But for many women—except those perhaps with the most severe sort of PMS—premenstrual dysphoric disorder—taking antidepressants is just too extreme.
Other ideas put forward as to the causes of PMS include vitamin B6 deficiency, and variations in the levels of nutrients such as magnesium and calcium. But evidence, at best, is patchy.
After his teenage patient refused antidepressants, Jayne’s doctor suggested exercise to improve her mood. It helped Jayne a bit, but had significant limitations.
“My boobs—which aren’t that big—really hurt in the run up to my period. Then any sort of bouncing was out of the question. I had a striking pain even when I wore a clamp-’em-to-you-style of sports bra.”
Breast tenderness is a widespread gripe—one Andrea, twenty-eight, has also had to deal with. “My 34D bras bit into me for the last two weeks of my cycle,” she says.
For Andrea’s boyfriend it was a mixed blessing. “He liked me bigger,” she says. “But I wouldn’t let him hug me because it hurt. My boobs felt like two aching lumps. I hated having them touched and they stopped me moving anywhere fast.”
In the end, Andrea went to see her doctor. “He put me on a combined Pill,” she explains. “It really worked. The next month, my boyfriend’s cuddle quota went way up.”
The idea behind prescribing the Pill to tackle PMS is straightforward. The Pill stops ovulation, which may trigger PMS in the first place. However, it doesn’t always work, as many Pills contain progestogen (similar to the hormone progesterone), which may aggravate PMS.
There are a number of newer Pills such as Yasmin, containing a different hormone, drospirenone, which some medics think is a better alternative. For severe PMS sufferers, some doctors suggest taking Pill packets back-to-back without a break (a recently launched Pill, Lybrel is designed to be taken this way), although some women could feel uncomfortable about doing that.
Jayne certainly prefers a more personal plan of action. “I told my boyfriend to go out with his friends rather than see me just before my period. It was my way of avoiding arguments when I was horrible to be with.”
