Natural PMS Remedies

omega 3's----flax oil supports estrogen production, evening primrose oil supports progesterone, or plain old fish oil will help all the way around. If that doesn't work, vitex herb is great for balancing hormones.
J.

Hi M.,
My name is D.. I know how you feel, I felt the same way too but I found a product that helped me tremendously and now I no longer suffer from PMS or being moody which the family appreciates I think :)

M., I found terrific relief from using Herbalife's Tang Kuei Plus and Women's Choice. I forwarded your message on to another mamasource mama, who happens to be one of my Herbalife Distributor friends. Her name is Val. I'm sure she'll be in touch with you to see if she can help you in any way!

Hope you find some relief!! I suffered exactly (and so did my family) as you are.

V. W.

are you on birth control? If so have the doc change your type. I have really heavy periods really bad cramps and get migrains right before and during my periods. I will drink a cup or two of coffee and that helps a little. Also if you go to your local health food retailer they will help you with natural remedies. I lived by our natural foods dealer when I was pregnant with my now 7 week old.

Hi M.!

I am sorry to hear about your hormonal issues! I love the remedies from Wishgarden Herbs- they have always worked the best for me. They have specializd remedies for women's monthly cycles for hormones, cramping, emotional upsets, etc. To see their remedies, go to www.naturalchoices4baby.com Go to the shopping section and find "Wishgarden Herbs" on the Shop by Manufacturer tab.

I also recommend a mostly raw foods diet- a book that really helped give me good info and lots of recipes was "The Raw Food Detox Diet" by Natalia Rose.

Good luck!
H. Gaitten

You might try acupuncture. I am trying to get pregnant and have been unsuccessful for a year. I don't like the usual fertility treatment, wanting only to try more natural approaches. My acupuncturist specializes in infertility and gives me treatments as well as herbal remedies to hopefully cause my body to be more receptive. I am sure an acupuncturist could give you treatments to ease the headaches and herbal remedies to ease the entire cycle, too. I can give you my acupuncturist's name if you write in private.
Good luck!

Take Vitamin B-Complex everyday. Drink lots of water (10 - 12 oz. glasses a day).

I also think I'd try the yoga suggestion and there is no such thing as getting too many endorphines (no better way to get a natural drug of happiness).

Best wishes, D.

Hi,

There are a few things that I have seen used. I would increase your soy intake and omega 3. Also there is a tea that I used that I got at a health food store that was called moon tea. It is very herbie, but not too bad. Also increase your vitamin B6.

red raspberry leaf tea - you can get it at wild oats....or fresh leaves if you're lucky enough to have raspberries growing in your garden :)

I read that soaking in a hot bath as hot as you can stand with Lavender oil. With candles around the area helps, I also read Rubbing lavender oil on your temple prior to PMS and then Rubbing lavender oil on part of your left foot and your lower stomach close to your ovaries works. I just got the stuff and it seems to be helping with me. Give it a try! Hope it works out!

Hi M.,

I cut all sugar, caffine and wheat out of my diet and no more PMS. I am also working with a naturopatic doctor to get my adrenals working properly, which regulates hormones. the body is so complicated and I have much better months since I have started this protocol. My ob/gyn couldn't help me.
goodluck
L.

I'm all about natural remedies also. After having my kids, my periods and PMS were very bad. I'd get really moody and irritated, heavy bleeding, major cramps to the point where I would need to lie down. I was introduced to Herbalife a year ago. I've always been into herbal supplements but never actually felt anything making a difference until I got on the Herbalife supplements. I used to take Tang Kuai and calcium (other brands off the shelf) but now I take Herbalife's Tang Kuai and Herbalife's Xtra-Cal (calcium carbonate) and it is amazing how much I feel better. I'm more mellow rather than crabby, cramps are better, I have more energy now even on period. Now I do the Herbalife business as a stay at home mom of 2 kids. If you'd like to check out these natural herbal supplements, feel free to contact me. ###-###-####.
-O.

Drink 8-12 ounces per day of Red Raspberry Leaf Tea. It tastes best loose leaf, you can get it online or locally at Shirlyn's or Dave's. RRL is very nourishing and excellent for helping regulate all "women's issues".

Do the Yoga pose "Legs up the wall". Scoot as close to the wall as you can, lay down and put your legs up the wall, let the legs relax. Put your arms at your side with your palms facing up or make a diamond shape with your hands (thumbs & pointer fingers touching) and rest them on your low abdominal wall (this helps to bring energy into your body). Stay there for as long as you feel comfortable.
Legs up the wall is the "Cure all" Yoga pose. It helps with headaches, cramps, energy, etc.
I hope it works for you!

