Premenstrual bloating. We’ve all been through it.
That time of the month when your waistband seems to have shrunk two sizes, your fingers look like mini sausages, your feet swell, or your blouse and shirt sleeves seem to squeeze the very life blood from your arms.
It’s bloating, and it happens to many women coinciding with phases in the menstrual cycle, and beginning often a few days before the onset of menstruation.
Bloating affects a number of women in their childbearing years, and is considered a common complaint.
Besides the issues relating to bloating itself, the condition is usually accompanied by weight gain of up to several pounds.
What Causes Premenstrual Bloating
Premenstrual bloating is caused by the body’s retention of water.
Seven to ten days prior to the onset of menstruation, the change (increase) in the hormonal levels of oestrogen and progesterone cause the body to retain sodium.
Hormone replacement therapy (especially oestrogen replacement therapy) can also cause bloating.
High sodium levels cause the body to retain more fluid from blood in the cells, and the fluid becomes trapped in skin tissues leading to bloating.
How Can I Prevent Premenstrual Water Retention
Most women learn to expect it, and if the symptoms appear especially troublesome, turn to some form of over-the-counter remedy for a measure of relief.
Others turn to more “natural” remedies like increased exercise to “sweat out” the excess water, reduction of salt intake, increased intake of fiber-rich foods or water to “flush out” excess sodium, or an increase in vitamins, especially calcium or magnesium to help alleviate symptoms.
Some women have found success in the alleviation of the symptoms of PMS (premenstrual syndrome), including Premenstrual bloating, with the use of natural progesterone.
Although there are doctors who discount the effectiveness of natural progesterone in relief of these symptoms, there are other doctors and medical professionals, as well as experts who study the effectiveness of natural remedies that believe it is indeed effective.
In this case, natural progesterone is used to restore a better balance between the hormones oestrogen and progesterone, which subsequently relieves symptoms of imbalance, including bloating.
Any treatment or remedy should be thoroughly investigated and considered before use. It just may be that you find that the use of natural progesterone is beneficial to you in relieving a number of symptoms of PMS, including Premenstrual bloating.
PMS, an acronym commonly used to describe a woman’s mood surrounding the time of her menstrual cycle, stands for premenstrual syndrome. While the term is likely overused as an excuse, it does describe a real condition