GynoFiles

PMDD is a very perplexing condition as the more we study we find out a lot about the condition, but still lack a treatment or a cure. Most women think that the ultimate cause of these symptoms are due to hormones are in disarray if they have Premenstrual Syndrom e (PMS) or the severe kind called PMDD. It has long been argued whether these conditions are fundamentally physical, or mental, or even real as The American Psychological Association even relatively recently brings up the question of whether it is a real disorder . One of the biggest debates in the gyno world in the past few years is whether PMS/PMDD would benefit by being labeled psychological , as there are a variety of brain responses the condition causes.Hormones and the menstrual cycle control both PMS and PMDD.  It's not necessarily that a PMS/PMDD patients' levels are different than others…but they have much the same hormonal swings normal women have but as far as physical and emotional symptoms are these...

Actually the only accurate way to diagnose PMS is self diagnosis through proper charting of your symptoms. If in most cycles over the year you have at least 5 of these symptoms in your premenstrual week (and if they do resolve during the time of your period) then you have PMS: 1. Depressed mood (feel hopeless, critical of your self) 2. Anxiety, some describe it as tension 3. Mood swings 4. Anger, anger in bursts, conflict with workers or family in bursts 5. Not interested in your usual activities 6. Difficulty concentrating 7. No energy 8. Appetite cravings or dramatic changes 9. Sleep pattern changes 10. feeling overwhelmed or feeling out of control 11. Breast soreness, headaches or bloating You can get the ball rolling on effective treatment by getting rid of caffeine, stopping smoking, exercising, eating better, getting extra sleep, and reducing stresses. Taking B vitamins may also help. And do track your cycles to make sure the symptoms are occurring when you think th...

In the summer we face all sorts of challenges, there are light changes which can play havoc with our biological clock, there are the challenges to protecting our skin from sun and wind, there are high humidity levels which can cause higher heat indexes at lower temperatures. So to do we have seasonal gyno woes in the summer. We see a flurry of vaginal yeast and urinary tract infections. Wet bathing suits, and a bit of extra summer sex contributes to both of those conditions. Dehydration during the summer heat can worsen many conditions, including PMS and PMDD, endometriosis, as well as change the levels of medication. Heat has been shown to worsen blood pressure and cause palpitations in women with heart disease, and it may throw off your blood sugar. In some cases borderline diabetes and borderline thyroid conditions may actually become clinically significant. When the barometric pressure has dramatic drops there is a stimulus for pregnant women to rupture their membranes. It's a...

Speculums For Lateral Wall Retraction In the March issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton of the University of Virgina and co-workers wrote an article about what conditions are worsened by having one's menstrual period. Some were obvious: a pimple, PMS, and migraines, and some were suspected by not really discussed much with your physician: irritable bowel, diabetes, asthma, and rashes (uticaria). What was surprising to read was the good research that even conditions like acute appendicitis, and seizures, and glaucoma, and MS and Rheumatoid arthritis can be made worse during one's period. The immune system seems to be very hormone dependent, and which immune cells are both produced and functioning depends upon the phase of the menstrual cycle you are in. Hormones are also strong controlling factors over brain chemistry and bipolar disorders and anxiety related disorders like agoraphobia may become worse in the premenstrual time of th...

If a patient says "I have PMS" a Gyno says "Emotional symptoms or physical symptoms." And whether they both emanate from the same source is one problem we have not yet solved. Is it the ovarian hormone effect on the brain emotional areas? Or the ovarian hormone effect on the uterine lining which then breaks down and releases the prostaglandins that cause cramps and other symptoms? I spend some of my time mulling this over. And in discussions with patients sometimes we tackle this problem from the physical side, sometimes from the emotional side. I feel like it's a question of how one looks at a problem: visual or auditory? olfactory memory or taste? written or palpable? experienced or described.. My favorite is to think about how we'd tackle the problem in Japanese writing. either vertical columns right to left or horizontal lines from left to right. Very yin and yang, left hand washing the right, would you not say. So when it comes to PMS: lets look at th...

If we pose the question of what are the medical consequences of endometriosis. Most medical students will chime in: pain and infertility! and they would get a lot of credit, but the list goes on and on of the real medical consequences: from distorted tubal mobility, to alterations of the peritoneal fluid, to changes in immune system responses, like more autoantibodies, and we also have all sorts of havoc on the ovary itself. The ovary may not be able to form a normal follicle around the egg, it may not be able to release the egg, there is evidence it causes high production of the milk stimulating hormone prolactin (hyperprolactinemia), as well as luteal phase deficiencies. And with luteal phase deficiencies comes the production of abnormal luteal phase hormones and thus: Premenstrual Syndrome or Premenstrual Luteal Phase Dysphoria. We aren't completely sure of the link. Since the PMS/PMDD symptom complex occurs in the second half of the menstrual cycle, the part controlled by th...

Stopping smoking is a challenge. But it's sill considered a NEW YEAR and there are even more ways to try to quit than ever! Gums, patches, prescriptions, distractions, are all popular ways to do it, and we won't be getting away from them too soon. And quitting success means that the good things you got from smoking (ok, "good" or the so called Smoker's Paradoxes aren't really 'good', in that they kept you smoking) need to be addressed. What I mean is there are some health effects you will be missing sorely and to really quit successfully you need to address those health issues one by one. Calming those fears, and setting up ways to relax without the lighting up is important. One is going to be weight. Nicotine increases metabolism, and you'll need a strategy to boost it without nicotine or the calm of the new year will definitely be broken! The FDA is warning people on Varenicline (Chantix) that some serious neuropsychiatric events can occur in ...

Checking your calendar as to when to schedule date nite? Babysitter, check. Night off of work, check. Jeans shortened at cleaners, check. But how about when your sex drive will be peaking? This may vary from woman to woman. If you aren’t on pills you may notice that your sex drive is at the highest when your testosterone levels are peaking, that would be in the third week of the cycle. For women with PMS, well, about a third of you have sexual dysfunction anyway, maybe check with your gyno first and get some of that cleared up! And how about menopause, in the new position statement by the North American Menopause Society, issues March 2012, there is no medical evidence that systemic hormone therapy with estrogen affects sexual interest, arousal and orgasmic response, other than if it improves menopausal symptoms and thus improves the overall quality of life. However, local estrogen can improve sexuality by improving your lubrication, increasing your blood flow to make arousal easier...