---
title: Can stopping the menstrual cycle help women whose arthritis gets worse before their period?
description: One woman whose arthritis flared severely before her period improved significantly when her menstrual cycle was controlled with hormones.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/successful-control-of-menstrual-cycle-related-exacerbation-of-inflammatory-2022/
---

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- Can stopping the menstrual cycle help women whose arthritis gets worse before their period?

Case report, 2022

# Can stopping the menstrual cycle help women whose arthritis gets worse before their period?

One woman whose arthritis flared severely before her period improved significantly when her menstrual cycle was controlled with hormones.

 Early or limited evidence

49-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis

## What they did

Case report of a 49-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis who had severe flares 10 days before menstruation. Despite strong medication treatment, her symptoms kept coming back. Doctors treated her with an injection that stops the menstrual cycle, plus estrogen gel and a hormonal IUD to prevent menopause-like symptoms.

## What they found

After treatment, her arthritis symptoms improved significantly without major flares, and she did not develop menopause-like symptoms.

## What it means for you

The menstrual cycle may trigger arthritis flares in some women, and stopping the cycle with hormones might help. But this is only one woman, so we cannot know if it works for others.

1

patient

10 days

before menstruation when flares started

49

patient's age

## About the study

Original title Successful control of menstrual cycle-related exacerbation of inflammatory arthritis with GnRH agonist with add-back therapy in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis Authors Ueno A, Yoshida T, Yamamoto Y et al. Journal The journal of obstetrics and gynaecology research Year 2022 Study design Case report What was tested An injection that stops the menstrual cycle, plus estrogen gel and a hormonal IUD Read the paper [doi.org/10.1111/jog.15287](https://doi.org/10.1111/jog.15287)

## Topics

[Premenstrual exacerbation (PME)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pme/)[Oral contraceptives and drospirenone](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormonal-contraceptives/)[GnRH agonists and ovarian suppression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-gnrh/)[Estradiol, progesterone and hormone therapy](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormone-therapy/)[Perimenopause and menopause](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-perimenopause/)

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

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Systematic review, 2007

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Randomised trial, 2005

Does stopping ovulation help irritable bowel syndrome that gets worse during the menstrual cycle?

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