With so many women suffering from pre-menstrual syndrome can dong quai be a remedy for pms?

There are many menstrual cycle concerns that the root for dong quai is said to be effective. This includes symptoms such as pms cramps, heavy menstrual bleeding, headaches and migraines, as well as mood swings, bloat and water retention.

Women have been using dong quai for centuries as it is an ancient Chinese remedy for menstrual cycle symptoms.

Many consider it to be the best possible herb for the symptoms of pms.

So how does dong quai help with pms?

Is it best taken alone or in conjunction with other herbs, vitamins and minerals?

If taken alone what is the recommended dosage for dong quai for pms?

First let’s look at the stages of the menstrual cycle and why these pms symptoms occur. There are 5 stages to the menstrual cycle

Menstrual Cycle Stages

Pre-menstrual Stage: The stage that is anywhere from 1-2 weeks prior to the actual period and it really includes the follicular and luteal stages. However in the time prior to those stages, additional production of estrogen does take place and many if not all of the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome begin. These symptoms include bloating and fluid retention, sore breasts, headaches or migraines, cramping and back pain.

Follicular Stage: This is the stage that sees the abundance of estrogen produced in order to assist in the increased lining of the uterus and prepare it to receive a fertilized egg. At the same time the eggs are produced and moved into place in the fallopian tubes so that they might be fertilized. In this stage you can have the beginnings of uterine spasms, fluid retention, bloating and cramping.

During this stage the follicle (yes that is why it is named such) moves toward maturation and in addition to the estrogen there begins to be the increase in progesterone and movement towards the start of ovulation. At this point you have the pituitary gland secreting follicle stimulating hormones and the luteinizing hormones as well as the highest levels of estrogen.

This causes the hormonal imbalance that can cause mood swings, anxiety and depression. Prostaglandins are increased and they cause an inflammation which adds to pain felt in this stage. Sore breast are another symptom that occurs in this stage.

Luteal Stage: Ovulation signals the beginning of this stage and the secretion of progesterone increase while estrogen decreases. This allows the uterine lining to nourish the egg if it is fertilized and pregnancy results. If it is not fertilized than the luteal stage leads to the bleeding period or menses. There is still a major hormone imbalance in this stage and perhaps even more so as the progesterone increases and the estrogen decrease.

Period Stage Menses Bleeding Stage: In this stage the body flushes the excess eggs, uterine lining, fluids and blood when there is no pregnancy. When the production of progesterone decreases blood is cut off to the uterine lining and it deteriorates. Most symptoms also end in this stage.

Post Menstrual Stage: For most women this is a non-eventful stage but for a small unlucky few, the pms type symptoms continue in the post menstrual stage.

So given this can dong quai be taken during menstruation and if so how much should be taken for pms?

There are not very many clinical studies regarding the use of dong quai for pms and those few studies that do exist don’t really tell us much and are basically inconclusive. However women produce overwhelming anecdotal findings that it is indeed effective. Women have testified to the healing aspects of dong quai for the hormonal imbalance of pms and the symptoms that imbalance causes. It is particularly effective for the mood swings, panic attacks and depression that occur during the menstrual cycle.

The formal name for dong quai is Angelica Sinesis. There have been some recent studies that regarding this herb and the menstrual cycle. “Angelica Sinesis in its 100% pure form. Angelica Sinesis has been studied for its ability to support the female menstrual cycle. (Zhiping H, Dazeng W, Lingyi S, et al. “Treating amenorrhea in vital energy-deficient patients with angelica sinensis-astralagus membranaceus menstruation-regulating decoction.” J Trad Chin Med 2002;6(3):187-190.)” www.nativeremedies.com/dongquai-balanced-hormone-levels.html

There is also another study of dong quai as phytoestrogen and its effects on the menstrual cycle. This study found “Natural remedies also have a long history of use in promoting female reproductive health and hormonal balance – assisting women throughout the ages to stay healthy before and during the menstrual cycle, as well as during perimenopause and menopause without unwanted side effects. (Burke BE, Olson RD. Cusack BJ. “Randomized, controlled trial of phytoestrogen in the prophylactic treatment of menstrual migraine.” Biomed.Pharmacother. 2002;56(6):283-288.)” www.nativeremedies.com/dongquai

