Believe It or Not, Prozac for PMS

Posted by Cathy on

PMS, PMDD, best herbal remedies for menstrual crampsAt first I thought it was a joke, but it's for real.  Prozac is now being touted as the latest greatest thing for PMS and PMDD.  This is the drug used for treatment of depression or obsessive-compulsive behavior.  You know, the happy pill. Sadly,  I've seen lots of people who are not happy, who take this pill.

Straight from Wikipedia (and a few other sources) re-labeling drugs is becoming a common occurrence when a prescription drug  patent is about to expire. The  manufacturer suddenly finds "new uses" for it to stem the post-patent sales decrease.    Eli Lilly's re-branding of Prozac is the latest drug to suddenly find new uses.  This time the "research" (hmm, some research at the University of Birmingham, but couldn't find anything published) says it works for the treatment of PMDD, otherwise known as  Pre-Menstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). This is a dramatic form of Premenstrual syndrome.

Not to worry though, because if Prozac helps your PMDD or your PMS you only have, well minimal side-effects.  Here's the short list. 

 
In clinical studies, the most common side effects Prozac included:
  • Insomnia –– in up to 33 percent  of people    (Great I'm dead tired from not sleeping but I'm not anxious. But I do need another drug to help me sleep, what do you recommend?)
  • Nausea — up to 29 percent
  • Weakness — up to 21 percent
  • Headache — up to 21 percent
  • Diarrhea  — up to 18 percent
  • Loss of appetite — up to 17 percent 
  • Drowsiness — up to 17 percent
  • Anxiety— up to 15 percent               (what, I thought it treats anxiety, You mean I could have a 15% chance of having more anxiety?  What's up with that?)
  • Nervousness — up to 14 percent
  • Shakiness (tremor) — up to 13 percent
  • Dry mouth — up to 12 percent 
  • Decreased sex drive — up to 11 percent 
  • Yawning — up to 11 percent
  • Indigestion — up to 10 percent
  • Dizziness — up to 9 percent
  • Sweating — up to 8 percent
  • Impotence- up to 7 percent 
  • Ejaculation problems — up to 7 percent  (probably doesn't apply to females, unless…   does this include failure to orgasm?)
Other common Prozac side effects (that occurred in at least 1 percent of people) include:
 
  • Flushing (redness of the skin, especially the face)
  • Abnormal dreams
  • Constipation
  • Gas
  • Vomiting
  • Fever or chills
  • Weight loss
  • Vision changes
  • Chest pain
  • High blood pressure/hypertension
  • Increased appetite and weight gain
  • Taste changes
  • Menstrual Problems  (What???  Wait a minute …. I thought you said it's for my menstrual problems??)

Lastly, let's not forget that Prozac, like all anti-depressant drugs, carry the "black box warning"  on the label.  That's the little caveat that says if you commit suicide it's not our fault because we  are telling you this drug may give you suicidal thoughts.   

If you need something for PMS or menstrual cramps and pain, we have a better answer.  You don't have to suffer and you don't have to take a drug with side-effects.  Check out all your options.  Feeling good again can happen, check out a natural alternative used for generations.  We've got it here.

 

Wikipedia  says:    Eli Lilly's patent on Prozac (fluoxetine) expired in the United States in August 2001, prompting an influx of generic drugs onto the market. Prozac was rebranded "Sarafem" for the treatment of PMDD in an attempt to stem the post-patent decrease in Eli Lilly's sales of fluoxetine.

Holy Hormones – Evidence Shows How Menstrual Cramps Effect Women’s Brains

Posted by Cathy on with 2 Comments

Often, menstrual pain and cramps are not taken seriously. But here at Pack Herbs we take them very seriously, as do a group of researchers at the University of Taipei.  These researchers from Taiwan have made international news.  Using highly specialized brain scanners the researchers found the anatomy of the female brain changed as a result of painful menstrual cramps.  If fact, even if women did not have cramps at the time of the brain scans, yet had experienced moderate to severe cramps on a regular basis for years, scans still showed their brains gray matter had abnormalities.  Yes, abnormalities!  This is the first documented evidence of it’s type. This research proves the monthly misery of menstrual cramps have serious lasting side effects, similar to the effects of people who deal with chronic pain issues. This research is published in the Sept. 2010 issue of PAIN.

“A long-term bombardment by peripheral pain can elicit plastic changes in the central brain as a reactive adaptation,” Hsieh explained. “It can also be a crucial mechanism that perpetuates the ‘chronification’ of pain” — that is, a mechanism that can turn pain into a lingering affliction, says  Dr. Jen-Chuen Hsieh, a professor of neuroscience at the Institute of Brain Science at National Yang-Ming University in Taipei, Taiwan, and lead researcher.  Previously, the researches found PET brain scans also showed differences in brain activity.

Menstrual cramps, or pain in the lower abdomen occur when the uterus contracts during menstruation.  Cramps are one of the most common gynecological disorder in women of childbearing age. As a woman who has been through some pretty painful menstrual cramps in my life, I found Chinese herbs can eliminate monthly suffering and I wanted to share it with others. This is the reason I gave birth to PMS Relief Herb Pack.  (Not a traditional birth, but a birthing of sorts.)

Whether you experience the moodiness, cramps, backaches, bloating, breast tenderness or all of the above, PMS Relief will work for you.  It’s packed with 14 herbs (a dried powder extraction) which has been used through-out Asia for centuries.  Based on Traditional Chinese Medicine, our herbal blend of Chinese herbs (not Western herbs) is nothing like what’s been on the American market before.  One packet mixed in water is all you need to start feeling the immediate relief.   Most women use a packet the day before their cycle starts and then a packet or two on their worst cramping days. Did I mention it’s all natural herbs, nothing artificial added and it taste good too.   

Do your brain and your body a favor and give PMS Relief a try.  There is really no reason to suffer any longer. Chinese herbs have the longest continual use history of any medicine on earth. What are you waiting for, an abnormal brain to develop?

Connect to a Australian study:  549 women had documented results on the severity of PMS using Chinese herbs. By restoring the imbalance in the reproductive system, Chinese herbal medicine can prevent monthly menstrual cramps, depression, PMS, and abdominal pain.

Read the abstract here: http://www.painjournalonline.com/article/S0304-3959(10)00329-5/abstract