Do some women not have PMS?

[Jean in Newcastle]

I was reading from a medical book earlier today (written by a male Dr.) who stated that 1/3 of women of child-bearing age have PMS. Really? That's all? That would mean that 2/3 of women don't have PMS at all? I've met women who have severe PMS, some with very mild PMS and more who fall in between but I've never met one without any. But then I suppose those women wouldn't be the ones complaining about it. . . What says the hive? Do some of you not have PMS?

[coffeefreak]

If they're out there, I haven't met them!!!!:lol:

[cathmom]

Can we have a definition of what you consider PMS and when it occurs?

[ThatCyndiGirl]

I have no symptoms of anything at all BEFORE I punctuate.

 

 

However, while punctuation is ongoing I do have back pain for two days. (usually the first two days)

[Jean in Newcastle]

Can we have a definition of what you consider PMS and when it occurs?

 

Interesting question. When I googled premenstrual definition and symptoms, this was one of the things that popped up.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premenstrual_syndrome

 

It says specifically: "More than 200 different symptoms have been associated with PMS, but the three most prominent symptoms are irritability, tension, and dysphoria (unhappiness).[1]

 

Common emotional and non-specific symptoms include stress, anxiety, difficulty in falling asleep (insomnia), headache, fatigue, mood swings, increased emotional sensitivity, and changes in libido.[3]

 

Most formal definitions require the presence of emotional symptoms as the chief complaint; the presence of exclusively physical symptoms associated with the menstrual cycle, such as bloating, abdominal cramps, constipation, swelling or tenderness in the breasts, cyclic acne, and joint or muscle pain, is not considered PMS.[4]

 

The exact symptoms and their intensity vary from woman to woman and even from cycle to cycle. Most women with premenstrual syndrome experience only a few of the possible symptoms, in a relatively predictable pattern.[5] Under typical definitions, symptoms must be present at some point during the ten days immediately before the onset of menses, and must not be present for at least one week between the onset of menses and ovulation.[4] Although the intensity of symptoms may vary somewhat, most definitions require that the woman's unique constellation of symptoms be present in multiple, consecutive cycles.[4]"

 

The part that I bolded really surprised me. Maybe it is a matter of medical definition vs. the common women's definition then!

[Laura Corin]

I went through a phase of having bad PMS, but otherwise I've not had it.

 

Laura

[Pippen]

I had some physical and emotional symptoms prior to having kids, but something about child-bearing and/or nursing put an end to them.

[Carrie12345]

I think it's hard to determine with such a subjective definition.

 

I don't consider myself to experience "PMS" in the way *I* think of PMS. Some months I'm more emotionally sensitive than others, but I can't say for certain that it has anything to do with my cycle.

 

I do consider myself pretty darn lucky!

[lionfamily1999]

I've known people that never obviously had PMS. For me, most of my pms is emotional, although I nearly always get at least one bad zit (regarding the bolded part of the definition).

 

I think for some women, the symptoms are not apparent, or so mild as to hardly exist. It is kind of surprising to hear that so many women don't have any PMS at all....

[Jackie in AR]

I had PMS from the time I started my cycles until after my first children were born. Then I went a few years without really noticing any difference at all. That was very nice! Now that I'm getting . . . ahem . . . older, PMS is back in full force. Not very enjoyable, for me or my family. ;)

[chiguirre]

When I take the bc pill, I don't have PMS. I do get a headache on the first day, but an Ibuprofen takes care of that. Without bc, I have much worse symptoms both before and during.

[Peela]

That's always confused me too...where are they? I am not sure I have ever met any either. I really wonder where doctors get figures like that- they really probably just make them up.

 

ETA I see, after reading the previous posts, that they do exist. Amazing.

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

I never, ever, ever had any sort of anything that anyone would consider PMS .... until I turned 40

 

Now I understand what all the fuss is about (but even now it is pretty mild, compared to what I've heard other women describe)

[Renee in NC]

I don't have PMS and haven't since my early 20s. I imagine it will come back when I am older.

[kalanamak]

I didn't have it. I always thought babies were cute about mid-cycle, and I got a little tender here and there right before, but no, I didn't have it.

[Julie in CA]

I don't have it. :001_smile:

For those of you that do...:grouphug:

[Murphy101]

I have no symptoms of anything at all BEFORE I punctuate.

 

 

However, while punctuation is ongoing I do have back pain for two days. (usually the first two days)

 

That's the most I've had too. And that is only once I hit my 30s. And extra tired. I just want to sleep until it's over with, but that is more likely due to low iron levels than the PMS itself.

 

I remember when I was pregnant with my first the lamaze instructor was saying that early labor felt like PMS cramps. I had no idea what the heck that meant. She said, with a rather unpleasant attitude, that it was like a charlie horse in your leg.

