Skyrocketing and decelerating blues

Extra Creamy Cappuccino with cinnamon and sugar?? I need to be honest, I actually would have loved a tablespoon of peanut butter with that...AND (oozing) chocolate chips (packed) cookies topped with vanilla ice-cream and caramel!

Need I say more???
Wiiiilld cravings, horrible bloating, annoying breast pain and swelling, dangerous mood swings and a series of other (not so uncommon) symptoms accompany women’s most dreaded time of the month; PMS!
Oh how I hate those (aprox.) two weeks... But hey, we can’t totally avoid it, so there’s nothing left for me but to live and deal with it. So, if you’re so kind, pass me a hazelnut packed chocolate bar, a bottle of  fine wine and please, be patient and understanding...I’m going through PMS lane!

I must say that I had fun though doing my short research for this post...  The findings were totally satisfactory.

One of my most interesting findings so far?...the IMS!

Yap, the male version of the PMS.  (no joke!)
While PMS stands for premenstrual syndrome, IMS stands for irritable Men (or Male) Syndrome. They could have used the PMS abbreviation and just change the “menstrual” part in it; but ofcourse, that would be a tad bit confusing to hear your man say “Baby bear with me, I’m going through PMS”. Uhm,...yea (and Sy gets a mental image of it).

Irritable men Syndrome or Irritable Male Syndrome (IMS) is the term used to describe the mood swings in men caused by high stress cortisol* levels and low testosterone* levels (High estrogen levels can also be the cause). Wiki describes it as a state of hypersensitivity, anxiety, frustration and anger that occurs in males and is associated with biochemical changes, hormonal fluctuation, stress and loss of male identity.
Just as it is the case with us women, some men choose to act this syndrome out while others keep it in and become depressed.

*(Cortisol is a steroid hormone that is most commonly known as the “stress” hormone because of its role in the body’s physiological response to physical and emotional stress.
Testosterone is a male steroid hormone produced in the testicles and responsible for the development of secondary sex characteristics.
Estrogen is a steroid hormone, produced mainly in the ovaries, that stimulates estrus and the development of female secondary sexual characteristics.)

NOTE: Just to make things clear, men DO have estrogen and women do have testosterone. A good balance between the estrogen and testosterone level in men is important for a healthy libido, mood improvement, a healthier heart and strengthening of the bones.

Doctors say that IMS is mainly caused by andropause (which is the male version of the menopause... and not penopause) and aging. The higher the estrogen and the lower the testosterone, the greater the likelihood of irritability in men.
Men who experience IMS complain of symptoms like

·         Anger

·         Mood swings

·         Impatience

·         Depression

·         Sarcasm

·         Stomach Cramps

·         Anxiousness

·         Hot flashes

·         Tension

·         Lack of libido

·         Hostility

·         Back- and headaches

·         Being argumentative

·         Unloving

·         Frustration

·         Being withdrawn

·         Demanding

·         Defensiveness

·         Sadness and

·         Dissatisfaction

I tell you, this search sure was interesting. And the amount of information gathered was more than I could blog about in just one time. As for my male followers who want to know just HOW irritable you really are, here’s a quiz to help you figure it out:

http://www.theirritablemale.com/quiz.htm

(Sigh)Too bad men don’t have this whole thing on a monthly basis, accompanied with cramps and a week of bleeding. But I guess that’s also something that can’t be changed (too bad). I now, go deal with my June edition of PMS. For the time being it’s comfortable enough to know that men at least have the mood fluctuation too somehow.

(By the way, for the men wanting to track their wife, girlfriend, mother, sister or friends cycle to know when to be extra careful or when things can get intense AND for the women who die of curiosity... check this out http://www.pmsbuddy.com/ . They count almost 42,000 people tracking their or other’s PMS, you could be the next!.)