I used to work in a women's wholistic health center - and I helped women chart their cycles, along with symptoms and habits.<p>We cross-checked diet, right down to when they ate pizza or chocolate or colas or coffee. we cross-referenced medications they were taking, or nutritional suppliments. I did this on myself too, because my mother has SERIOUS PMS - to the point where she could be physically, emotionally abusive and completely insane at unpredictable times (I didn't chart as a kid, I just knew that when I least expected it, the Wicked Witch showed up and threw her broom at me!). So I knew I might be predisposed to it. <p>I went off the pill after only two years because it contributed to the PMS symptoms. I cut out caffiene, and if I have a stuffy nose, I sit there with the decongestant/anti-histamine in my hands going, "which is worse, the pain or the cure?"<p>Every woman is different. That's why just making notes in a day-planner or something, for each thing you put in your mouth; if you exercise, how much, how long and what kind; medications; adrenalin rushes - like if you barely miss getting hit by someone on the freeway; etc. And then rate your over-all sense of well-being for the day. Life stress ranking 1-10; relationship stress 1-10; job stress 1-10, and parenting stress 1-10, etc. Rate the day over-all on a scale of 1-10, then after a couple of months, you should have a clear indication of when PMS symptoms hit, what makes them worse, and what makes them better.
