PMS and PMDD glossary

Term

Corpus luteum: what it means

The corpus luteum is the temporary gland your ovary forms right after releasing an egg, and it's the main source of progesterone in the second half of your cycle. It also produces the calming hormone allopregnanolone. When it breaks down about two weeks after ovulation, progesterone and allopregnanolone drop fast, a shift that triggers PMS and, in some people, PMDD symptoms.

Term

What Does PMS Mean in Text and Slang?

PMS in a text almost always means premenstrual syndrome, the physical and emotional symptoms that show up in the one to two weeks before a period. People use it both literally, to name real symptoms, and as casual slang for being irritable or tired. It isn't the same as PMDD, a more severe diagnosis with its own criteria.