How To Read Your PMS Pattern And Match The Right Remedy

The week before bleeding can feel like someone swapped your glasses for a funhouse mirror: small annoyances turn seismic, cravings roar, and sleep slips away. We’re unpacking that shift, showing how PMS patterns point to specific solutions, and sharing what actually steadies the luteal phase so you feel like yourself again.

We start by reframing symptoms as useful signals. Irritability, tears, heat, bloat, headaches, insomnia—each detail helps identify the drivers: estrogen dominance, low progesterone, cortisol overload, sluggish gut detox, blood sugar swings, even thyroid drag. From there, we match patterns to precise homeopathic options. Sepia supports the overburdened, snappy, “leave me alone, but don’t leave” state. Pulsatilla fits gentle weepiness that craves comfort and fresh air. Lachesis targets hot, intense anger that lifts once bleeding begins. Nat mur aids the one who holds pain in and hates consolation. Calc carb steadies the overwhelmed and exhausted. Mag phos eases cramps that melt with warmth, while Nux vomica resets the overworked, overcaffeinated short fuse.

Remedies land best alongside smart habits. Magnesium glycinate smooths sleep and muscle tension. Protein-rich breakfasts anchor blood sugar. Cutting back on sugar and caffeine tempers jitters and mood swings. Gentle movement—walks, Pilates, light rebounding—lowers stress without spiking cortisol. To support estrogen clearance, we lean on dandelion and milk thistle, add fiber, and hydrate well. If rage or despair feel extreme, periods run very heavy, or thyroid symptoms stack up, labs can clarify your next move and pair well with personalized care.

PMS doesn’t define you; it’s your hormones asking for help. Tune into your pattern, use it to guide your remedy choice, and layer in the daily shifts that make stability possible. If you want one-on-one support, schedule a free discovery call at MelissaCrenshaw.com. To learn at your own pace and join a supportive community, check out the Inner Healing Circle at join.melissacrenshaw.com. If this conversation helps, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help more women find relief.

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Transcript

Naming The PMS Elephant

SPEAKER_01 1:22

Welcome back to Homeopathy at home with Melissa. Hey Melissa.

SPEAKER_00 1:26

Hey, Brie. Excited to talk about PMS tonight.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

Yeah, we're going to talk about a huge issue with a lot of women. Sometimes quietly, sometimes very loudly, a lot of women deal with this. I definitely think it's something that we have come to believe is normal because it's so common. Sometimes you can feel really irritable, sad, bloated, cramping. Want to go cry and eat chocolate by yourself, or be really mad at everyone and leave all your family behind. Um just no you're not alone, but it's also there is hope for you. I know it sounds really dramatic, but it can be, it can feel like so extreme.

SPEAKER_00 2:13

Listen, PMS can be um, it really can be um it can feel debilitating while it doesn't truly stop you from living and working, it um it can change the dynamic and the feel in your home so much, and it can bring division in the in the marriage. Um, it can bring it's it can be really bad.

How PMS Warps Perception At Home

SPEAKER_01 2:36

Well, and I also think when your hormone, I mean, it is a hormone issue. So when you have unbalanced hormones, at least for a lot of cases, I think we can even misdiagnose issues in our home, like things that we think are big problems that we're going down an avenue in our marriage or with our children, or life choices that are not rooted in like reality, but based off of our perception. And I'm not saying our feelings all the time, because I do think you're that is the experience you're having. But I have firsthand experienced that where I'm seeing it. I have goggles on. And the goggles I'm seeing it through are not okay, like not a healthy place to be seeing things through. So I also remember that feeling very disconnected from my like I like you said, I was doing those things. I was still behaving, right? Like normal, but internally felt extremely disconnected and removed from what was happening in my family.

SPEAKER_00 3:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:41

And that's a weird thing to feel, but if you felt it, you know what I'm saying. Um, so we're gonna cover what PMS is, all the different symptoms, remedies, um, some lifestyle supports, and then maybe you want to look deeper at your hormones.

What PMS Is And When It Hits

SPEAKER_00 3:57

So, what is PMS?

Symptom Map: Mood, Body, Mind

SPEAKER_01 3:59

Yeah, PMS is it happens in your luteal phase. So that is the second half of your cycle when progesterone rises or should be rising in a healthy um hormone situation. For some people, it can be really peaceful. Like this period of time can be peaceful, and that would be our goal that that go that time after ovulation is um not the word peace, well stable, that you're feeling stable. Um, but for other people, this is extreme. Extreme um feelings like irritability, big mood swings, maybe very weepy or crying very easily. Um, it could be angry crying or really sad crying. Everything is just making you cry. Sometimes it's anxiety, um, food cravings, bloating, you may have breast tenderness, um, headaches that is a really common one. Back pain, fatigue is huge, trouble sleeping is honestly all of these are really, I think a lot of you. If you have one, you probably have more than one. Sure. Um, sometimes even acne, even into our adulthood, large adulthood breakouts, brain fog, or just feeling off, not yourself. Yeah. And there is typically a pattern, and that pattern tells a story, tells us information about you. So you want to pay attention to those nuanced that nuanced stuff, and don't feel ashamed in doing that. They are useful tools. Your symptoms are tools.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

Yeah. So tell us why PMS happens.

