What is the difference between PMS and Early Pregnancy?

Pregnancy symptoms begin with a missed period, breast tenderness, soreness, and fatigue. Morning sickness is also quite common due to hormonal fluctuation. The woman may also have a backache, heartburn, nocturnal urination, headache, feeling dizzy or faint. There can also be some weird food cravings going on at this time.

Pickles and ice cream in the same setting is not unusual when you are pregnant. Pregnant women may also suffer from abdominal bloating and edema of the legs. PMS has some of the same symptoms as being pregnant. However, there can also be muscle pain and body aches with PMS that are specific and familiar to the condition.

It is typical for women who have PMS to be irritable or have trouble sleeping or sleeping too much. PMS typically lasts anywhere from two to six days. Women with PMS also tend to crave sweets, and it would not be unusual for a woman to eat an entire pint of Haagan Daaz in one sitting when they have PMS. Most importantly, women who have PMS have extreme hormone fluctuations that can alter their mood.

PMS or Premenstrual Syndrome is usually experienced by women, usually few days to their menstruation. PMS comes with so many symptoms which are just products of the fluctuating hormone levels in their body. For instance, there is always a decrease in the level of a hormone called Serotonin. This causes women to experience frequent mood swings. The term early pregnancy also comes with symptoms similar to that of PMS. This explains why women usually get confused when differentiating between PMS or early pregnancy. However, it is easy to confirm pregnancy because it comes with more obvious signs. For instance, a pregnant woman will stop menstruating until she delivers the baby. On the contrary, women with PMS will keep menstruating. One of the symptoms of PMS and early pregnancy is nausea, however, this symptom is more in early pregnancy than in PMS. Also, fatigue is less profound in PMS than in early pregnancy.

Some people may get confused between PMS and early pregnancy symptoms because they may seem to be the same in the beginning. You have to remember that with PMS, you will probably feel some food cravings the same way with early pregnancy. Those who are experiencing the onset of pregnancy may begin to experience some bleeding or spotting. Those who are pregnant may also experience some pink or dark brown bleeding. The breasts may start to swell for those who are experiencing PMS and those who are experiencing early pregnancy but for those who are suffering from PMS, breast swelling will reduce at the onset of menstruation.