PMS / PMDD

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• PMS / PMDD

Although similar, PMS and PMDD are actually two different syndromes. PMDD is a more severe form of PMS, as discussed below.

What Is PMS?

Any of a complex of symptoms (including emotional tension and fluid retention) experienced by some women in the days immediately before menstruation.

Women with PMS will often suffer from bouts of depression, erratic moods swings, alternating libido, headaches, painful joints, boating alongside many other uncomfortable symptoms. PMDD is not a whole different thing, rather it is a more acute variant of PMS.

What Is PMDD?

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder or PMDD is a condition associated with severe emotional and physical problems that are linked closely to the menstrual cycle.

PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) is a more severe version of PMS. It is widely thought that unlike PMS, PMDD is not controllable and cannot be managed. PMDD can be so severe that it interferes with the lifestyle of the sufferer in a major way, breaking relationships and becoming a barrier to social development. Some of the symptoms of PMDD include:

• Fatigue
• Food cravings
• Insomnia
• Severe depression
• Anxiety
• Lack of focuss

The problem with diagnosing PMDD is that many of the symptons are the same as those in PMS, only much stronger and profound. The danger then, considering the relative obscurity of PMDD, is that the sufferer is diagnosed incorrectly with 'regular' PMS. Because of this it is estimated that as many as 1/4 of all women diagnosed with PMS actually suffer from PMDD.

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