Root Causes: Hormones, Stress, Gut

SPEAKER_01 5:42

So there are several, I mean, I think there can be several causes here, and you may have more than one of them. Um, probably the most common is a hormonal imbalance of some type. Excuse me. Um, typically, I think the most common is estrogen dominance or low progesterone. Sometimes both. Um, I've been reading a lot about estrogen dominance, and that is way more common than I think we pay attention to often. And low magnesium.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Again.

Estrogen Dominance And Magnesium

SPEAKER_01 6:15

Again, magnesium does affect. I mean, that's a whole we've been telling saying this a lot. If you've been listening, magnesium can be used for almost all these things. Um, stress can cause some of these symptoms. That is because cortisol steals your hormone, the resources that your hormones need. So cortisol does affect your hormones. So chronic stress, especially, can impact your PMS gut issues. You do not detox estrogen well if your gut is sluggish. So your body holds on to that. Blood sugar swings can also cause that crave, those cravings and mood changes. Sometimes on a deeper emotional level, you there may have been trauma or emotional triggers. And we do see this in clinic um often enough. This is not uncommon that either old wounds or um old trauma or perpetual trauma can even sometimes stop periods altogether. And that will include um changing your PMS dynamic and thyroid imbalance. So you may this may present as fatigue, um, low mood, so maybe depression and really heavy cycles. But homeopathy can support all of those things, um, sometimes all in one remedy, but sometimes in several.

Cortisol, Blood Sugar, And Thyroid

Homeopathic Approach And Mindset

Remedy Deep Dive: Sepia

SPEAKER_00 7:42

So let me tell you about the remedies. And these are definitely not one size fits all. You um, you know, compare, read a materia medica, do a little bit more digging. This is a great place to start this podcast episode. And um I'm gonna just tell you some keynotes of the top remedies so that you can you can try them. So sepia is the classic PMS remedy. Number one place to start. So think about taking sepia. If you are irritable, snappy, you want to be left alone, overwhelmed by responsibilities, low libido, craves chocolate, feels better with exercise, pelvic heaviness, and you might have that leave me alone, but don't really leave me. If that's you, sepia can be life-changing. It was for me. Um, number two is pulsatilla. And um, pulsatilla is emotional, gentle, clingy PMS. So think about the the woman or young lady who cries easily, wants comfort, has changeable moods, feels better in fresh air, bloated and uncomfortable, and has an aversion or negative reactions to fatty foods. And she can be sweet, sensitive, and do really well with pulsatilla. Number three is lachesis. Some people say lachesis, just so you know, me and my southern accent, you know what I'm saying. If I say lachesis, that's how I say it. And this is intense PMS. So you think anger, jealousy, feeling hot or congested, worse in the heat, fast talking, feeling better when the period starts. So as soon as that flow starts, they ever all the symptoms go away. They feel better. Um pain or tightness around the throat, and this is PMS with emotional pressure built up inside. Number four is nat mirror, nature muraticum, and this is internalized emotion. So think about nap mirror. If you hold feelings in, you have silent crying, you don't want comfort, you have headaches around menses, crave salt, you're easily hurt and sensitive. This fits the woman who is strong on the outside and hurting on the inside. Calcarea carbonica is for the overwhelmed moms. So think about this remedy for exhaustion, anxiousness, sensitive to stress, cravings for eggs and cheese, easily overwhelmed by tasks, slow, heavy periods. This is PMS meets adrenal fatigue. And then Magfoss is great and a great acute remedy for the cramps and irritability. So think about magfoss when there's cramping relieved by warmth, gas and bloating, better for bending forward, and emotional irritability. This is wonderful to pair with a hot water bottle. Number seven is Nox Vomica. So this is the PMS from stress and overstimulation. So think about the short fuse, constipation during PMS, sleep issues, coffee dependence, overworked, tense muscles. This woman needs rest and boundaries.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

Not me. I'm literally like, yeah, I gotta try that again. I have used these before also. Yeah. And they're great.

