Next Steps

Prevention

• Lifestyle change
  
  
  • Perform aerobic exercise (if not daily, then 3-4 times a week, even a brisk walk).
    
    
  • Learn and use stress management techniques such as relaxation, deep breathing, meditation, a warm bath, listening to music, or yoga in your day.
    
    
  • Limit salt (to help reduce fluid retention, bloating, and swelling especially in your feet and hands).
    
    
  • Limit caffeine (caffeine can make breast tenderness worse and increase headaches).
    
    
  • Avoid alcohol (can often affect you differently before your period).
    
    
  • Eat small meals and snacks spread throughout your day so you don’t go for long periods of time without eating.
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• Vitamin therapy
  
  
  • Vitamin B6 — 100 mg per day maximum (larger doses sometimes cause serious side effects). You can also take a B-complex that includes all the B vitamins. Vitamin B6 may take the edge off irritability and reduce fatigue and depression.
    
    
  • Vitamin E — 400 IU per day (maximum) may be helpful in reducing breast tenderness.
    
    
  • Calcium — 1,000-1,200 mg per day of elemental calcium (the labels on foods and supplements give the amount of elemental calcium they contain) may reduce bloating, body aches, anxiety, or depression.
    
    
  • Magnesium — 400 mg per day in combination with vitamin B6 may reduce pain, water retention, and negative mood.