---
title: When do PMS symptoms happen during the menstrual cycle? | Niyora
description: Most PMS symptoms (mood, bloating, constipation, food craving, breast discomfort) occur mainly in the 10 days before the period starts. Headaches happen diffe
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-premenstrual-syndrome-moods-headaches-and-physical-symptoms-in-133-menstrual-1988/
---

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- When do PMS symptoms happen during the menstrual cycle?

Study, 1988

# When do PMS symptoms happen during the menstrual cycle?

Most PMS symptoms (mood, bloating, constipation, food craving, breast discomfort) occur mainly in the 10 days before the period starts. Headaches happen differently, distributed roughly equally before and after the period starts.

 Moderate study design

44 women with premenstrual syndrome

## What they did

44 women with PMS tracked 7 different moods and 5 physical symptoms every day for 133 complete menstrual cycles.

## What they found

Most symptoms (the 7 moods and bloating, constipation, food craving, and breast discomfort) occurred mainly in the late phase of the cycle, with an average of 84.3% of these symptoms happening in the 10 days before menstruation. Headaches were different: only 53.8% of peak headaches occurred in the 10 days before menstruation, meaning they were distributed roughly equally before and after the period started.

## What it means for you

This shows most PMS symptoms are truly premenstrual, but headaches occur around the period, suggesting a different cause. Tracking many cycles in the same women provides strong evidence. The main limit is all participants had PMS, so we do not know if this pattern differs from women without PMS.

44

women tracked

133

menstrual cycles tracked

84.3%

average percent of non-headache symptoms in the 10 days before period

## About the study

Original title The premenstrual syndrome: moods, headaches and physical symptoms in 133 menstrual cycles Authors Mary G. Metcalf, James Livesey, Stephen M. Hudson et al. Journal Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology Year 1988 Study design Study Participants 44 Read the paper [doi.org/10.3109/01674828809016779](https://doi.org/10.3109/01674828809016779)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)

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