PMSBuddy.com reminder service signs up 100,000 people/The Male Hormone Cycle

January 29, 2009

Research has shown men's hormones change every 20 mins and it can be like a mini PMS and many men nowadays suffer from irritable male syndrome. Here is an excerpt from an article I wrote on male suicide. UN statistics show there are approx. a million suicides annually, mostly male and mostly because of depression. Nicki

http://www.angelfire.com/nm2/nmolloy/suicide.html

The Male Hormone Cycle. Natural male hormones and resultant mood changes may be one factor in getting to understand why they become depressed, and adding complications from testosterone lowering drugs, alcohol and food which contains female hormones further causes more change. Science has discovered testosterone levels oscillate every 15-20 minutes and follow daily, seasonal and annual rhythms. Jed Diamond wrote of a cycle may last a few minutes, a day, or a year, and there are cycles within cycles. Dr Cutler calls the rhythm-the hormonal symphony of men. However, unlike women who have a 29.5 day fertility cycle that harmonises with other women, studies have shown that men’s hormonal cycles are all unique and furthermore different to all other men. It’s possible men go through a mini PMS every 15-20 minutes and this can be influenced by how near a desirable sexual partner is (Diamond, 2004). Fluctuating hormones in males explain what is now called ‘irritable male syndrome’. Diamond claims that millions of men are depressed but don’t know it because they deny their feelings, by looking for solutions outside of themselves when painful feelings surface. Unresolved depression in men needs to be confronted, so anguish can be released and suicide won't become the quickest solution to kill the pain. The implications of low testosterone have major consequences. Even small amounts of soy are able to disrupt thyroid function. Low thyroid hormone can mimic psychiatric disease and “…severe hypothyroidism can bring memory loss, confusion, slowness, paranoid depression and even hallucinations, “(Fallon & Enig, 2006.p3.). The brains of infant boys fed soy formula have a deficiency of male hormones and this retards the spatial perception and visual discrimination ability more acute in men, necessary for literacy (Fallon & Enig, 2006). As alcohol lowers testosterone, it reduces muscle mass by approximately 33%, raising estrogen levels and distributing body fat to the traditional female areas. This is well known to body builders. After getting drunk, testosterone levels may still not be back up to normal a week later (Goudie, 2006).

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,28383,24975173-5007185,00.html

PMSBuddy.com reminder service signs up 100,000 people

By Alison Stephenson

NEWS.com.au

January 29, 2009 12:00am

National alert ... an online reminder service lets men know when their partner is likely to be suffering pre-menstrual syndrome.

Monthly PMS reminder service to warn men 100,000 signed up worldwide, 4000 Aussies Web, Facebook plus plans for iPhone app

ONE hundred thousand men sick of copping a monthly serve from cranky wives and girlfriends have signed up for an online reminder service that warns when pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) is about to hit.PMSBuddy.com, the brainchild of a 28-year-old bloke whose mates were too often in cycle-related strife, is designed for men who have a darling of a partner for three weeks of the month – and a demon for the rest. The reminders include pithy messages of encouragement such as “She’s on yellow - tread carefully, fella” - as well as tips for how men can mitigate the damage. It tells men never to ask if a woman has PMS, and if all else fails to buy flowers, deemed to be "kryptonite to PMS." Championing itself on the catchcry, "saving relationships one month at a time," the website also features a "national alert level" indicator for the US, showing how many women have PMS each day as well as the "overall threat index" on a scale of 1-4.

Related Coverage

Men sign up for PMS alertsPerth Now, 29 Jan 2009

PMS reminder for men a hitCourier Mail, 29 Jan 2009

PMS reminder service for men a hitHerald Sun, 29 Jan 2009

Aussie PMS worse than Brazilians'NEWS.com.au, 18 Mar 2008

Reader's Comments: 100,000 nervous men sign up for PMS alertNEWS.com.au,

Mel of ACT CEO and founder Jordan Eisenberg developed PMSbuddy.com after friends talked about the world-class diplomacy men needed to bring up the topic of PMS with their partners. "It's hard for guys to know if they did something to piss off their lady and hard to remember when PMS is, and always awkward to confront and ask the question without coming off like a jerk,” he told news.com.au. “One of the guys actually kept track in his daily planner, and from there we decided to automate this process and offer it to the masses." He admits that while functionality is first and foremost, some women may find the idea of their cycles being "tracked" a tad offensive. "Certainly some do," says Eisenberg, "but the majority do feel it is helpful, and the remainder at least get a kick and a laugh out of it. “Those in relationships have been overwhelmingly supportive and many have actually signed themselves up to warn their boyfriends (or) husbands. If anything, we feel we can minimise unnecessary fights by allowing men to offer some slack." PMSBuddy started nine months ago and is now tracking the menstrual cycles of more than 100,000 women worldwide, including 4000 in Australia and 1000 in New Zealand via the site and a Facebook application. Users enter the date and length of a woman's last cycle. Women can sign up to send reminders to up to five men in their life. Anything from one to five days notice can be specified, allowing for warnings of various degrees of danger in the form of yellow, green and red alerts. Eisenberg has received hundreds of emails of praise from both men and women, he said. And if the online forums are anything to go by, it has certainly stirred some controversy. Both women and men have written in with stories of PMS experiences, including one male who describes the once monthly bus that shows up to take his wife “to crazy town,” and another who suggests all males should "just go and play golf" for a week. But women have also used the forum to have their say, such as this advice from PMS sufferer, Chloe: "Seriously guys, GET THIS THROUGH YOUR HEAD!," writes Stephanie. "We don't act like bitches because of pain. Thats saying we're weak and can't take pain. Also, if you don't get cramps, SHUT UP! You have no idea what thats like. We don't use PMS as an excuse, its a reason. During PMS, our hormones are messed up and mess up our emotions. Not our fault. And guys--Don't you DARE insult us, because what you don't realize is that we actually have PMS because of our sacrifice to you. We're the ones who have to carry a baby, and because of it, 1/4 of about 35 years of our life, we go through pain and suffering. Understand it. Live by it. Shut up." Stephanie also tries to offer some advice to alienated boyfriends: "The absolute last thing you should do when I'm PMSing is ask if I'm PMSing. I don't care how you ask it, or say it, but do not imply that my feelings at that point at that time are irrational- even if they are. Seriously, I've had boyfriends in the past who did this and they had the wrath of god unleashed upon them," she writes. Eisenberg says the site's fan base is growing rapidly and has plans to launch an iPhone application in the immediate future.