I’m Fighting PMS and Winning

This site aims to raise awareness and share information about Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS, sometimes still called PMT for Premenstrual Syndrome).  PMS is a complex set of hormonal symptoms, which at any given time is affecting a huge number of women ranging from their 20s to their 40s.

I don’t believe that PMS is an inevitable part of being a woman, nor that it should be brushed under the carpet.  I’ve learnt that there are things you can do to help yourself and ease PMS, and sharing information is the start.   I’m a naturally sceptical and curious person which means I always try to weigh up different sources of advice and information to make some sense of them, and this site is about learning and sharing what works.  

My PMS Story

Like many of you, I’m a seasoned rider on the roller coaster of PMS (and I’m not even that keen on fairground rides).

While ‘under the influence’, I’ve driven friends, flatmates and partners mad. I’ve struggled at work. I’ve felt alone and misunderstood. I’ve dogged doctors and asked them questions to which they didn’t have answers to. I’ve done ‘trial and error’ on a host of different remedies and bit of lifestyle advice. I’ve read anything I could get my hands on and talked to anyone I could about their experience of PMS and started taking courses and study days from a variety of disciplines, to find out what works and why.

I know from experience that PMS can make you feel awful about yourself and make your nearest and dearest feel a long way away and that the repurcussions of a bout of PMS can often last for a lot longer that the PMS episode because of how you have behaved

Now I’m older and wiser, I’m sailing in smoother waters now so this is not a blow by blow of how I’m feeling but I remember – and still occasionally experience – the crises caused by PMS.  However, plant-based nutrition and other lifestyle changes have helped me control my hormonal fluctuations and made my PMS manageable.

Looking ahead,  I also want to have this hormone business licked so that, not only can I feel ok every day of every month, I can also confidently face Perimenopause and sail through Menopause – and beyond!

No Magic Bullet To Cure PMS, I’m Afraid

You won’t be surprised to learn that  there is no simple single cure-all for PMS.  (Sorry).  However, there are things you can do.  Plenty of them. And you set up a ‘virtuous circle’ where one positive thing leads to another, e.g.

• You exercise more, which reduces stress, which makes you cope better, which makes you feel more confident and in control, which makes you want to keep up the exercise rather than give up; or
• You eat better, which gives you more energy, which makes you exercise, which gives you an appetite which you burn off easily which makes you look good and feel great

We all know the opposite of virtuous circles – vicious circles – where:

• You feel miserable, so you stuff your face with synthetic, ‘quick hit’ foods, then crash into lethargy and self-loathing, which means you stay in and don’t socialise or exercise because what’s the point?  And anyway,  it’s all too futile and pointless and to do anything about it, isn’t it? (Recognise this?)

PMS Management Is Not Just About Diet And Exercise

What’s worked for me is tackling my PMS in as natural and simple and consistent a way as possible.  Those old favourites, diet and exercise, are important.  But equally, as I get older, I realise more and more that everything is connected and that a holistic approach is most likely to work. as what we eat and how we move our bodies, our mental health, relationships, work and society all have an impact on our health and wellbeing in general, and on PMS in particular.

For me, it’s been about exercise, lifestyle changes, reducing stress, getting in touch with who I am and what I want (without getting all New Age-y about it) and adopting a diet based on plant-based nutrition. 

Please feel free to add your comments to the Blog posts. You can also Contact Me with your questions and personal PMS stories via the form.

It’s good to have you along for the journey.

Bo – The PMS Warrior

Note:  I am in the midst of formally studying Nutrition and am proud to be a Student Member of The Federation of Nutritional Therapy Practitioners.