 

What blarney. I don't know what PMS feels like for some of you, but I sure as heck know that not one moment of that labor felt anything like a charlie horse cramp in your calf.

[MelanieM]

I think the term PMS is now used to explain just about any kind of symptom a woman has during her cycle, whether or not that's actually what PMS is according to medical definition. Bad day? must be PMS. Headache? must be PMS. On the other hand, women who don't consider themselves as suffering from PMS are not likely to attribute the same conditions to their cycle.

 

PMS or not, I would think that almost all women have some type of physical or emotional change within their cycle, whether they are aware of it or not, simply because that's what is going on! The body is changing, hormones are shifting, things are happening... it makes sense that we would be aware of that if we were in the habit of tuning into our bodies. (Not to say that every woman that has no symptoms isn't in tune with her body... I imagine for some people it's all very subtle.)

 

I also wonder with the 1/3 and 2/3 number how that coincides with the percentage of women taking some form of chemical birth control. If birth control helps with symptoms (which seems to be what the experts and a lot of women say), and two thirds of women are taking the stuff, then that's the answer right there. lol!

 

I used to have pretty severe symptoms when I was younger. It seems to have changed a lot since my first pregnancy, and certainly isn't anything like it used to be in my teens.

Edited February 16, 2010 by MelanieM

[MelanieM]

What blarney. I don't know what PMS feels like for some of you, but I sure as heck know that not one moment of that labor felt anything like a charlie horse cramp in your calf.

 

My last labour I had extreme (EXTREME) cramping in my thighs during my 10 hours of active labour. It was exactly like the pain I had during my period when I was a teen, during which I would spend a day in my bed crying, using a hot iron wrapped in a damp towel to help ease the pain. So for me, yeah, it was pretty similar... but probably not in the "oh, it's not that bad" way that instructor meant it!

[Aoife]

Luckily I have never had PMS however catch me around the first few months of pregnancy and i make up for it :P

[Prudent]

I have never suffered from PMS.

 

After my 1st baby ovulation was excruciating the first few cycles, but my period has always come and gone without fanfare.

[jujsky]

Interesting question. When I googled premenstrual definition and symptoms, this was one of the things that popped up.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premenstrual_syndrome

 

It says specifically: "More than 200 different symptoms have been associated with PMS, but the three most prominent symptoms are irritability, tension, and dysphoria (unhappiness).[1]

 

Common emotional and non-specific symptoms include stress, anxiety, difficulty in falling asleep (insomnia), headache, fatigue, mood swings, increased emotional sensitivity, and changes in libido.[3]

 

Most formal definitions require the presence of emotional symptoms as the chief complaint; the presence of exclusively physical symptoms associated with the menstrual cycle, such as bloating, abdominal cramps, constipation, swelling or tenderness in the breasts, cyclic acne, and joint or muscle pain, is not considered PMS.[4]

 

The exact symptoms and their intensity vary from woman to woman and even from cycle to cycle. Most women with premenstrual syndrome experience only a few of the possible symptoms, in a relatively predictable pattern.[5] Under typical definitions, symptoms must be present at some point during the ten days immediately before the onset of menses, and must not be present for at least one week between the onset of menses and ovulation.[4] Although the intensity of symptoms may vary somewhat, most definitions require that the woman's unique constellation of symptoms be present in multiple, consecutive cycles.[4]"

 

The part that I bolded really surprised me. Maybe it is a matter of medical definition vs. the common women's definition then!

 

Whoever came up with the dumb idea to define PMS without the horrendous, debilitating, physical symptoms I go through every month (present moment included) can kiss my bloated, irritable butt! :D The definition for PMDD (which is what I think I actually have) include physical symptoms.

[hsmom]

I don't have anything before, but once on it is slightly uncomfortable. Some cramping and slight pain.

[Annie]

I would say that I don't experience anything I would call PMS probably about 90% of the time. There will be the odd cycle where something silly will make me cry, or I will snap at my DH for no real reason, but they are fairly few and far between.

 

However, physical symptoms such as cramping and acne are almost always present. I'm really hoping that this pregnancy will make my cramps better since I've heard that has been the case for many women.

[treestarfae]

Mine started in my mid 20's. Progesterone cream helps me http://www.emerita.com/index.cfm/category/27/monthly_promotions.cfm Also this book is good for women http://www.amazon.com/Womens-Bodies-Wisdom-Christiane-Northrup/dp/0553382098

[Sophia]

I never did until I entered perimenopause (around 37; now 45).

 

Maybe that's why it was so hard on me!

 

Sigh...I miss those days.

