Have you ever stayed up all night long, and then gone to school the next day? That grumpy, punchy, head-achey feeling is very much like PMS. Or at least some kinds of PMS, because PMS takes many different forms. Medicine defines PMS as a problem, and is looking for a way to cure it. But sometimes we use "PMS" to refer to the way we feel before our periods, feelings which may not bother us, or seem to be there for a reason.
You don't get PMS just because you menstruate. You may never get PMS at all. Most women who do get PMS don't think it's a big deal. PMS is something that starts happening about 10 days before your period, and stops when your period comes. If your face breaks out only for a few days each month, always right before your period, then you know that your skin problems are a part of PMS.
Pimples or greasy skin, sore breasts, headaches, irritability, bloating and feeling tired are all common PMS symptoms. Other "symptoms" are kind of funny. For instance, a lot of women say that right before their period begins they get a strong urge to clean house, or organize things, even if they are slobs for the rest of the month. Some women have strange food cravings, or eat more than usual. Other women cry very easily before their periods, not because they are sad, but because everything seems to touch their heart.
Some women think that PMS should not be looked at as a disease which needs to be cured, but instead believe that being extra- sensitive before your period is a part of being a woman Some women call PMS "truth time" because it is the one time when you are not going to put on a smiley face and pretend everything is okay when something - or someone - is really getting on your nerves.
If your PMS symptoms bother you there are many things
you can do to make that time better.