Premenstrual Syndrome, Part 2



Reprinted with permission of Femalepatient

As mentioned in part 1, 80% of women experience premenstrual emotional or physical changes, whereas only about 20% to 40% of these women have difficulties as a result. A much smaller number, about 2.5% to 5%,2 feel it has a significantly negative impact on their lives, to the point where work, relationships, and home life are jeopardized. Nutrition, exercise, and nutritional supplementation are natural approaches in the management and treatment of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). What follows is a guide to the botanicals and natural hormones that have been investigated that also help symptoms of PMS.

NATURAL HORMONES
Natural Progesterone
Perhaps no other PMS therapy has been the target of so much controversy as natural progesterone. This has as much to do with the lack of agreement and scientific research to support a unified theory as to the cause of PMS as it has to do with the efficacy of natural progesterone itself. Green and Dalton advanced a theory in the 1950s that PMS was caused by unopposed estrogen during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Dalton reported in her book, the Premenstrual Syndrome and Progesterone Therapy9 that she has used natural progesterone via injections (25-100 mg daily), vaginal and rectal suppositories (400-1,600 mg daily), and subcutaneous pellets (500-1,600 mg every 3-12 months) with results as good as complete relief of PMS symptoms in 83% of women.10 There have been several studies that demonstrate a lack of efficacy of rectal and vaginal suppositories in the treatment of PMS. In 1979, Sampson conducted the first placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of rectal-vaginal progesterone. There was no significant difference between progesterone at either a 200 mg dose twice daily by suppository or pessary, rectally or vaginally, and placebo.11 In 1983, Van der Meer et al published results of a randomized clinical trial of rectal progesterone. Twenty patients received 200 mg progesterone twice daily. Of the 13 who completed the trial, none showed a difference in psychologic or somatic symptoms.12 In 1986, Maddocks et al restudied vaginal progesterone for PMS; 200 mg twice daily was delivered vaginally and compared with placebo in a double-blind trial.13 There were 48 women who entered the study and only 20 completed it. The somatic and affective symptoms were the same for both progesterone and placebo. In 1990, Freeman also found progesterone in vaginal and rectal suppositories to be ineffective.14 Although the suppository method of delivering natural progesterone for PMS has not held up to scientific scrutiny, oral micronized natural progesterone has. A controlled study by Dennerstein and colleagues in 1985 found an overall beneficial effect using 300 mg/day (100 mg in the morning; 200 mg in the evening) for 10 days of each menstrual cycle starting 3 days after ovulation.15 A statistically significant improvement was noted in anxiety, depression, distress, swelling, fluid retention, and hot flushes. No effect was seen in libido or restlessness. One subject experienced a severe premenstrual migraine as a side effect.
Natural progesterone creams have not been subjected to scientific scrutiny for PMS although tens of thousands of women can attest to their benefit. Progesterone cream is commonly used in over-the-counter products that contain up to as much as 400 mg of natural progesterone per ounce. Using 1/4 teaspoon per dose will deliver approximately 20 mg of United States Pharmacopeia natural progesterone, the same progesterone that is in oral micronized progesterone. Applying 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon twice daily starting at midcycle and continuing for 12 days, stopping the day before the menses is a typical use. The best sites for rubbing in the cream include the palms, inner upper arms, chest, and inner thighs.
Prior to the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for the treatment of PMS, conventional mainstream medicine has not been able to offer women a known cause for PMS nor has it been able to offer a management approach short of pharmaceuticals with often as many side effects as relief. Self-care with natural therapies has been the dominant method of how women manage PMS. Women have clearly taken this monthly familiar problem into their own hands and more often than not have determined what works for them. The astute and well educated practitioner can offer additional therapies and clinical insights to help most of the remaining women with more severe symptoms who need more specific and effective dosing regimens of natural substances as well as a well thought out comprehensive approach. Select individuals with clearly severe (especially mood and behavioral) symptoms can then be prescribed SSRIs. Treating PMS with a natural and holistic approach often serves as a touchstone for motivating women to make lifestyle changes that have a positive cascade effect on their general health.



Tori Hudson, ND, is a professor, National College of Naturopathic Medicine, and director, A Woman's Time, PC, Portland, Ore





REFERENCES
  1. Hudson T. Premenstrual Syndrome. The Female Patient. 2002;27(5):47-49,59.
  2. American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG). Committee opinion. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 1995;50:80.
  3. Dittmar F. Das pramenstruelle Spannungssyndrome. J Gynakol. 1989; 5(6):4-7.
  4. Schellenberg R. Treatment for the premenstrual syndrome with agnus castus fruit extract: prospective, randomized, placebo controlled study. BMJ. 2001;20:134-137.
  5. Turner S, Mills S. A double-blind clinical trial on a herbal remedy for premenstrual syndrome: a case study.Complement Ther Med. 1993;1:73-77.
  6. Tamborini A, Taurelle R. "Value of standardized Ginkgo biloba extract in the management of congestive symptoms of premenstrual syndrome." Gynecol Obstet. 1993;88: 447-457.
  7. Stevinson C, Ernst E. A pilot study of Hypericum perforatum for the treatment of premenstrual syndrome. Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 2000;107:870-876.
  8. Schildge E. Essay on the treatment of premenstrual and menopausal mood swings and depressive states. Rigelh Biol Umsch. 1964;19(2):18-22
  9. Dalton K. The Premenstrual Syndrome and Progesterone Therapy. 2nd ed. Chicago, Ill: Year Book Medical Publishers; 1976.
  10. Keye W Jr. Medical treatment of premenstrual syndrome. Can J Psychiatry. 1985;30:483-487.
  11. Sampson G. Premensrual syndrome: a double-blind controlled trial of progesterone and placebo. Br J Psychiatry. 1979;135:209.
  12. Van Der Meer Y, Benedek-Jaszmann L, Van Loenen A. Effect of high-dose progesterone on the pre-menstrual syndrome; a double-blind cross-over trial. J Psychosomatic Obstet Gynaecol. 1983;2:220.
  13. Maddocks S, Hahn P, Moller F, et al. A double-blind placebo-controlled trial of progesterone vaginal suppositories in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1986;154:573.
  14. Freeman E, Rickels K, Sonheimer S, Polansky M. Ineffectiveness of progesterone suppository treatment for premenstrual syndrome. JAMA. 1990;264:349-353.
  15. Dennerstein L, Spencer-Gardner C, Gotts, G et al. Progesterone and the premenstrual syndrome: a double blind crossover trial. Br Med J. 1985;290:1617-1621.





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