Interactive case challenge. Dysphoric disorders in women: a case of premenstrual syndrome.
When this woman's long-standing PMS grows progressively more severe over the 3 years following the birth of her third child, what pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments would you recommend? Symptoms of mood swings, irritability, and anxiety occur in many women during the premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle. Several promising treatment options now exist for women whose symptoms are severe and interfere with daily functioning. These include nonpharmacologic as well as pharmacologic interventions, such as serotonergic antidepressants, anxiolytics, and hormones that suppress ovulation. When PMS becomes intolerably severe for this 36-year-old mother of 3 children--all under 10 years of age--she seeks treatment.
Pearlstein
T
T
Brown University School of Medicine, Providence, R.I., USA.
Jain
N
N
Zlotnick
C
C
Howard
M
M
Diaz
S
S
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011293:Premenstrual Syndrome / Q000628:therapy*; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020280:Sertraline / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; D020280:Sertraline