For a diagnosis of PMS to be valid certain criteria need to be met. The symptoms should be present only during part of the menstrual cycle, particularly what is known as the ‘luteal phase’, the second half of the cycle, which precedes the bleeding period. The symptoms tend to lessen within a day or two of the onset, of bleeding. The complaints should therefore be absent for about two weeks during the ‘follicular phase’ of the cycle.
There are varying degrees of severity of this condition. It has been suggested that about 30 to 40 percent of women suffer from some manifestation of premenstrual syndrome. Only a few (probably 5 per cent) suffer from debilitating symptoms. However, it is still a significant cause of distress in our population. There are other conditions which do not tend to follow a cyclical pattern, and it is important to distinguish PMS from these. You may have many of the symptoms listed above if you are suffering from anxiety, depression, thyroid disease or anaemia. Sometimes blood tests are used to exclude certain conditions. A useful exercise is to document the symptoms on a menstrual calendar, to see if there is a cyclical pattern to the symptoms and any relation to the luteal phase.
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