3 medications that help with PMS

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) can be unbearable, and it's just the beginning. Here are some medications that could help.

• For women who experience serious mood changes at that time of the month, antidepressants can help.
• Specific antidepressants called selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) help the feel-good chemical serotonin hang around longer in your brain.
• Instead of taking large doses everyday, as one would to treat depression, women with PMS generally take small doses during the two weeks before their periods.
• Studies have found that the drugs were better than placebos for treating serious premenstrual symptoms.

• Birth control pills maintain steady levels of reproductive hormones.
• When you take them, you avoid the high premenstrual estrogen levels that trigger PMS.
• Studies find that taking any birth control pill on a continuous basis — without the seven days of placebo pills that trigger periods — ends periods in 80 to 100 percent of women.
• Without periods, of course, there is no PMS.

• This prescription diuretic, taken during the 10 or so days prior to menstruation and the first two or three days, blocks a hormone that causes fluid retention.
• It can ease some PMS symptoms, including bloating and mood changes.
• But other diuretics don't seem to work as well.
• Remember to always consult your doctor before starting new medications.

If you have premenstrual syndrome (PMS), you know that once a month, you'll be crabby and depressed, with headaches, bloating and anxiety. With these solutions, though, PMS could be much more bearable.