Cramps, headaches, mood swings it's all part of being a woman and suffering with PMS. Having a regular menstrual cycle is a sign of good health but along with it can come pain, bloating and over 100 other symptoms! And because each woman is different there is no agreed upon case or treatment for PMS within the medical community. Conventional doctors will tell you to take aspirin and may offer water pills or hormonal therapy but alternatives to these forms of comfort can be more relaxing and have fewer side effects. Acupuncture can relieve pain and stress for any ailment so it is worth a try for PMS. Same goes for massage, and your massage therapist can show you self massage to do on your lower abdomen any time you need to relax cramps. No medicine is involved, and both of these alternative therapies are non-invasive. Plus, they leave you so relaxed that having them can turn a bad PMS day into a happy one. There are a couple of medicinal herbs that are used in making teas and poultices for the relief of PMS symptoms. These include Kava Kava Chai and ginseng. To relive cramping, swelling and irritability, try Viburnum. If you have trouble with swollen breasts and muscle spasms or tend to get PMS acne, the answer to these symptoms could be right in your front yard dandelion! As a herbalist to recommend the appropriate combination of herbs for your individual symptoms. Many people use crystal healing energy to increase blood flow which lessens the headache and tension you can get with PMS. But if you want something more mainstream you might try yoga. In fact, exercise, and yoga in particular is a great way to relieve symptoms and lessen fatigue. The slow stretching movements and low impact cardio of yoga is very good for menstrual symptoms. One method of treating PMS that is becoming more and more popular is hypnosis . Hypnosis is geared toward finding out the causes and conditions of symptoms, therefore relieving the pain holistically. In the case of PMS, that would mean removing the root cause of irritability and stress. While these are obviously caused by hormones, the mood swings of PMS can be brought under control with light hypnosis that focuses on teaching the patient that the moodiness is temporary, and not to be taken to heart. If you suffer from PMS and don't feel that hormone therapy is safe and aspirin just doesn't do the trick, why not try one of these alternative treatmenst? What have you got to lose besides cramps, bloating, irritability and mood swings? |
