Life After Puberty
All About the Menstrual Cycle
Cramps, Pimples and PMS
You might notice physical or emotional changes around the time that you get your period. Some changes happen just before you get your period (premenstrual), some happen with your period (such as cramps). This is normal and it has to do with the hormones that are running through your body and controlling your cycle.
Just before you get your period
(during the premenstrual phase)
Physical symptoms may include:
- weight gain or bloating
- acne
- tender breasts
- pain in the abdomen, back or legs (a day or two before menstruation starts)
- less energy
Emotional symptoms may include feeling:
- hyper and full of energy
- tired
- moody
- anxious
- short-tempered
- depressed
- clumsy
Some girls experience symptoms during this phase of the menstrual cycle that are:
- strong enough to get in the way of their daily lives, and
- happen at the same time with every menstrual cycle.
This might be a sign of PMS (premenstrual syndrome). If you think that you might have PMS talk to your doctor.
During your period (menstruation or bleeding):
Physical symptoms may include:
- cramps (also called dysmenorrhea)
- nausea
- tiredness
- diarrhea or constipation
Emotional symptoms may include feeling:
- short-tempered
- tired
Cramps
Almost every girl has cramps during the first few days of their period, but the amount of cramping is different from person to person and may change as you get older.
What causes cramps?
You get cramps (called dysmenorrhea) during menstruation because your uterus is contracting to help shed the lining that is not longer needed. Prostoglandins (which are hormone-like substances) make the uterus contract and affect the size of the blood vessels.
What can I do about cramps?
- Talk to your mom or other female relatives or friends. Find out what they do for cramps.
- Exercise. This helps improve the blood flow and produces pain-fighting endorphins.
- Eat a healthy diet and avoid caffeine.
- Apply heat to your abdomen with a heating pad or a hot water bottle. You can also take a hot bath.
- Give yourself a gentle massage.
- Lie on your side and bring your knees up to your chest.
- If you have vaginal pain with cramps, try using a pad instead of a tampon or a cup.
- Use over-the-counter pain relief like those containing ibuprofen (like Motin, Advil, Ibuprofen). These NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) lower the level of prostaglandin.
- If your cramps are really bad and you feel like throwing up and none of the other measure work talk your doctor about stronger prescription medications, such as Naprosyn®, Anaprox®, Ponstan®.
- Hormonal birth control can also make your periods more regular, less heavy and less painful. Some women choose a form of birth control that makes their periods less frequent (Seasonale ™) or that may stop their periods completely (Depo-Provera®, Mirena®) while they are on the medication.
Take Care of Yourself
Staying healthy, eating a healthy diet, reducing stress and getting enough exercise will make it easier for you to handle the changes that go along with your menstrual cycle. But if any of your symptoms get worse or begin to interfere with your daily life, talk to your doctor. If you are not sure whether your own personal pattern has changed, keep a menstrual calendar [link to calendar]. This might help you prepare for changes that come with the different phases of your cycle or give you enough information to talk to your doctor.
PMS
Lots of people talk about PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome) and blame it for many of the symptoms that women have just before and during their period. Moody? Blame it on PMS. Tired? Blame it on PMS. While many women have premenstrual symptoms, not all have PMS.
What is PMS?
PMS is a severe set of symptoms that occur just before a woman’s period starts. It is quite common and affects four out of every 10 women. There are no tests that can diagnose PMS and there is no one symptom that is unique to PMS. All women have probably experienced, at one time or another, some of the symptoms that go along with PMS.
However, in order to be diagnosed with PMS a woman must have certain symptoms during the premenstrual phase of her cycle. These symptoms must be bad enough to interfere with her daily life and must be felt for at least 3 consecutive cycles.
What are the symptoms?
Some of the symptoms of PMS are experienced by almost every woman at some point in her life. They include:
- depression
- angry outbursts
- irritability
- anxiety
- confusion
- withdrawal from people
- breast tenderness
- bloating
- headache
- swelling of extremities (fingers, hands, feet)
If you think you have PMS, you should keep a log of your symptoms, their severity and their pattern of occurrence. Make an appointment with your doctor or health-care professional and you can work together to rule out any possible underlying condition (other than PMS) and to manage your symptoms and find some relief.
Last Modified: May 15, 2009
