Pms

A woman experiencing a bad bout of PMS-related anxiety may feel remarkably similar to a drug or alcohol addict quitting cold turkey. Neurologist Sheryl Smith of Allegheny University of the Health Sciences found that, in rats, hormonal shifts associated with PMS caused brain changes similar to those associated with withdrawal. Her findings are published in today's issue of the journal Nature. Scientists had for some time associated premenstrual syndrome with a monthly drop in the hormone progesterone, but Smith found a more complicated explanation for anxiety in the days around menstruation.

In 1999 Upper Darby native/actress Heather Donahue and her "Blair Witch Project" co-stars made moviegoers nauseous with their shaky camera-work. But by 2007 Donahue was controlling nausea for medical marijuana patients in California, where she was growing weed. Donahue, who'll be 37 next week, documents her year spent cultivating marijuana in "GrowGirl," out Jan. 5 from Gotham Penguin Publishing. She received her own prescription for medical marijuana in 2007 to treat PMS. We asked whether that meant she smoked only one week a month, and she replied, "It's a very flexible medicine.

Pre-menstrual syndrome is something Dan Conner knows all about. The beleaguered blue-collar spouse on television's "Roseanne" treads lightly when his mate nears menstruation. Charlie Erland knows all about PMS, too. In fact, Erland claims his wife, Carolyn, is the original PMS poster woman, not Roseanne. "She'll ask you very nicely if you want something," says Erland of his wife's mood swings and short temper. "But, heaven forbid, you say yes, then it's like, 'What do you think, I have three arms?

Call me paranoid (go ahead, this is going to be a column on psychiatry anyway), but when I hear a group of doctors talking about women's menstrual cycles, my eyes still begin to narrow. I'm a member of "the curse" generation, you see. I remember when girls were excused from gym and women were kept out of public life because of that "time of the month. " I remember when Hubert Humphrey's doctor said that no woman should be president because of "raging, hormonal imbalance. " So I was not entirely comfortable when the topic reappeared a few years ago, under the trendy title, pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS)

Tourists driving in the City of Brotherly Love this summer will encounter a variety of dangerous and discourteous driving practices by the typical Philadelphia motorist (PM). Speeding, tailgating, running red lights and other illegal practices are common. Information on some of these hazards follows, plus a few survival tips: SPEEDING. Exceeding posted speed limits is the norm among PMs. As a matter of fact, PMs have been taught early on that a sign denoting a speed limit actually indicates a minimum rather than a maximum.

HORMONES 'R US? Is it that time of month, guys? When men are given a "PMS symptom checklist," they report having just as many "premenstrual symptoms" as women - as long as the symptoms aren't called PMS, says psychologist Carol Tavris, author of The Mismeasure of Women. In an excerpt from the forthcoming book in Redbook magazine, Tavris suggests it would be just as inaccurate for men to be tagged as victims of "Testosterone Surge Syndrome" as it is for most women to be tagged as victims of PMS. THE OLD COLLEGE TRY If you like being wined and dined and invited to cruises under the stars, become a corporate recruiter.

Women's Hormones: Myth vs. Reality is a moderately good documentary, even though the title promises more than this one-hour show delivers. There is almost no discussion of the myths, and some of the realities are not yet fully understood. Debbie Reynolds is the host for the program, at 10 tonight on the Lifetime cable channel. The show comes close to being an infomercial, because it is sponsored by Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, which manufactures an estrogen replacement drug as well as contraceptives.

HORMONES MADE ME DO IT Just when male-female relations seemed to be tilting in the direction of sanity comes a push in the other direction by, of all people, a panel of the American Psychiatric Association. The panel has suggested that the new edition of the association's standard reference book for psychiatrists list a severe form of premenstrual syndrome, popularly known as PMS, as a mental disorder. Critics have hit the roof, saying that doing so would have troubling economic and political implications, "pathologizing women," in the words of psychologist Paula J. Caplan.

It turned out to be an old-fashioned session of "girl talk" when about 25 women attended the first of five seminars on women's health sponsored by Phoenixville Hospital's community health education department. The women, sitting on folding chairs set up in Fellowship Hall at First Presbyterian Church in Phoenixville on Wednesday night, nodded knowingly and sometimes chuckled when three health professionals presented topics of a womanly concern: "The Super Woman Dilemma," "What Every Woman Should Know," (about contraception)

In 1999 Upper Darby native/actress Heather Donahue and her "Blair Witch Project" co-stars made moviegoers nauseous with their shaky camera-work. But by 2007 Donahue was controlling nausea for medical marijuana patients in California, where she was growing weed. Donahue, who'll be 37 next week, documents her year spent cultivating marijuana in "GrowGirl," out Jan. 5 from Gotham Penguin Publishing. She received her own prescription for medical marijuana in 2007 to treat PMS. We asked whether that meant she smoked only one week a month, and she replied, "It's a very flexible medicine.