 

I could age gracefully if it wasn't for pms :glare:

[elise1mds]

I have PMDD, so I more than make up for a lot of you who don't have PMS at all! Even ON the pill, I can only dream of what it's like to be 'normal' for an entire month at a time. I still get headaches, cramps, and moodiness/irritability as well as bloating and a whole host of other symptoms. If I'm not on the pill, I also have horrid mood swings, depression, and anxiety that flares for a couple weeks per month. I am so jealous of all of you who don't have to deal with all of it! ;)

[Garga]

Nothing in my teens (before birth control pills)

 

Nothing in my twenties (using birth control pills)

 

Nothing for the 2 years I didn't menstruate while nursing.

 

Now, I have very mild, subtle symptoms each month, but they don't affect my life at all. A mild headache, easily zapped with ibuprophen. A little bit of gastric unrest. A bit of sadness or irritability, but once I pinpoint why I'm feeling sad or irritable, I can easily control it (when I realize there is no external cause of it.)

[Carol in Cal.]

Then I started to get a migraine headache at PMS time, usually easily removed with exedrin. After a few years I stopped getting those.

 

Then when I was well into perimenopause, around age 45 or so, I started to get extreme, EXTREME emotional symptoms a day or two before day 1, and they would get worse and worse and then suddenly stop completely. It was really interesting, in a totally out of control sort of way. I experimented with several approaches to this, and ended up controlling the problem with borage oil.

[BikeBookBread]

Did you find out what book or doctor Wiki was quoting, Jean? That sounds completely the opposite of everything I have ever read! I have always had PMS, and it changed to PMDD about 15 years ago... so this is what "week 4" is like for me: :ack2::crying::angry::mad::(:banghead:

 

A new cyclic symptom for me after my last baby was severe abdominal pain during ovulation. I had always had minor mittelschmerz, but nothing like this. I finally went to the gyn last week to rule out any physical abnormality...and I have no polyps, cysts, masses, etc. But for 3 days in the middle of the month, my abdomen is so sore that no one can touch it. Even a slight bump against me is torture. No laps during read alouds, etc. :( Then the pain moves into my back, and finally the whole area becomes significantly bloated and painful for a day. Then it's done.

 

So between PMDD and mittelschmerz, my poor DH is kind of at a loss. The doc doesn't want to do anything at this point, and I won't go on hormone therapy. They completely change my personality, and NOT in a good way. (My primary doctor has them listed as an allergy in chart, even though you can't really be "allergic" to hormones because I respond so badly to them).

 

Have you checked out the Women to Women website? VERY comprehensive information. They do really advocate bio-identical hormones, but even those make me wacky.

[ChristusG]

I can honstly say that I don't think that I have or have ever had PMS.

[Hillary in KS]

I don't. Never have.

 

I tend to think that women who complain about it are being a bit dramatic, but then , I also realize that I've never had to deal with it so it's probably an unfair assumption.

[cubfan]

This was me too, except it's post, not pre- go figure!

[Matryoshka]

I never used to have any. Something like 3 times in my life I got unreasonably emotional during (not before) my cycle, and I remember thinking "what is my problem?" but not being able to stop crying over whatever stupid non-crying-worthy thing it was. But that was literally something like 3 times. Sometimes mild cramps, but other than those no emotional side-effects.

 

Post-40 I've actually noticed more - still not emotional, but I get back pain and cramping the first day of cycle bad enough that I take an Advil (I know those of you with real PMS are LYAO at me whining about needing an Advil for a day :tongue_smilie:), and I crab at people but usually because of the back pain makes me crabby, not because it's an emotional thing, if that makes sense.

 

I have 3 dds who will soon be hitting puberty almost simultaneously (two 11 1/2 yos and a 9yo). If any of them have PMS, my poor dh won't know what hit him. He has no idea how lucky he has it that I don't get monthly mood swings.

[lionfamily1999]

That's the most I've had too. And that is only once I hit my 30s. And extra tired. I just want to sleep until it's over with, but that is more likely due to low iron levels than the PMS itself.

 

I remember when I was pregnant with my first the lamaze instructor was saying that early labor felt like PMS cramps. I had no idea what the heck that meant. She said, with a rather unpleasant attitude, that it was like a charlie horse in your leg.

 

What blarney. I don't know what PMS feels like for some of you, but I sure as heck know that not one moment of that labor felt anything like a charlie horse cramp in your calf.

Early labor, up to pushing, feels like cramps to me :p But, I've never had a long labor. I tend to go from nothing to ohmygoshsomeonegetadoctornow in two hours or so...

I don't. Never have.

 

I tend to think that women who complain about it are being a bit dramatic, but then , I also realize that I've never had to deal with it so it's probably an unfair assumption.

