Do hormone levels cause PMS symptoms?
Premenstrual syndrome does not occur in women before menarche (start of menses), after menopause or without ovulation. It takes ovulatory menstrual cycles to have PMS. An ovulatory cycle has slightly higher estrogen and massively higher progesterone levels in the two weeks before a menses than the two weeks after a menses. Just before menses, estrogen and progesterone levels start to drop but most women have symptoms of PMS if they have any at all, when the estrogen and progesterone levels are still high. There is some debate as to whether progesterone causes or relieves PMS symptoms, but the consensus seems to be that progesterone and synthetic progestins can cause PMS types of mood symptoms. Since progesterone and progestins can also relieve symptoms it seems best not to prejudge its role in treatment. It is interesting that anti progesterone drugs (RU-486) do not make the symptoms go away. Studies have looked at whether the hormones in the luteal phase are at different levels in wom
