Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) refers to emotional and physical symptoms that occur regularly in the one to two weeks before the start of each period. Symptoms disappear around the beginning of bleeding. Different women experience different symptoms. The general emotional symptoms are irritability and mood swings, while the general physical symptoms are acne, sensitive breasts, bloating and fatigue; these are also seen in women without PMS. Often symptoms are present for about six days. A person's symptom pattern may change over time. Symptoms do not occur during pregnancy or after menopause.


Diagnosis requires a consistent pattern of emotional and physical symptoms that occur after ovulation and before menstruation to an extent that disrupts normal life. Emotional symptoms may not be present during the early part of the menstrual cycle. A daily list of symptoms over a few months can help with diagnosis. Other conditions causing similar symptoms should be ruled out before a diagnosis is made.


The cause of PMS is unclear, but the underlying mechanism is believed to involve changes in hormone levels. Reducing salt, alcohol, caffeine and stress, along with increased exercise, is usually the only thing recommended in people with mild symptoms. Calcium and vitamin D supplementation may be helpful in some.


Treatment BeterKlinic

BeterKliniek is the clinic for Integrative Medicine that bridges regular and non-regular medicine.

An van Veen (physician) and Michael van Gils (therapist) look for the cause of a condition or disease. That is where the treatment starts otherwise, as people often say, it is 'carrying water to the sea'. We call this cause medicine. Sometimes it is also desirable to treat the symptoms (at the same time). We call this symptom medicine.

Chronic disorders often have their cause in epi- genetics. You can schedule a free informative telephone consultation (phone number 040-7117337 until 1 p.m.) at BeterKliniek to discuss your symptoms so that we can provide you with further advice.