A survey of 658 women who report symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.

A treatment trial was briefly mentioned in two British publications and women suffering from premenstrual syndrome were invited to write to us. After initial screening, postal questionnaires were sent to all eligible women. Six-hundred and ninety-nine questionnaires were returned and of these 658 were included in the analyses. Although the results of the study need to be considered cautiously because of the unrepresentative nature of the sample, the survey was helpful in ascertaining the views of women who report PMS symptoms and what they had found helpful. The majority of respondents were aged in their 30s and were married with children. Over 60% were chronic sufferers, having had symptoms for 5 years or more. High proportions of the women experienced both psychological and somatic symptoms but it was the psychological symptoms which were perceived as the most distressing. Over 60% of the sample were ascertained as suffering from some degree of psychological distress and the same proportion had one or more social problems. Overall 84% had visited their GP for this problem and many had also visited gynaecologists, family planning clinicians and psychiatrists. Agencies offering alternative medicine were also frequently contacted and often found more helpful. Most women had tried more than one type of medication but no one treatment was found to be particularly helpful.