Premenstrual Symptoms and PMS Aren't the Same Thing - Find Out Why!

OB/GYN Dr. Neetu Sodhi shares that premenstrual syndrome or PMS and premenstrual dysphoric disorder or PMDD are very real. She also shares that PMS and premenstrual symptoms are not the same. Bloating, nausea, headache and even irritability are premenstrual symptoms, which many women experience, but less than 5 percent actually get enough distress from these symptoms to be classified as PMS and PMDD. Some women’s response to normal hormonal fluctuations is in fact exaggerated, but for most women, referring to your premenstrual symptoms PMS is actually a misnomer.

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[sidology.]

I have been borderline suicidal these last few months/pms period time frames. Its like the older you get the more intense it is

[natalieohlsson]

Praise God that we are getting more understanding on this! So tired of men who don’t experience this monthly suffering dismissing it with flippant insensitivity. I just cannot tolerate that. It’s very real and I’d love to see how men would navigate it

[Trinichick]

A migraine lasting 3 days, irritability, bloating, cramps and hot flashes. I was on birthcontrol and it made things worse while on birthcontrol the migraines lasted 4 to 5 days after I stopped taking birthcontrol it became 3 days and my hair started shedding which I am still recovering from.

[KxNOxUTA]

How to put this, the distinction at the very end was important. Since awareness makes a big difference. Just like with all things that occur and then eventually get added to the list of diagnosis. It's not always that the conditions didn't exist before. It's because they were normalised. So many women with endometriosis I read of were suffering like dogs, vomiting, fainting and then they got told it's normal and to basically shut up and deal with it, so obviously they wouldn't report anything. Rape also surely isn't reported frequently in countries where rape in marriage is legalised and the topic overall considered "normal". But it's still real.

So we need to be evry very very careful about saying anything that implies that all conditions aren't valid. Even if it can be true that we need to figure out the different degrees. Which is super difficult considering suffering and pain sensitivity and the capacity to bear with pain - that has (physically or psychologically) been beaten into some people - obscuring the view.


That said, we overall need a healthier discussion about sex, sexual intercourse, about gender, about equity and things like medicine needing to make a difference sometimes. Lots of taboo lifting to do. Lots of real discussion and listening to do. Lots of compassion to invest.

[Pearl.M]

I suffer with severe migraines before, during and after my period with terrible body pain, low energy levels. These last two to three weeks. Which type of doctor should I see? Been suffering for years and its getting worse over time. Pls Help!!

[nachannachle]

I'm African.
I've never heard of anyone in my family, extended family an circle of Asian friends ever mentioning or displaying any of those "PMS" symptoms. So, I will call BS on the term and the whole narrative.
The only symptoms I ever experienced as part of my menstrual cycles are cramps, bloating and discharge. I don't go "crazy" barking at people, pulling my hair off, crying at a rotten egg or sleeping 48 hours in a row.

Western civilisation just keeps finding mind-numbing ways to make its women feel like mere objects and/or flowerchildren, with no free will of their own. And then it wonders where these things called "Feminism" and "Misogyny" come from... Duh.

[iliketoastems]

She is way too hyped up, talks too fast and too much