---
title: Does fluoxetine help women with late luteal phase dysphoric disorder?
description: Yes. Nine out of 10 women taking fluoxetine improved, compared to 2 out of 10 on placebo, and all who took fluoxetine wanted to continue it.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/fluoxetine-in-the-treatment-of-late-luteal-phase-dysphoric-disorder-1991/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- Does fluoxetine help women with late luteal phase dysphoric disorder?

Randomised trial, 1991

# Does fluoxetine help women with late luteal phase dysphoric disorder?

Yes. Nine out of 10 women taking fluoxetine improved, compared to 2 out of 10 on placebo, and all who took fluoxetine wanted to continue it.

 Early or limited evidence

20 women with LLPDD

## What they did

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial assigned 20 women with LLPDD to fluoxetine 20 mg per day or placebo for two menstrual cycles. Women filled out daily rating forms to track symptoms.

## What they found

Nine of 10 women on fluoxetine responded to treatment, while only 2 of 10 on placebo did. Symptoms decreased in all 10 LLPDD symptom categories in the fluoxetine group. All 10 women on fluoxetine chose to continue it after the study.

## What it means for you

Fluoxetine appears effective for LLPDD and is well tolerated. This was a very small study, so results should be confirmed in larger groups.

20

total women studied

9 of 10

women on fluoxetine who improved

2 of 10

women on placebo who improved

## About the study

Original title Fluoxetine in the treatment of late luteal phase dysphoric disorder Authors Stone AB, Pearlstein TB, Brown WA Journal The Journal of clinical psychiatry Year 1991 Study design Randomised trial Participants 10 What was tested Fluoxetine 20 mg per day for two menstrual cycles Read the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2071558/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2071558/)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[SSRIs and antidepressants](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-ssri/)[Major depressive disorder](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-major-depression/)[Schizophrenia and psychosis](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-psychosis/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

## Related studies

Study, 2026

Do anxiety and depression get worse before your period if you already have a mental health condition?

Survey study, 2001

How common is premenstrual dysphoric disorder and how is it related to other psychiatric conditions?

Randomised trial, 2000

Does sertraline improve how women with PMDD feel and function?

Survey study, 2026

What is the true rate of PMDD, and does it worsen mental health conditions?

Study, 2026

What treatments work for PMDD?

Cohort study, 2022

What are PMS and PMDD and how should they be diagnosed and treated?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