Premenstrual Syndrome
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| Photo Credit: Concern, by mgaffney / Michael Gaffney |
It usually occurs from 2 - 14 days prior to menstruation, and is thought to be primarily a problem of inappropriate hormone secretion or inappropriate bodily response to hormones (receptor site defects or enzyme defects at cell surfaces).
Symptoms are many and varied, often inconsistent from month to month and affected by many different factors.
They include tension and irritability, headaches, decreased or increased energy, insomnia, fatigue, breast swelling and pain, bloating, bowel disturbance, acne, sweet or salt cravings and depression. There is a wide spectrum of symptoms in PMS but some common underlying hormonal states include:
Unusually high estrogen and low progesterone levels 5-10 days before menses (common)
Low estrogen and high progesterone levels 5 - 10 days before menses (less common)
• Elevated Prolactin levels.
• Elevated FSH levels 6 - 9 days before the period.
• Elevated Aldosterone levels 2 - 8 days before the period.
• Hypothyroidism
• Hormone Imbalances
The imbalance of estrogen and progesterone may be due to a disruption of the normal feedback systems that control the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary axis or to a dysfunction of any one of these glands (most commonly the ovaries).
This is commonly considered to indicate a deficiency or failure of the corpus luteum and points to the use of ovarian tonic herbs (Anemone pulsatilla, Chamaelirium luteum) for treatment.
It may also be that the ovaries are functioning fine, but hepatic metabolism and excretion of estrogens is impaired.
Dr Morton Biskind in the 1940s showed that B vitamin deficiencies caused liver impairment and accumulation of estrogens that contribute to PMS, fibro-cystic breast disease and menorrhagia.
B vitamins, in particular B6, are required for the hepatic metabolism of estrogens prior to excretion and it is reasonable to extrapolate that B vitamin deficiency contributes to estrogen loading and PMS in a significant way. Estrogen therapy and the birth control pill are known to contribute to cholestasis (the so-called sluggish liver) and so there may be a vicious cycle where B vitamin deficiency causes diminished estrogen clearance and elevated estrogen impairs liver function.
Bitter hepatic stimulants and cholagogues are called for here (Taraxacum off., Berberis vulgaris, Fumaria off., Arctium lappa, Curcuma longa), along with nutritional co-factors such as B vitamins, methionine, phosphatidyl choline, inositol, N-acetyl-cysteine and glutathione.
Source: Medherb.com
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Category: estrogen, FSH, Hormones, progesterone
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