Evaluating therapeutic change in symptom severity at the level of the individual woman experiencing severe PMS

Treatment effectiveness of an intervention designed for women experiencing severe Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) was assessed at the level of the individual woman since patterns of individual response are of most relevance to practitioners. Symptom severity was evaluated daily in five women across seven menstrual cycles using a time-series methodology. Three symptom severity patterns emerged from the baseline data analysis: a "classic" PMS pattern, a premenstrual magnification pattern and a social week pattern. Patterns of therapeutic response emerged from the time-series analysis of post-treatment data compared with baseline symptom severity patterns: a "normalized" response pattern where symptom severity declined to a mild, cyclic process and an "unstable" response pattern that remained reactive. Treatment effects for menstrual cycle phenomena may be evaluated using the "normalizing" or "unstable" patterns as clinical indicators.