What is the Surprising Link Between Adrenal Fatigue and PMS?

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Are you experiencing fatigue and PMS every month? You’re not alone if you are. PMS causes symptoms a week or two before a woman’s menstrual period. Women experience fatigue, bloating, irritability, depression, and anxiety. You might be surprised to learn that stress is one of the main causes of PMS.

Adrenal fatigue is a term used to explain symptoms that occur when people are under long-term stress. Some of the symptoms are tiredness, salt and sugar cravings, and the need for caffeine to help you make it through the day.

The adrenal glands are small organs located above the kidneys. They deal with stress by producing hormones like cortisol. Because of stress, the adrenal glands can’t keep up with the demand for those hormones and that’s when someone can experience adrenal fatigue. 

Adrenal fatigue and PMS can be linked by stress and hormone fluctuation. 

What is the Surprising Link Between Adrenal Fatigue and PMS? | Quit Chronic Fatigue

What Exactly Is PMS?

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PMS is a combination of symptoms that many women get before their menstrual period. After ovulation, your estrogen and progesterone levels begin to fall dramatically if you’re not pregnant. PMS symptoms typically go away after a woman’s period starts, because the hormone levels start to rise again. 

Some women have very mild symptoms, or no symptoms at all. For others, PMS can be so severe that it affects their daily life. For some women, going to work or school is difficult because they deal with migraines, fatigue, and even bad allergy symptoms! PMS goes away when you go through menopause. 

How Do Adrenal Glands Work? 

Cortisol is the hormone released from the adrenal glands whenever a person is experiencing stress or the feeling of danger approaching. Overproduction of this stress hormone happens even when there is no true threat.

If your body keeps sending these stress messages over a long period of time, then you can experience adrenal fatigue. When this happens, your body has a harder time producing and regulating other important hormones that affect our emotional and physical well-being. Some of the hormones that are affected are estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. 

The result is hormonal fluctuations that affect a woman’s monthly cycle, causing symptoms of PMS.

Hormones, Stress, and PMS are Closely Tied

In order to have healthy menstruation, you want the adrenal glands to function properly. Stress affects PMS and wreaks havoc with your adrenal glands. 

Estrogen and progesterone and other adrenal hormones play a big role in menstruation. They also affect sexual function, physical well-being as well as the aging process. 

Many women who experience adrenal fatigue also have PMS. Adrenal fatigue can worsen a woman’s menopause symptoms making that transition more difficult. 

Fatigue and PMS Change as You Age

As you age, your body needs estrogen and progesterone for the transition before and during menopause to proceed smoothly.

The ovaries slow their production of estrogen and progesterone as women get older. This is when the adrenal glands take over supplying those hormones. But if there is adrenal fatigue when this process takes place, then it becomes difficult for the adrenals to produce the extra hormones needed. 

Dealing With A Hormonal Imbalance

Unfortunately, correcting a hormonal imbalance is far more complicated than taking a pill or doing exercise. Medication can provide temporary relief, but it doesn’t address the root of the problem, which is adrenal fatigue. 

Adrenal fatigue is a lifestyle condition. There is no quick fix to the problem. Most likely, adrenal fatigue has developed over time, so the road to recovery is a long one. There are small adjustments you can make in your lifestyle to feel better over time. 

One of the best ways to help adrenal fatigue is to change your eating habits. Overeating and poor diet don’t help when it comes to your hormonal imbalance. Try eating a low-fat diet with some greens. This forces your body to work when digesting food, which helps moderate cortisol production. 

Eating lots of greens will also help your liver! The liver is the body’s main detoxification system because it works to eliminate waste from the body. Leafy green veggies, grapefruit, lemons, and green tea are excellent ways to detox your liver. 

Another way to help adrenal fatigue is to do moderate exercise, such as walking. This will help your fitness levels and your heart health! Don’t shoot for working out three hours a day. Try starting slow and working your way up. 

The relationship between adrenal fatigue and PMS is extremely complex. The hormones in a woman’s body are affected by stress which causes adrenal fatigue. 

The best way to help keep your hormones more balanced is to live a healthy lifestyle which includes plenty of fresh air and exercise, eating a healthy diet without processed foods, and trying to avoid caffeine and alcohol. 

Finding other ways to keep your stress levels low and manageable is also needed in your lifestyle.

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