Pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) refers to the physical and mental effects of hormone changes in females of childbearing years. Those effects can include depression, tender breasts, food cravings, bloating, fatigue, mood swings, constipation or diarrhea, and irritability. The Mayo Clinic estimates that three out of four women between puberty and menopause will have some form of PMS.

If a fictional work decides to avert No Periods Period, though, forget about the 25% who don't suffer any ill effects. The only effect of PMS will be irritability, and every menstruating woman will suffer from it.

Occasionally, a work will use a different effect of PMS. However, even then authors stick to effects that make the character irritable. Cramps are good for this, especially considering that 2-3 days of pain will make just about anyone cranky. Bloating might show up so the character can complain about her clothes not fitting. You won't see food cravings, though, unless the character is about to learn she's pregnant.

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Examples:

Anime And Manga

• Averted in Seitokai Yakuindomo. Though the girls do complain about menstrual cramps, their personalities seem unaffected.

Live Action TV

• At least one episode of My Wife And Kids centres around this, with Michael's wife and teenage daughter both having extreme PMS at the same time.
• Referenced on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, when Willow is consoling her boyfriend Oz, who we've just learned is a werewolf.
  For a few days a month, I'm not so fun to be around, either.
• A sketch on SCTV was about "PMS Awareness Week."
• There have been multiple jokes in The Big Bang Theory where Penny snaps at Sheldon and he comments that she must be on her period.
• Roseanne episode "PMS, I Love You". When Roseanne gets PMS she pretty much goes crazy, with wild mood swings. This causes terror in the members of her family.

Video Games

• This is the only way to tell that Terraria averts No Periods Period. Two of the female NP Cs become rather irritable during a Blood Moon.

Western Animation

• Subverted in the 6teen episode "Enter the Dragon" where the girls' cycles sync up. Caitlin does have PMS, but Jen has cramps and Nikki becomes overly needy.