Managing Pms

"The Premenstrual Syndrome knows no geographical, social, racial, or economic boundaries; its sufferings and tragedies are spread evenly throughout our society." Pretty strong words for a "syndrome" that was unknown a decade ago but today afflicts "40% of all women between the ages of 14 and 40." However, PMS Access, the producing company has somewhat of a vested interest in PMS, since they are a division of Madison Pharmacy Associates, Inc. and drugs are one of the options for treatment of PMS. 150 symptoms are thought to be associated with PMS, ranging from acne to panic attacks, and the experts interviewed during the program offer a good half dozen theories for the suspected causes of the syndrome. Following the heavy duty establishment of PMS in Part 1 of the tape, Part 2 focuses on treatment options, including improved diet and nutritional supplements, exercise, stress reduction techniques, elimination/reduction of various aggravators (alcohol, caffeine, salt), and, of course, drugs. The program concludes with an offer to call PMS Access's toll-free number for more information. Tacked on to end of the main program is a 14-minute mini-workout demonstrating morning and afternoon stretch routines. Managing PMS is not a bad program--but this is still not the even-handed, exploratory program on the subject that we need. An optional purchase. (Available from: PMS Access, P.O. Box 9326, Madison, WI 53715; 1-800-222-4PMS.)