Diagnosis and treatment of premenstrual syndrome: Differentiating PMS from premenstrual dysphoric disorder PMDD and premenstrual exacerbation disorder PMED

Abstract

Controversy has always surrounded premenstrual syndrome (PMS). The varying attitudes toward women with PMS symptoms have ranged from "it's all in your head" to "your hormones are controlling you." In the 1870s, Dr. Clarke published a book entitled Sex in Education or A Fair Chance for the Girls arguing that women who had sustained vigorous mental activities or who studied in a "boy's way" risked atrophy of the ovaries and uterus, sterility, insanity, masculinization, insanity, or even death. He argued that young women should study no more than 4 h per day and should not study during their menses. It took many decades of social and scientific evidence to silence these arguments. An ongoing controversy around PMS in the twenty-first century surrounds the various explanations as to how and why women respond so differently to the ups and downs of ovarian hormones during the menstrual cycle. The relatively recent separation of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) from premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and premenstrual exacerbation disorder (PMED) has led to significant progress for a better understanding of PMS and development of more effective and safer treatment regimens.