:lol: I've tended to think the people that say they don't PMS don't have to live with themselves....... :lol:

[Rhonda in TX]

It says specifically: "More than 200 different symptoms have been associated with PMS, but the three most prominent symptoms are irritability, tension, and dysphoria (unhappiness).[1]

 

Common emotional and non-specific symptoms include stress, anxiety, difficulty in falling asleep (insomnia), headache, fatigue, mood swings, increased emotional sensitivity, and changes in libido.[3]

 

Most formal definitions require the presence of emotional symptoms as the chief complaint; the presence of exclusively physical symptoms associated with the menstrual cycle, such as bloating, abdominal cramps, constipation, swelling or tenderness in the breasts, cyclic acne, and joint or muscle pain, is not considered PMS.[4]

 

I never really considered myself to have PMS, either, even before reading this. I always assumed, like this says, that PMS had to do with things "pre" periods. I don't think I've ever had these symptoms.

 

I do have some physical symptoms (tenderness, cramps), but never considered that PMS.

[TXMomof4]

This is absolutely blowing my mind! Seriously - there are people who do NOT have PMS? I just spoke to my (new) doc a week ago and she assured me that my migraines, bloating, panic attacks, insomnia, hysteria were not that unusual.

 

Wow! I just assumed everyone dealt with the same things at varying degrees. I believe I'm going to have to talk to the dr. again.

[Rhonda in TX]

I also wonder with the 1/3 and 2/3 number how that coincides with the percentage of women taking some form of chemical birth control. If birth control helps with symptoms (which seems to be what the experts and a lot of women say), and two thirds of women are taking the stuff, then that's the answer right there. lol!

 

Everybody's body is different. Some people are affected by things and others aren't.

[Krista in LA]

I don't have pms and I'm quite certain the people around me would agree with that. We laugh about it though because I have an aunt that says she doesn't have pms - but her family certainly suffers from *her* pms! :lol: Perhaps some of it is just perception.

[Saille]

Well, I had dysmenorrhea before I had kids, but a couple of childbirths straightened that out. I've noticed a huge hormonal shift during week four over the last year, though (I'm 35). To the point of tears I know are irrational/out of character for me, but cannot stop. Lately, that's how I know Flo is coming to town. So yeah, I guess I have it.

[Parrothead]

I don't have PMS.

 

I do on occasion have cramps during, but nothing before. I don't consider the cramps to be a problem. Some Advil and I'm fine.

[abreakfromlife]

I used to not, but after having my last couple of kids, I'm definitely more irritable beforehand. I find taking a B complex helps my mood to be better.

[Tree House Academy]

Sometimes I have bad PMS and other times I don't have it at all. Mine all depends on my wonderful hormones, I think.

[mrsrevmeg]

I didn't until my late twenties or maybe early thirties. I also started having other (female) problems at that time was given the option of hysterectomy or ablation. I chose ablation and have had no problems since.

[Tree House Academy]

I didn't until my late twenties or maybe early thirties. I also started having other (female) problems at that time was given the option of hysterectomy or ablation. I chose ablation and have had no problems since.

 

This is where I am right now. Early 30's...can't take hormones due to genetic issues (more prone to DVT, PE, you know...the fun stuff), doc won't even let me do bio-identicals. :( My options are ablation (with a tubal first) or hysterectomy. Or, of course, live with the monthly yuck. :(

[TravelingChris]

I didn't have any pms until my mid 40's. Now I have some early waking insomnia but only then. I am also more irritable then. Now my 16yo has PMDD. I guess she didn't inherit that from me.

[Renee in NC]

I also wonder with the 1/3 and 2/3 number how that coincides with the percentage of women taking some form of chemical birth control. If birth control helps with symptoms (which seems to be what the experts and a lot of women say), and two thirds of women are taking the stuff, then that's the answer right there. lol!

 

I used to have pretty severe symptoms when I was younger. It seems to have changed a lot since my first pregnancy, and certainly isn't anything like it used to be in my teens.

 

I don't take chemical birth control and don't have PMS. Not only that, thinking back, I had PMS symptoms on birth control. Actually, I was diagnosed as "bipolar" in my early 20s, but the "symptoms" went away TOTALLY when I quit using chemical birth control! That is some nasty stuff.

[angela in ohio]

An older woman at church told me that her generation didn't really have PMS. They just got over it and thought it was part of life, not a disorder. :001_smile: So maybe the one-third takes that into account (older women not reporting it.)

[lionfamily1999]

I don't have pms and I'm quite certain the people around me would agree with that. We laugh about it though because I have an aunt that says she doesn't have pms - but her family certainly suffers from *her* pms! :lol: Perhaps some of it is just perception.

:lol: And it's experiences like that that make people think... sure you don't ;)

 

My mother loves to say she has never been difficult or irritable in her life. Need I even finish that thought (need a smiling with one raised eyebrow).

[WiseOwlKnits]

I never did. I had a touch of it after DD was born....and a little more after DS was born. But I still don't really "PMS" like "they" say women are supposed to. Even my DH has commented on that, LOL!