You may have heard that doctors find it helpful for women to keep a daily diary of symptoms throughout the month when they are attempting to diagnose PMS. What should you look for when keeping a daily diary or considering the possibility that you or a loved one has PMS? Well, PMS carries over 150 possible symptoms that affect women in both the physical and the emotional realms in varying degrees.

Physically, symptoms can range from light, as in headache, fatigue, and slight abdominal swelling, to severe, as in migraines, severe cramping, and an inability to function normally. Emotionally, you may experience symptoms relating to anxiety (irritability, irrational crying, or emotional swings), depression (withdrawn, fearful, or altered libido), cravings (for sweets, dairy, or alcohol), and fluid retention (headache, breast tenderness, abdominal bloating, and weight gain).

I can tell you that although doctors still have not determined the exact cause of PMS, they agree that hormones and neuro-chemical changes within the brain are prime suspects. Estrogen hormones, for example, can contribute to increased brain activity, retention of salt, and drops in blood sugar, because it has a central neurological effect on the brain.

What do you do if you realize that you or a loved one suffers from some level of PMS? Obviously, if the symptoms are severe, you should seek your doctor's advice. Doctors today may prescribe either psychiatric (psychotropic drugs, tricyclics, tranquilizers, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), medical treatments (anti-estrogenic hormonal medications), or a combination of both for severe cases.

However, if you believe that your symptoms are manageable, or if they are intermittent, here are a few tips that might help you alleviate some symptoms.

- Eat six, small, high in complex carbohydrates, low in simple sugars meals at three-hour intervals to help keep energy levels and blood glucose levels steady. Complex carbohydrates are found in foods eaten in their natural states like oatmeal, cornmeal, barley, and wheat germ, or in foods like pastas, brown rice, root vegetables like potatoes, whole grain breads and cereals, etc.

- Reduce caffeine, alcohol, salt, fats, and simple sugars to help diminish fatigue, tension, depression and water retention bloating.

- Add calcium, controlled levels of B6, B complex, magnesium, and Vitamin E to help maintain normal moods and reduce fluid retention, cramps, and back pain.

- Exercise three times a week for at least 20-30 minutes to improve mood, blood circulation, sense of well-being, and alleviate the build-up of tension and stress.

- Learn to relax with deep breathing exercises, music, quiet time alone, or yoga, to decrease symptoms and help with coping. In addition, spend time with an understanding friend, get a solid 8 hours of sleep regularly, and keep track of the menstrual cycle on the calendar to prepare for the onslaught of symptoms to help yourself cope.

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