Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) Clinic in Ashby de la Zouch
When your menstrual cycle affects far more than just your period
For some women, the days or weeks leading up to a period can have a significant impact on mood, energy, sleep, relationships, work and everyday life.
Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) can cause a wide range of physical and emotional symptoms. For some women these are relatively mild, but for others they can become difficult to manage and significantly affect quality of life.
At Aeternum Aesthetics, our clinician-led Women’s Hormone Health service provides comprehensive assessment and personalised treatment for women experiencing troublesome premenstrual symptoms.
Our aim is to understand your symptoms, your menstrual cycle and your wider health before discussing the treatment options that may be appropriate for you.
What is Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)?
PMS describes a group of physical, psychological and behavioural symptoms that occur in a cyclical pattern, usually in the days or weeks before a period, and improve once menstruation begins.
PMS isn’t necessarily caused by simply having “too much” or “too little” of one particular hormone.
Women with PMS can have hormone levels within expected ranges but appear to be particularly sensitive to the normal hormonal fluctuations occurring throughout the menstrual cycle.
This is why understanding when your symptoms occur can be just as important as understanding what those symptoms are.
Common Symptoms of PMS
PMS can affect women very differently.
Symptoms may include:
- Mood swings
- Irritability or anger
- Anxiety
- Feeling low or tearful
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Difficulty concentrating or brain fog
- Fatigue or reduced energy
- Sleep disturbance
- Headaches or migraines
- Breast tenderness
- Bloating or fluid retention
- Changes in appetite or food cravings
- Joint or muscle discomfort
- Reduced libido
Some women experience just one or two symptoms, while others notice significant changes affecting several areas of their physical and emotional wellbeing.
What is particularly characteristic of PMS is the relationship between these symptoms and your menstrual cycle.
How Do We Assess PMS?
There isn’t a single blood test that can diagnose PMS.
A key part of assessment is establishing whether your symptoms occur in a consistent pattern in relation to your menstrual cycle.
During your initial consultation we’ll discuss:
- Your symptoms and their severity
- When symptoms occur during your cycle
- Your menstrual cycle and any recent changes
- Medical and family history
- Current medications and contraception
- Previous treatments
- Sleep and emotional wellbeing
- Lifestyle
- How symptoms are affecting your everyday life
You may be asked to track your symptoms prospectively across your menstrual cycle, particularly where the pattern isn’t already clear.
This helps us differentiate PMS from symptoms that occur throughout the month but become more noticeable premenstrually.
Do I Need Hormone Blood Tests?
Not necessarily.
PMS is primarily assessed from the type, timing and cyclical pattern of symptoms, rather than diagnosed by finding an abnormal hormone level on a blood test.
Blood testing may nevertheless be appropriate where your symptoms or medical history suggest that another condition should be investigated, or where testing is relevant to a particular treatment.
Where clinically appropriate, we can arrange a comprehensive:
Female Hormone Blood Test – £195
We’ll explain whether blood testing would be useful in your individual circumstances and what we’re looking for before arranging it.
A Personalised Approach to PMS Treatment
There isn’t one treatment that works for every woman with PMS.
Your treatment plan will depend upon your symptoms, their severity, your menstrual cycle, medical history, whether contraception is required and what you’ve previously tried.
Treatment options can include lifestyle measures, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), certain antidepressants such as SSRIs, combined hormonal contraception and hormonal treatment.
Current UK guidance supports an individualised, stepwise approach to managing PMS rather than treating every woman in the same way.
Where an appropriate treatment falls outside the service we provide at Aeternum, we’ll explain this and advise you about the appropriate next step.
Hormone Treatment for PMS
For some women with significant cyclical symptoms, hormonal treatment may be considered as part of their management.
The aim of hormonal treatment in PMS isn’t simply to replace a hormone because a blood result appears low. In some women, treatment is instead aimed at reducing the hormonal fluctuations associated with the menstrual cycle.
Whether this is appropriate will depend upon your symptoms, medical history, contraception requirements and individual circumstances.
Where hormone treatment is considered, your clinician will discuss the proposed treatment, expected benefits, potential risks and the monitoring required before you decide whether to proceed.
Could It Be Perimenopause?
Sometimes there can be considerable overlap between PMS and perimenopause.
Women who have experienced PMS previously may notice their premenstrual symptoms changing or becoming more difficult to manage as they approach perimenopause.
If you’re also experiencing changes such as:
irregular periods, hot flushes, night sweats, increasing sleep disturbance, vaginal symptoms or changes in your usual menstrual pattern, we’ll consider whether perimenopause could be contributing.
We can then assess your symptoms as part of your wider hormone health rather than looking at PMS in isolation.
What Happens at Your First Appointment?
Your initial Women’s Hormone Health consultation gives us time to properly understand what you’ve been experiencing.
We’ll discuss your symptoms, menstrual cycle, medical history, previous treatments, contraception, lifestyle and the impact your symptoms are having on your life.
We’ll then discuss whether further assessment is required and the treatment options that may be appropriate for you.
Initial Women’s Hormone Health Consultation – £150
Ongoing Reviews
If treatment is commenced, we’ll arrange appropriate follow-up to assess how you’re responding.
We’ll look at changes in the severity, timing and duration of your symptoms, alongside any side effects or concerns.
Your treatment can then be continued or adjusted where clinically appropriate.
Follow-Up Hormone Review – £120
Repeat Prescriptions
Once you’re established on treatment, repeat prescriptions can be issued between scheduled reviews where clinically appropriate.
Repeat Prescription – £45
Medication costs are charged separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not necessarily.
PMS isn't usually as simple as having an oestrogen or progesterone level that is "too high" or "too low". Women with PMS can have hormone levels within expected ranges but experience an increased sensitivity to the normal hormonal changes occurring throughout their cycle.
The timing of your symptoms is particularly important.
Symptoms typically occur during the premenstrual phase and improve following the start of menstruation. Keeping a symptom diary can help establish whether there is a consistent cyclical pattern.
PMDD involves particularly severe premenstrual symptoms, often with a significant psychological component, which can substantially interfere with everyday life.
If your symptoms are having a major effect on your mental health, relationships or ability to function, it's important to discuss this during your assessment.
Yes. Anxiety, irritability, low mood and emotional changes can form part of PMS.
However, anxiety can have many different causes, so we'll consider whether symptoms are specifically related to your menstrual cycle rather than automatically attributing them to hormones.
Yes. Some women experience difficulty falling asleep, disrupted sleep or changes in sleep quality during the premenstrual phase.
Not necessarily.
Blood tests don't diagnose PMS. We may recommend testing where your symptoms suggest another condition needs excluding or where the results would be relevant to your treatment.
It can. Hormonal patterns become less predictable during perimenopause and some women notice a change or worsening in their premenstrual symptoms.
If your cycle itself is changing or you're developing other menopause-associated symptoms, we'll consider this as part of your assessment.
Hormonal treatments are among the options available for managing PMS, but they aren't appropriate or necessary for everybody.
We'll consider the severity and pattern of your symptoms, medical history, contraception requirements and previous treatments before discussing whether a hormonal approach may be suitable.
Yes. Please bring details of treatments you've previously tried, including contraception, antidepressants, hormonal medication and relevant investigations. This helps us understand what's already been explored and what may be appropriate next.
