser in order to view this page.

How do I enable JavaScript?

Given below are the specific instructions on enabling JavaScript in your browser. If your browser isn't listed, please consult its help resources.

Internet Explorer 6.0+

Click the Tools menu.
Select Internet Options.
Click the Security tab.
Click the Custom Level button.
Scroll down until you see the 'Scripting' section. Select the 'Enable' radio button for 'Active Scripting.'
Click the OK button.
If you see a confirmation window, click the Yes button.

Firefox 3.6+

Click the Tools menu.
Select Options.
Click the Content tab.
Select the 'Enable JavaScript' checkbox.
Click the OK button.

Safari 2 or 3

Click the Safari menu.
Select Preferences.
Click the Security tab.
Select the 'Enable JavaScript' checkbox.

Google Chrome 10

Click the Tool icon at the top-right of the browser.
Click options.
Select Under the Hood.
Click on the Content settings button
Select JavaScript in the left menu
Select 'Allow all sites to run JavaScript'