For women who sometimes feel controlled by their hormones, here's a book just for you - Women: We Are What We Secrete. Actually, it's called 28 Days: What Your Cycle Reveals About Your Love Life, Moods, and Potential, and the premise is likely to make endocrinologists cringe. Instead of looking to the stars for women's destinies, author Gabrielle Lichterman looks to estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Lichterman, 35, a New York City-based women's magazine writer, calls herself the "founder of hormonology.

SIOP (Single Integrated Operational Plan) for today: Coerced into Coalition of the Unwilling for mission to antiques show in Havre de Grace. Protested participation in any activity in town with Frenchie name, but was countermanded by Superior. 0730: Hunkered down under HERLFAB (Heat Retaining Laminated Fabric) waiting for Reveille. Forced out of bunk by Proximate Canine Entity barking next door. Initiated suppressing fire with nearest shoe. Bad blowback. Computed losses of ? of footwear assets (right shoe)

A new survey says PMS causes grave difficulties in the workplace - for men. Forty-eight percent of men quizzed said premenstrual syndrome "negatively affects their relationships with female co-workers" and 54 percent said PMS "negatively affects their relationships with female bosses. " The survey, conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide for the maker of PMS Escape, a dietary supplement, did not ask men how they knew their co-workers and bosses were suffering from PMS and not simply annoyed about some work-connected issue.

A woman experiencing a bad bout of PMS-related anxiety may feel remarkably similar to a drug or alcohol addict quitting cold turkey. Neurologist Sheryl Smith of Allegheny University of the Health Sciences found that, in rats, hormonal shifts associated with PMS caused brain changes similar to those associated with withdrawal. Her findings are published in today's issue of the journal Nature. Scientists had for some time associated premenstrual syndrome with a monthly drop in the hormone progesterone, but Smith found a more complicated explanation for anxiety in the days around menstruation.

Tourists driving in the City of Brotherly Love this summer will encounter a variety of dangerous and discourteous driving practices by the typical Philadelphia motorist (PM). Speeding, tailgating, running red lights and other illegal practices are common. Information on some of these hazards follows, plus a few survival tips: SPEEDING. Exceeding posted speed limits is the norm among PMs. As a matter of fact, PMs have been taught early on that a sign denoting a speed limit actually indicates a minimum rather than a maximum.

The tranquilizer Xanax can relieve the tension, irritability and aches of severe premenstrual syndrome, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center researchers say. Their study, published in today's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, also found that the hormone progesterone is not particularly effective in treating PMS, even though it has been widely prescribed for that purpose for more than a decade. Coming on the heels of a study that found that Prozac helps severe PMS, the new research offers yet more insight into the complex hormonal and nervous system interactions that trigger the mysterious monthly malady.

Women who feel helpless to stop their monthly imitation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde should take heart from last week's news that Prozac can relieve severe premenstrual syndrome (PMS). But before women with milder PMS resort to the antidepressant, they and their doctors should carefully consider its drawbacks and limitations. That's how several experts on PMS and women's mental health reacted to the publication of a major study in the New England Journal of Medicine. It indicated that a class of drugs known as "selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors," which includes Prozac and several other brands, may be effective in treating the psychological symptoms of PMS. The findings support the theory that PMS is a form of depression triggered by changes in the body's chemistry.

Women's Hormones: Myth vs. Reality is a moderately good documentary, even though the title promises more than this one-hour show delivers. There is almost no discussion of the myths, and some of the realities are not yet fully understood. Debbie Reynolds is the host for the program, at 10 tonight on the Lifetime cable channel. The show comes close to being an infomercial, because it is sponsored by Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, which manufactures an estrogen replacement drug as well as contraceptives.

If you've been feeling irritable, depressed, anxious lethargic and overwhelmed, it could be from reading too many news stories about the Clinton administration. Or, you might be suffering from a newly diagnosed mental illness, severe PMS. At their annual meeting in San Francisco a few weeks ago, the American Psychiatric Association voted to add to its list of "depressive disorders" a severe form of premenstrual syndrome. According to psychiatrists, classifying extreme PMS as an actual ailment means that women will be diagnosed and treated more effectively.