Premenstrual Disorders

I’m even dating Mark. I guess he decided even though I was such a jerk at Homecoming, I have some redeeming character. Anyway, all month long now I feel almost the same. I still know when it is getting close to the time for my period, but I’m not mean, I can concentrate on my schoolwork just as well as any other time of the month, and best of all I feel like myself, not some PMS monster. I guess I’ve learned to like doctors better, too. It’s amazing to me that they know so much about so many different things, like how the brain works and how food and exercise can make a difference for just one problem. What about all the other things people suffer from? I wonder if I ought to become a doctor. I’ve always just thought of sick people as mostly having colds and flu and strep throat, but the way my doctor brought this all together for me has been so cool. I think I’d like to help others that way too. Taking a medication like Zoloft for two weeks out of her cycle really helped Emily make the necessary changes in her lifestyle. But her doctor realized she needed to do some physical work herself and advised her to follow some new dietary practices and to get regular exercise. Food choices and exercise do so much to help a person feel healthier that almost everyone can feel better by adhering to a few recommendations from those who have studied the effects of diet and exercise on the body. Treating PMS with Food For those who want to try an alternative that is relatively easy to follow and does not cause major risks or side effects, food is a good choice. Anyone can obtain information from a physician, a dietician, and from well-researched books applauding the benefits of a good diet. (Diet, in this case, refers to the usual food and drink a person consumes each day to stay alive.) In some cases, a woman may try to lose weight or may simply notice a loss of weight because of bet- ter food, more healthy choices. Losing weight is not the immediate

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Premenstrual Disorders •