This is in response to GASTROINTESTINAL UPSET WORSENS AROUND THE TIME I GET MY PERIOD. I'd like to add another option to your list of ways to eliminate these symptoms — to consider getting on birth control. I used to have similar symptoms, and unsuccessfully tried various other ways to eliminate them — but since I've been on birth control, they've completely gone away! This fits in with the hormonal explanation that this writer mentions, too.

- A Fellow Reader

Yes, monophasic oral contraceptives (birth control pills that provide constant doses of estrogen and progestin for the duration of the pill pack) can help women who have gastrointestinal upset before and during their period due to a drop in hormones right before the onset of menstrual flow.