A case from the archives. Lei was a 16-year-old teenager who came for treatment for severe PMT / PMS symptoms.

Her periods started at 14 years old and PMS symptoms were there from the start. Two years on and her periods were still irregular, ranging from 18 to 30 day cycles.

Pre-menstrual symptoms would start a week before her period, with red blemishes appearing on her face, breast tenderness and constipation. She would be snappy, edgy, not in the mood for people and kept herself busy to get away from others ‘I don’t like people messing about with me’ – these feelings would eventually go a few days into her period. Once her period started she would have very sharp lower abdominal pains; doubling over helped, but little else.

The last period was the most severe so far, with agonising stomach cramps, nausea, dizziness, feeling faint and tiredness before her period started. She felt overwhelmed, confused and started to lose consciousness. She called for her mother but her hearing became distorted and she couldn’t hear herself: ‘I felt like I was going to die and just wanted to go to sleep’. Her mother called an ambulance and she was taken to hospital where her period then started. Various tests were run and the doctor concluded that her symptoms were PMT and recommended she take Ibuprofen when this happened in future, but did not offer a long term solution.

Lei was a warm, communicative teenager with a healthy lifestyle, however there was ongoing tension in the family, especially between her and her father. A week or two before her most extreme period Lei and her father had a huge argument. She felt very angry and disappointed with him.

Lei was prescribed Colocynthis (also known as Bitter Cucumber), a homeopathic remedy for treating severe menstrual pain where you are bent over double, and where symptoms are worse from anger and indignation. This remedy fit well as it combined the intense cramping pain of the period with the anger and indignation she felt towards her father.

Lei’s next period was much better and was an improvement not only on the previous one but the periods before that too. Her anger with her father was much reduced and they were speaking again. Over the months, the cramping reduced to low level pain the day before her period and her irregular cycles gradually settled down. Prescriptions included the homeopathy remedies Folliculinum (great for regulation of the cycle), Mag Phos, Colocynthis (taken only when needed as natural alternatives to ibuprofen) and Ignatia. Occasionally there were flare ups with the family but with the help of homeopathic remedies and flower essences Lei felt better able to deal with them and less angry. A good quality multivitamin was also advised as well as improvements to her diet.

Lei’s cycle completely regulated to 28/29 days with only very occasional cramping and there were no more incidents of extreme pain.

Observations
A great example of the mind-body connection. Lei’s period pain and cramping were exacerbated by the anger she felt towards her father. The ongoing tension in the family was a feature of her period pain each month.
About a third of women say PMS significantly affects their life, with 5% to 10% classifying their PMS as severe. Homeopathy can help.