First of all, it is real. The most common symptoms are bloating, weight gain, headache, backaches, irritability, depression, breast swelling or tenderness, loss of libido or sex drive and fatigue. Symptoms may even include the immune, digestive, circulatory, nervous, and endocrine systems. 50 years ago it seemed that it was nonexistent. Now it is a household word in industrialized countries.
Women report a tidal wave of symptoms a week to ten days before menstruation begins.
It then goes away shortly thereafter. The hormone Progesterone has been wrongly accused of causing Premenstrual Syndrome. Progesterone is the hormone that is high during that time of the period. The actual data shows that woman with PMS actually have lower levels of progesterone than normal woman. This scientific data suggests that the cause of Premenstrual Syndrome is actually a relative lack of Progesterone.