“However, according to the Mayo Clinic, not only is there no proof that dong quai has an effect on PMS. According to the Mayo Clinic, dong quai is still widely used in modern-day Chinese medicine, most frequently to address female health concerns such as menstrual pain, as well as to help women recover after giving birth. MayoClinic.com reports that a preparation of dong quai called Eumenol gained widespread popularity in Europe to treat female complaints. The clinic attributes dong quai’s recent surge in popularity to its purported estrogen-like effects.”www.livestrong.com/dong-quai-pms

Don quai is available in a variety of ways – as a tablet, a dried herb, an extract, a tea and a tincture. It has blood thinning qualities as well as mood regulators and this helps to regulate the flow for women who have particularly heavy menstrual cycles. It is also available within concoctions and preparations for treating pms that also include other herbs, vitamins and minerals. These preparations are much more effective for treating the symptoms of pms than dong quai is by itself alone.

Vitamin B6 helps with the same mood swings, bloating and fluid retention that dong quai is said to effect. Vitamin E is good for depression and anxiety as well as panic disorders that are caused by pms. Large doses of Vitamin D have been known to kill the pain of the menstrual cycle. Calcium is known to prevent cramping and magnesium is known to aid in the absorption of calcium. The other herbs known to help with stress and mood swings include Lavender, Valerian root, Marjoram, Chamomile, Rose, Sandalwood, Peppermint and Rosemary. Black cohosh, EPO (Evening Primrose Oil), ginger, white willow bark and dandelion root are all known to be effective against the symptoms of pms.

One primary pms remedy that contains these and many other vitamins and minerals is Period Vitamin. Period Vitamin is said to be effective against the pms symptoms of bloating, exhausting fatigue, headaches, extreme cramps, those mood swings, acne, lowered sex drive, sore breasts, and severe lower back pain.

How can it be effective against so many of the symptoms of pms?

It is so because it contains so many of the vitamins, herbs and minerals that are effective against a multitude of symptoms of pms. It is so because it combines dong quai and the rest of these vitamins, herbs and minerals in the right dosages and the right combination to be the most effective. It works. Women testify that it works.

Here are some of the things that women have said about Period Vitamin and some of its ingredients. IN her blog one woman said this: “in my frantic search for PMS help, I did run across a natural product called, “The Period Vitamin“.

It’s a vitamin formulated with both Period & PMS fighting herbs that you’re probably already familiar with, like evening primrose, wild yam, black cohosh, and white willow bark. And, maybe some that you aren’t as f

amiliar with, like chaste berry, cranberry, damiana and red raspberry. Added to these herbs is a synergistic blend of vitamins to further reduce PMS symptoms. All these natural ingredients make perfect sense to me and sound very promising, so I ordered some for myself. “

The same writer gave this account of her period: “No PMS symptoms.

• 5/12/12 – High energy until late afternoon, then felt “blah.” • PERIOD (double dose)
• 5/13/12 – Morning “ghost” cramps (mild). Evening, started period.
• 5/14/12 – Slept well, but woke up bloated, cramps (moderate, but didn’t require pain killers), tired.
• 5/15/12 – Mild morning cramps. They dissipated by the afternoon.
• 5/16/12 – Woke up feeling good. Good energy.

Week 7 (5/18/12): Period ended during this week. Sleeping well”

The following month this woman had no symptoms at all before, during or after her period. “The second month was significantly different from the first in respect to my obvious LACK of PMS symptoms! I had no breast tenderness (again), no bloating, no major exhaustion, and no crazy emotions (sans one day of mild moodiness). I almost wasn’t sure if my period was even coming! My period, on the other hand, was still fairly crampy, BUT it seems like my entire period might be getting slightly shorter in duration.”

There are many, many woman like this one who are finding that they no longer have any pms symptoms at all after 3 months of taking Period Vitamin. We recommend that you give it a try.