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Dr. Katharina Dalton of London's Premenstrual Syndrome Clinic has been investigating the problem for more than a quarter-century. She recently studied three female convicts who repeatedly broke the law and found that their infractions occurred only in the days just before their period. One woman with 26 convictions was well behaved most of the time, recalls Dalton, "but would suddenly burst out with some attention-seeking episode like arson, assault, or even trying to strangle herself." These incidents occurred at intervals of about 29 days. Eventually, the convict's charge was reduced from murder to manslaughter on the ground that she had committed a fatal stabbing when she was experiencing premenstrual syndrome.
Dalton believes the syndrome is tied to a drop in the level of the hormone progesterone before menstruation. Her recommendation: supplements of natural progesterone. Her ideas are controversial, but she has some supporters in the U.S. Among them is Tuft's Norris, who opened the nation's first premenstrual clinic last April in Reading, a Boston suburb. In addition to progesterone, the clinic offers other unconventional remedies such as vitamin B6, biofeedback and hypnosis. Also available are traditional counseling, diuretics, tranquilizers, antidepressants and advice to cut down on salt, caffeine, sweets and alcohol.
The most helpful treatment for many women may lie in a simple acceptance of their complaints. Says Virginia Cassara, who last year co-founded Premenstrual Syndrome Action in Madison, Wis., to provide information to physicians and the public: "You'd be amazed at how much just knowing you're not crazy helps." But clearly the educational effort is just be ginning. According to the Tampax survey, two-thirds of the public find menstruation an unfit topic for the office or social conversation and one-quarter deem it unacceptable for discussion by the family.
— Anastasia Toufexis. Reported by Janice C. Simpson/New York and Sue Wymelenberg/Boston