Want more iVillage? Sign up for our
Newsletters
Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) - Other Treatment
SYMPTOMS & TREATMENTS
- Topic Overview
-
Health Tools
- Cause
- Symptoms
- What Happens
- What Increases Your Risk
- When To Call a Doctor
- Exams and Tests
- Treatment Overview
- Prevention
- Home Treatment
- Medications
- Surgery
- Other Treatment
- Other Places To Get Help
- Related Information
- References
- Credits
Although premenstrual syndrome (PMS) can't be cured, you do have a number of lifestyle, medicine, and other treatment choices that can reduce your symptoms and improve your quality of life. Although most of the therapies listed below are not considered standard treatment for PMS, you may find one or more of them helpful in relieving some of your symptoms. In general, these treatments are safe and well tolerated.
Other Treatment Choices
Complementary or alternative therapies
These therapies may help relieve symptoms in some women.
- Relaxation methods, including relaxation exercises, roll breathing, yoga, and massage therapy.
- Bright light therapy. Bright light therapy with cool-white fluorescent light in the mornings and evenings on days when PMS symptoms are present may help relieve symptoms.
Vitamin and mineral supplements often recommended for home treatment of PMS and PMDD
These supplements are commonly recommended for PMS home treatment:
- Calcium. This mineral affects the hormone-producing endocrine system. Calcium may help relieve PMS symptoms. A high level of calcium intake, broken up into three doses per day, may improve your negative moods and reduce fluid retention and pain. Calcium has the added advantage of reducing the risk of osteoporosis.
- Magnesium. Some women take magnesium supplements to help with certain symptoms of PMS. But these supplements might not help everyone.
- Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine). This vitamin affects the endocrine system and helps the body use magnesium. Vitamin B6 might help improve PMS depression and physical symptoms. Take no more than 100 mg daily to avoid toxic effects on the nervous system.
- Vitamin E. Some women take vitamin E supplements to help with breast tenderness related to PMS. But these supplements might not help everyone.
Other mineral or herbal therapies sometimes used for PMS
- Zinc. Zinc may help improve PMS-related acne.
- Vitex (agnus-castus, or chasteberry). Although vitex's action on the body isn't well understood, it does seem to change hormone levels that affect ovulation and estrogen production. Vitex might help relieve irritability, anger, breast tenderness, bloating, cramping, and headaches. But possible side effects include nausea, gastrointestinal upset, and malaise.
- Ginkgo biloba. Ginkgo may reduce breast tenderness, bloating, and weight gain. But it is not known if ginkgo helps relieve PMS symptoms.
- Black cohosh. Black cohosh is sometimes used to relieve menopause symptoms and it might help relieve symptoms of PMS. But this therapy might not work for everyone. If you plan to take black cohosh, talk to your doctor about how to take it safely.
- Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis). The oil of evening primrose is a rich source of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), an essential fatty acid, and may offer mild relief of breast tenderness. But it is not known if evening primrose can relieve PMS symptoms.
What to think about
Before you start taking a vitamin, herb, or mineral supplement, talk with your doctor or pharmacist. He or she can find out if it might interfere with other medicines you are taking.
You can buy vitamin and mineral supplements and herbal remedies in drugstores, grocery stores, or health food stores.
When trying an alternative therapy for PMS or PMDD, first try those that are most known to be effective. Try a therapy for two to three menstrual cycles: to be helpful, some therapies may require use for more than one cycle.
As with all supplements, it is important to follow the directions on the supplement label. Do not exceed the maximum dose. If you are trying to become pregnant but want some relief from your PMS symptoms, discuss using nutritional supplements and herbal remedies with your health professional. Certain supplements and remedies have side effects that should be avoided if you are trying to become pregnant.
| By: | Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: May 17, 2011 |
| Medical Review: | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine Kirtly Jones, MD - Obstetrics and Gynecology | |
© 1995-2011 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
Welcome to Care Circle, an exclusive tool to help you take care of yourself and your loved ones. Here's how it works:
- Create profiles for yourself and your loved ones.
- Select the topics and conditions that interest each of you.
- Get customized news updates, original content, tools, and expert advice for each Care Circle member delivered directly to your personalized homepage.
The information you input is strictly private; you choose who has access to your Care Circle.
How do I add myself or someone else to my care circle?
Click on "Add someone." Fill out the short profile. Choose an avatar. Select the topics and conditions that interest this person from the pulldown menu. You can select as many as you want, but you must choose at least one. Click on "Add Someone" again. You should start getting updates immediately.
How do I save content to my Care Circle?
Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab of the person for whom you're saving content. Put your cursor over the piece of content that you want to save; a disk icon will appear in the righthand corner. Click on the disk and the piece of content will be moved to a save folder.
How do I add additional topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?
Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Add More to Follow," select additional topics and conditions.
How do I delete topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?
Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Follows," scroll over the topic or condition you want to delete. An "X" should appear on the righthand side. Click on the "X" and the topic or condition will be deleted from the list.
To manage your Care Circle, Please
Sign In.
from
- Facebook is now fueling organ donations
- Military women and suicide: Home safe but not sound
- Still in gear: Injuries don’t stop veterans on 100-day bike trek
- Ask Jenna: I've hit a weight loss plateau. What do I do?
- He poses in a tutu to laugh in face of wife's cancer
- After chemo hair loss, 'henna crowns' help heal
The iVillage Network