# Do Girls Get PMS Before Their VERY FIRST Period? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 29, 2001, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252 "2001-01-29T13:10:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2001, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/1 "2001-01-29T13:10:59Z")
The reason I ask is that one of my sixth-graders at church was in an unusually sour mood last night; very out-of-character for her. She is normally a very polite, calm, obedient and chipper girl. Last night she was irritable, ornery and short-tempered, and she kept squirming around. I think her Big Moment may be coming up. So anyway, is PMS something that only girls who have had regular cycles for a while experience? I note the episode of _King of the Hill_ where Connie got her first period; she was pretty hateful to everybody for a couple of days leading up to the Big Moment. Of course, _King of the Hill_ isn’t exactly an unimpeachable source when it comes to pediatric endocrinology :D. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2001, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/2 "2001-01-29T13:19:42Z")
Hmm. My admittedly limited experience with girls _and_ boys in the grip of puberty says that mood swings and irritability go with the territory. Or to put it another way, pubescent girls are so busy having PMS-like episodes at random, how do you sort out The Real Thing? ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2001, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/3 "2001-01-29T13:25:20Z")
My neice. The babysitter’s daughter. My best friend’s daughter. ALL of whom suffered really REALLY Foul Moods and Evil Tempers to an increased level. For like, a year before Menarche. Thoroughly UN-scientific, but there ya go. The slow build up of hormones sure plays havoc with one’s mental state. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/4 "2001-01-30T05:09:51Z")
You said she is sixth grade? Are you sure she hasn’t already started having her period and this was just a case of “regular” PMS? ---
**Author:** ![dragonlady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@dragonlady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragonlady)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/5 "2001-01-30T05:17:42Z")
I agree with prolonged PMS WAY before the first period. I think it is because the hormones are almost, but not quite high enough to actually cause bleeding. I figure they cycle this way for months, each time getting closer and closer to a high enough hormone level. And my daughter is in the 7th grade and hasn’t started yet. I was 14! IANAD - YMMV!! ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/6 "2001-01-30T06:35:55Z")
Yep. Very possible. It isn’t a given-not all girls experience it that way, but many do. I think my daughter had PMS from the age of 8 until she finally started at 12. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/7 "2001-01-30T13:11:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by evilbeth \* > \*\*You said she is sixth grade? Are you sure she hasn’t already started having her period and this was just a case of “regular” PMS? \*\* I dunno, **evilbeth** , it’s possible. I thought about that at first. However, I’ve been seeing this girl on Wednesdays and Sundays for going-on nine months now and I’ve _never_ seen this kind of behavior in her before. But it’s possible. Maybe I should ask her mom, to be sure. 😉 DISCLAIMER: For those of you who didn’t get it, **I was kidding** about asking her mom. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/8 "2001-01-30T15:43:36Z")
" irritable, ornery and short-tempered" A lot of men get that way too… Irritable, ornery and short-tempered? Might have missed her nap, have a new virus, hungry, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/9 "2001-01-30T18:28:18Z")
Before my first, I had a lot of the physical PMS symptoms. Cramping, nausea, headache, and the like. I was 12. My oldest daughter, who is 12 now, is going through these same things now, along with a lot of the mental/emotional PMS symptoms. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/10 "2001-01-30T18:55:18Z")
Wouldn’t that be PPMS? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/11 "2001-01-30T20:23:30Z")
Both my mom and my sister-in-law say that girls start to cycle some time before Aunty Flo really shows up. Dropping the phrase “Pre-menstrual symptoms in pre-pubescent girls” did not bring up anything interesting, perhaps somebody has more time to devote to this than I do. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/12 "2001-01-30T21:35:22Z")
Speaking from - ahem - personal experience here. My daughter had mood swings to beat the band for more than 6 months before her first period. Whether that was directly related to that particular point in her life or was just the signs of adolescent hormones at work. . . You know, I was about to go into something, but looking back on it, it really didn’t matter. She was an adolescent girl, and mood swings come with the territory. Now if we could just find a way to explain my teen-age son’s behavior. ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/13 "2001-01-30T23:21:09Z")
Then again, even “real” people, developed people have mood swings. Everyone has hormones, especially adolescents, and females are not the only ones. Guys get pissed off too. Middle school sucks. Why is everyone so interested in learning something about adolescent females who probably consider it somewhat embarassing and not something that you would appreciate them talking about behind their back. Why is guessing the menstrual cycle of these people such a freakin’ sport? Don’t have any “adult” things to worry about? ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/14 "2001-01-31T00:29:22Z")
I know, we could find some 60 year old woman and wonder if you can get PMS after Menopause. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/15 "2001-01-31T00:47:58Z")
Touche, Speaker. Perhaps maybe **you’ure** PMS-ing as well. (Kidding: I know you’re a guy.) Hey anyways I got it, I think. It was oh so long ago so I must think hard. (Alright, it was all of three years ago.) I remember I got really bad cramps in the afternoon which subsided when I got home from school. I didn’t realize they were connected with my period. I had no clue. I don’t know if there was a mood swing or anything, just those trademark cramps. Not sure how it is in others…not one of those things I ask. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/16 "2001-01-31T05:08:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rastahomie \* > \*\*Maybe I should ask her mom, to be sure. 😉 > \*\* Nah, why don’t you ask _her_ instead?!\*\* 😉 DISCLAIMER–This is a very bad idea. Do not try this at home! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.White](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Mr.White](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.White)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/17 "2001-02-10T19:17:25Z")
_ALL_ of the women I know, have known, or will ever known were born with PMS…just not as evident on some days, but normal on most… I know, it’s sexist, but I just couldn’t resist… ---
**Author:** ![Xploder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a183cd/32.png) [@Xploder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xploder)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/18 "2001-02-10T20:10:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kunilou \* > \*\*Speaking from - ahem - personal experience here. > > My daughter had mood swings to beat the band for more than 6 months before her first period. Whether that was directly related to that particular point in her life or was just the signs of adolescent hormones at work. . . > > Now if we could just find a way to explain my teen-age son’s behavior. \*\* Ditto. I have TWO daughters and they both went through the same thing. Of course, now that they’re both teens, the mood swings just get worse… As for my SON, he only has the evil mood swings when he comes back from a visit with my ex-wife. Or when I teel him to do his chores. Or when I tell him to take the dog out. Hmmmm…maybe adolescent boys go through the same thing… Xploder ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2001, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/19 "2001-02-11T01:17:03Z")
Even before the first flow, Folllicle Stimulating Hormone and Lutenizing Hormone are being produced in the anterior pituitary gland to stimulate the follicles to produce estrogen. This process is being fine tuned in the months before as girl’s first “period”, and if this hormonal storm was raging inside of you, you’d be cranky,too! ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2001, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252/20 "2001-02-11T03:12:19Z")
If it helps, I didn’t get PMS symptoms until several years after I began. In the beginning I thought I was so lucky to be spared, but then one day, years later, I was struck down by increadable pain. It took me a couple months to realize that the pain was connected to my period, and I have suffered ever since. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-girls-get-pms-before-their-very-first-period/52252.md?page=2)