Pulsatilla For Gentle Weepiness

Lachesis For Intense Heat And Anger

SPEAKER_00 11:16

Yep. Number eight, Baratram album. This is severe mood crashes or despair before the period. So think about feeling hopeless, dark thoughts, coldness, craving for ice water. This isn't a common one, but it's highly effective when it matches. So here's let's do a quick matching. Here's your cheat sheet. So if you want to pause this and write these down, you can ask what changes emotionally the week before my period? And then your answer will help you find the remedy. So if it's irritable and overworked, think of sepia. If it's weepy and needy, think of pulsatilla. If it's intense, hot and angry, think of laccassus. If it if you're withdrawn or hurting, think of Nat Muir. The overwhelmed and tired woman is calc carb, and the crampy intense woman might be Magfoss or Nux Vomica. These are just some places to start.

SPEAKER_01 12:11

What if you are five of those things?

Nat Mur For Held-In Grief

SPEAKER_00 12:14

Then you're not even Yeah, you're gonna um choose the remedy that fit just one that fits most of your symptoms. So, in what I just listed, all these remedies and a few of their keynotes, this is very limited information. These are the main biggest keynotes. If you're really studying homeopathy and you want to do this, use a Materia Medica, read each of these remedies, see which one fits you the best. If you don't have a Materia Medica, there are online ones that are free. Bree, do you know of any off the top of your head that are online and that are good?

Calc Carb For Overwhelm And Fatigue

SPEAKER_01 12:51

They're uh not that are good. No, I was gonna say there are some that I've tried to use like in a pinch, and they're just not that great. Um, Dr. Jewitt has that app though. I know it's not a Materia Medica, but that you can look up keynotes. Um goodness gracious. No, of course I don't remember what it is. But um, I know we were just talking about that. I'll try to find that for you guys in just a second. But that one, it's like$3.99, and it was for um what's it called? I don't even see the name. But it is very helpful where you can put in several symptoms and it will help guide you in what to pick. Lotus smart charts. Nice.

SPEAKER_00 13:31

Lotus smart charts.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Get me set up. So that might be something to look at. There's not a lot of good material medicas. And truthfully, I mean, I right, yeah. Sorry, online. Um, if you need chronic help, this would be something I would suggest just get some chronic care for a while while you learn.

SPEAKER_00 13:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:52

Um, because it's not like you're gonna take it one month and be better. It usually takes several months. Yep. And I would just get some guidance. Yeah.

Mag Phos For Cramping Relief

SPEAKER_00 14:02

Um other things people can do besides homeopathy.

Nux Vomica For Overwork And Irritability

Rare But Right: Aurum-Type Despair

Quick Cheat Sheet For Matching

SPEAKER_01 14:06

Yeah, okay. This is great. Again, magnesium, especially magnesium glycinate, is really great here. Um, reduce sugar and caffeine during this time period. They can worsen mood swings. I'm also talking to myself. These are tried and true in my own life, I will say. Although the caffeine one I don't love to reduce. Um, protein with breakfast. This stabilizes your blood sugar. Eat a lot more protein than you're eating. I can promise you 90% of us don't eat enough protein. Um, gentle exercise, go for walks. Don't raise cortisol more. You don't got to do a bunch of crazy stuff. Um rebounding Pilates, slow stuff, pray if you pray, emotional support, um, journal, meet with friends, do something to be a little less overwhelmed. And some detoxes you can do pre-period. Milk fistal and dandelion tea are both great for liver support, which will help that estrogen detoxing, um, good amounts of fiber and lots of water. If you feel like it's just really out of control, if there's intense rage or intense depression, if it's affecting your relationships, or if you have super heavy bleeding, or you have a lot of the thyroid issues or symptoms, that is definitely something worth getting checked out. You can get blood work done, you can get you more information, it is always useful. It can be a tool. Even if you choose, you can go from there to choose what you'd like to do. But definitely go get some help if you're having anything really extreme.

How To Choose And Study Remedies

SPEAKER_00 15:46

And you know, when you have chronic PMS, which PM PMS is chronic, but when you are struggling with these things that you just said, we can help you with those things. So um PMS doesn't make you crazy. You might feel that way, but you're not truly crazy. Right. Um PMS is what human women do. Most of us. We're just most of us deal with it. Not everybody, but but this is you know, these are real hormonal shifts in a stressful world. And we need help. So homeopathy really does offer um an effective way to restore balance so that you can feel like yourself again every month. I've done it. I struggled with PMS really bad, and homeopathy absolutely helped me. And so if you want one-on-one guidance, then go to MelissaCrinshell.com, fill out the free discovery call form. I think just click um schedule my call and we'll I'll get in touch with you and we can set up an appointment to get started. If you want to dig deeper and learn homeopathy, I have some um menstrual disorders course and a menopause course in my inner healing circle. And so you can go to join.melissacrinshaw.com, join the inner healing circle, and learn at your own pace, join the community, have great discussions, um, come to live classes and live QA's and learn how to do this on your own. So thanks for joining us for PMS. If you suffer with this, look at these remedies and let us know how it goes.