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PMS
What is premenstrual syndrome (PMS)?
Up to 85 percent of women normally have one or more troubling physical and emotional symptoms between the time they ovulate and the first days of their menstrual period. These are called premenstrual symptoms. When premenstrual symptoms interfere with your relationships or responsibilities, they are called premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
While some women first have PMS in their teens or 20s, others don't until their 30s. PMS can come and go during your reproductive years; you may find that your symptoms worsen as you approach perimenopause, in your late 30s or 40s.
PMS occurs only in women who ovulate during their monthly menstrual cycle. Women who do not ovulate—because of pregnancy, menopause, or taking birth control pills—do not have PMS symptoms. However, many do have similar hormone-related symptoms.
What causes PMS?
PMS is linked to changes in the endocrine system, which produces hormones that control the menstrual cycle. Because the female endocrine system is so complex, medical experts don't fully understand the chain of events that causes premenstrual symptoms to be severe in some women and not in others.
The one direct cause that is known to affect some women is genetic. Many women with PMS have a close family member with a history of PMS.
Click here for more information on PMS.
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