Exhaustion
No doubt about it: PMS can be exhausting. Persistent physical pain or discomfort such as bloating or nausea, not to mention the emotional whipsawing that is so characteristic of PMS, is enough to exhaust anyone!
But fatigue and exhaustion in and of themselves are classic PMS symptoms. They are also associated with other conditions such as thyroid and adrenal dysfunction, depression, and fibromyalgia. As with backache, joint pain, muscle aches, and virtually any other PMS symptom, you have to pay attention to the times when you feel exhausted in order to determine if these are PMS-related symptoms.
PMS is a complex web of interrelated symptoms. Several factors can cause exhaustion. Here are some questions might help identify the cause of your fatigue:
Sleep problems:Is your lack of energy related to a sleep?
Depression:Do you have other symptoms consistent depression, such as feelings of hopelessness or difficulty concentrating?
Diet/nutritional deficiencies: Is your diet balanced? iron or vitamin B12 can cause exhaustion.
Stress: Are you experiencing high levels of stress?
Hormonal Exhaustion?
Many practitioners of alternative medicine—such as nutritionists, naturopaths, and practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine and yoga—to “adrenal exhaustion” when describing a condition in which adrenal glands, which produce the stress hormone adrenaline known as epinephrine), become overworked and cease to adequately. This condition then leads to fatigue, stress, and depression.
Essentially, according to this theory, the adrenal glands stressed to the point of malfunction, which degrades the body’s to respond to stress.
Question
What is hypoadrenia?
Hypoadrenia is a term used in alternative medicine to describe a reduction in adrenal activity. According to some alternative medical practitioners, doctors can't diagnose this condition because the blood tests used to test adrenal deficiency are not sensitive enough to detect adrenal fatigue.
Feeling Better
You don’t have to be resigned to tiredness. Simple steps to feeling better include eating a balanced diet, getting enough rest, and reducing stress. In addition, treating physical symptoms such as bloating, diarrhea, headaches, or muscle pain will improve how you feel. Consult a doctor, however, if after you track your symptoms, you find that they correlate with conditions other than PMS, such as fibromyalgia or depression.
