---
title: Which hormonal treatments work best for premenstrual syndrome?
description: Estrogen is clearly effective. Progesterone does not work and might even worsen symptoms. Birth control pills help because they contain estrogen.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/hormonal-therapy-in-the-management-of-premenstrual-syndrome-1998/
---

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- Which hormonal treatments work best for premenstrual syndrome?

Case report, 1998

# Which hormonal treatments work best for premenstrual syndrome?

Estrogen is clearly effective. Progesterone does not work and might even worsen symptoms. Birth control pills help because they contain estrogen.

 Early or limited evidence

Literature review of hormonal therapy studies.

## What they did

The authors described one case of successful hormonal treatment and reviewed studies on how hormonal treatments work for PMS.

## What they found

Estrogen clearly relieves PMS symptoms. Progesterone is ineffective and might worsen symptoms. Combination oral contraceptives are effective because of their estrogen content. There is limited research comparing different birth control pills for PMS. Depression symptoms may not respond to hormonal treatment, and antidepressants might work better.

## What it means for you

Estrogen appears most effective for hormone-based PMS treatment. The main limit is that this is a review of existing studies, not a new study, and research comparing different pills is still limited.

## About the study

Original title Hormonal therapy in the management of premenstrual syndrome Authors Tiemstra JD, Patel K Journal The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice Year 1998 Study design Case report What was tested Hormonal treatments: estrogen, progesterone, and oral contraceptives. Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.3122/15572625-11-5-378](https://doi.org/10.3122/15572625-11-5-378)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[SSRIs and antidepressants](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-ssri/)[Oral contraceptives and drospirenone](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormonal-contraceptives/)[Estradiol, progesterone and hormone therapy](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormone-therapy/)

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

Systematic review, 2007

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Randomised trial, 2003

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Can stopping ovulation help severe PMDD when other treatments do not work?

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Why do women get PMS and PMDD?

Review, 2012

What causes PMS and PMDD?

Review, 2012

How can doctors manage premenstrual-like symptoms caused by hormonal treatments containing progestogen?

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