People are taking allergy and heartburn pills for PMS. Could it work?
News
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People who feel extra rotten in the days leading up to their period say they’re finding relief from a new TikTok trend.
It’s a combination of two over-the-counter drugs: An allergy pill, like Claritin or Zyrtec, along with Pepcid AC, the heartburn medication.
Details
It might sound unbelievable, but after dealing with years of unexplained symptoms, Terese Hansen of Omaha, Nebraska was willing to try almost anything.
Hansen told NPR that for the past four years she’s suffered from persistent nausea, heartburn, and an erratic body temperature: She felt constantly on edge and exhausted. And her symptoms got worse around her period.
“I could not be around anyone because I knew I was unpleasant,” she says.
Analysis
The TikTok videos of people taking Pepcid AC and allergy medicine impressed Hansen, especially those who claimed it helps with their premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD, which is when people experience depression and anxiety caused by premenstrual hormonal shifts.
After talking to her doctor, she says she decided to “take a shot in the dark” by giving the TikTok trend a try.
She says it was like a switch in her body flipped from bad to good, improving her physical symptoms, as well as her energy and mood.
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