This post is for the women living with MS and the caregivers who live with the women living with MS. (are you with me so far?) Today, I’d like to talk about premenstrual syndrome, emotional volatility, and multiple sclerosis. Men, you may want to stick around for this discussion; it just might affect you too.
There are several small studies which have explored the relationship between the menstrual cycle and pseudoexacerbations in MS. One such study investigated the role of body temperature and use of aspirin as prevention, published by Dr. Dean Wingerchuk and Dr. Moses Rodriguez in the Archives of Neurology 2006;63:1005-1008. Another article, Understanding Fluctuations of Multiple Sclerosis Across the Menstrual Cycle by Dr. Maria Houtchens, Ninel Gregori, and Dr. John Rose, was published by the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers.
Anecdotally, there are a number of MS bloggers who discuss this very phenomenon of increased symptoms in their monthly lives.
Before developing MS, I never experienced severe premenstrual symptoms nor the related emotional swings. Honestly, I didn’t. (Please don’t throw any tomatoes at me.) Sure, I had painful cramping that would keep me in bed and a heavy flow which would last a full week. But really it was only the intense craving for chocolate and insatiable hunger which clued me in what time of the month it was, if I had forgotten.
Read this post in its entirety:
Mood Swings, Medication, and Multiple Sclerosis
As odd as it sounds, my MS symptoms
ReplyDeletegot better and still are better that time of the month. Now I am self conscious everybody will know it is that time of the month because I walk so much better. LOL