Painkiller Helps Reduce PMS Mood Wings

A painkiller sometimes prescribed for menstrual cramps can also help prevent mood swings and general discomfort of premenstrual syndrome, researchers in Australia report.

Fifteen women with documented cases of premenstrual syndrome took the drug, mefanamic acid, during the second half of their menstrual cycle and reported that fatigue, headache, mood swings, irritability, pessimism and general pain were reduced.

Breast and abdominal symptoms, changes in appetite and backache were unaffected, the researchers from the University of Sydney and Macquarie University reported.