Wednesday, January 18, 2006
courtesy of MedicineNet.com:What is premenstrual syndrome?
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a combination of emotional, physical, psychological, and mood disturbances that occurs after a woman's ovulation and normally ends with the onset of her menstrual flow. The most common mood-related symptoms are irritability, depression, crying, oversensitivity, and mood swings with alternating sadness and anger. The most common physical symptoms are fatigue, bloating, breast tenderness (mastalgia), acne and appetite changes with food cravings.
PMS is also known as late luteal phase dysphoric disorder.
What are the symptoms of PMS?
Women can have PMS of varying duration and severity from cycle to cycle. The most frequent mood-related symptoms of PMS include anger and irritability, anxiety, tension, depression, crying, oversensitivity, and exaggerated mood swings. The most frequent physical signs and symptoms of PMS include fatigue, bloating (due to fluid retention), weight gain, breast tenderness, acne, sleep disturbances with sleeping too much or too little (insomnia), and appetite changes with overeating or food cravings (the I-can't- believe-I-ate-a-whole-container-of-ice-cream syndrome).
What are menstrual cramps?
Menstrual cramps are abdominal and pelvic area (belly) pains that are experienced by a woman around the time of her menstrual period. Menstrual cramps are not the same as the discomfort felt during premenstrual syndrome (PMS) although the symptoms of both disorders can sometimes be experienced as a continual process. Many women suffer from both PMS and menstrual cramps.
Menstrual cramps can range from mild to quite severe. Mild menstrual cramps may be barely noticeable and of short duration - sometimes felt just as a sense of light heaviness in the belly. Severe menstrual cramps can be so painful that they interfere with a woman's regular activities for several days.
What causes menstrual cramps?
Each month, the inner lining of the uterus (the endometrium) builds up in preparation for a possible pregnancy. If the egg is not fertilized by a sperm, the current lining of the uterus is no longer needed. The woman's estrogen and progesterone hormone levels decline and the lining of the uterus becomes swollen and dies. It is then shed and will be replaced by a new lining in the next monthly cycle.
When the old uterine lining begins to break down, molecular compounds called prostaglandins are released. These compounds, specifically prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha), cause the muscles of the uterus to contract. When the uterine muscles contract, they constrict the blood supply (vasoconstriction) to the endometrium. This contraction blocks the delivery of oxygen to the tissue of the endometrium which, in turn, breaks down and dies. After the death of this tissue, the uterine contractions literally squeeze the old endometrial tissue through the cervix and out of the body by way of the vagina.
What are the symptoms of menstrual cramps?
Menstrual cramps are pains that begin in the lower abdomen and pelvis. The discomfort can extend to the lower back or legs. The cramps can be a quite painful or simply a dull ache. They can be periodic or continual.
Menstrual cramps usually start shortly before the menstrual period, peak within 24 hours after the onset of the pains, and subside again after a day or two.
Menstrual cramps may be accompanied by a headache and/or nausea, which can lead, although infrequently, to the point of vomiting. Menstrual cramps can also be accompanied by either constipation or diarrhea because the prostaglandin (PGF2alpha), which causes smooth muscles to contract, are found in both the uterus and intestinal tract. Some women experience an urge to urinate more frequently.
sorry for the information overload.
i'm in no mood of starting my CNY shopping.. shouldn't i already have started? isnt it a girl's thing to start giving excuses of shopping for CNY since say Nov for previous year???!!!
i'm still thinking abt that expensive shoe.. shld i get it?? oh well.. then again.. maybe it'll no longer b there when i finally decides to get my butt down to buy it.
life's boring.. i'm being surrounded by Cs.. C C C everywhere.. Cs are everywhere!!
oh yah.. and any JC1 friends reading this.. not sure if u remember back then when we had this guy teaching us SAT.. named Edvarcl(i think) i believe i've seen something he wrote.. i believe it's dated all the way back 2003.. ermm.. just came across it while browsing through tea.. mm.. but that's beside the point. seeing that name just brought back memories of how he described adriel.. or shld i say tried to link a certain word to him.. hmm.. remembered it to b something really funny... hmm.. what's the word again?? i'm sure it's not along the line of adriel being cute rite?!?!?!
oinked on 8:09 PM
Comments:
i believe the word was either caricature or dexterous. The moment/word probably got stuck in your head when I drew a pic of adriel in a ballerina costume on the whiteboard ;p
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# posted by 
: 5:03 AM
: 5:03 AM