There are tons! Look on the internet, visit an herb shop. a few I trust are Dr. Christopher's Female Reproductive Formula or Nu Fem http://www.drchristophers.com/ and Traditional Medicinals PMS tea, which I get at the grocery store. http://www.tradmed.com/

Herbs are so exciting to me, they are miraculous, you just should learn and consider what they will do to your body. Eat as healthy as you can, make as much of your own food as you can and stay away from sugar.

It might benifit you to go to a health food/herb store. I know that fever few is supposed to help reduce headaches, but with it being PMS, they might also recomend some hormone creams.

If when you go to the store, the person has no idea, or doesn't seem very knowledgeable, either try another store or, email me and i can give you my Mom's #. She has studied natural medicine for 27 years now and is quite knowledgable and doesn't have to disappear into a book to get an answer for an herb.

I get headaches/migranes monthly as well, but it was determined when I was around 16 that it was too much progesterone. Don't really know how they came to that conclusion. Mine have gotten a lot better since I've had kids though.

GL
J.

I posted a while back on this same thing. B12 has helped me a lot, starting in a week or two before your period and it takes a while but it is great. Also I upped my vitamins with a daily multiple, drink a lot of brewed green tea. All of this has really helped me a ton!!!! The B vitamins are very beneficial if you start taking them a few weeks prior to your period. I still get a headache the week before but it is very minimal in comparison.
I was too concerned about all the herbal supplements personally. You should always run those by your Dr as some have reactions in certain people.
I just do the liquid B12 under my tongue once a day for a week before the PMS symptoms kick in and take it during my cycle. Eat iron enriched foods when your period starts too as your iron levels can drop.
Good luck,

Hi M.,

I had terrible PMS, too (came close to going on antidepressants)until 5 years ago when I started taking Body Balance. It's a 100% natural, organic, whole food liquid nutritional made from 9 sea vegetables and aloe vera juice. It tastes great so it's easy to drink every day... and it makes a huge difference for people w/ all kinds of health challenges (I also used to have chronic kidney infections and sinus infections and haven't had ANY in 5 years!). PMS is a real common one we see great results w/ a lot. Anyway, you can go here to learn more about it : http://php.lifeforce.net/body-balance.php and feel free to call me as well. My # is ###-###-#### and if you decide to order online you'll need my pin # which is 20755862. They have a 45-day money-back guarantee which is great, so you can try it risk-free...

Anyway, let me know if I can help!

Good luck,

A.

I try to drink at least 1-2 cups of organic soy milk a few days before my cycle begins. Soy has lots of estrogen and even in small amounts it can help with the dip in estrogen in your body. I have found though that too much soy at one time causes loose stool, so use sparingly, or eat endamame a few days before. I'm sure tofu would work as well, but always remember to buy organic, as non-organics are a lot harsher on your system due to GMO's and such. Hope this makes you feel better. Oh! I also take vit E, this helps with clotting and regulation your flow. If you take it daily it also helps your hair, nail & skin look great.

I can't believe how few people know about the simple effect of Calcium Carbonate. I saw it on Oprah many years ago and then read about it in a magazine and I thought I could't hurt,so I've been taking a daily dose of Calcium Carbonate (like a Tums or Caltrate) for years! In a matter of three months (it was like a miracle) I went from cramping and moodiness so bad that I took time off from work/school to "Is today the day it starts? Huh! I never knew!" A few times I've run out or forgotten for a while and I can TOTALLY tell the difference. I love this approach because it's calcium (which we all need more of), it's cheap, and it's easy! I like the chewable kind, but the other works well, too. It MUST be calcium carbonate to work and it takes about three months to fully kick in. Be patient and see if it works for you. Good luck...been there!

Any exercise that gets your heartrate up (running is a good one) will increase endorphine release - hense the "runner's high." Especially during that grumpy PMS week. Yoga is also great - you focus on the exercise and let stresses and stuff go.

Soy is a good natural source of estrogen (not exactly real estrogen, but enough of a substitute that they've cautioned post-menopausal women on estrogen treatment to be careful of their intake). Eating some extra soy in that PMS week could help. Edamome (sp?) is the immature soy bean. You can heat them in the pod, or eat them unheated, but you can't eat the pod. Costco has (or at last had) a great box of about 12 small packets, frozen. I just poke holes in the plastic cover, microwave for a couple of minutes (shake it around half-way through for more even heating) and eat. YUM!!

Diet is key cut out sugar, caffiene and bump up the exersize a bit.