---
title: Does progesterone or stopping your period treat PMS? | Niyora
description: Progesterone doesn't work better than placebo. Stopping your period with surgery or medication does treat PMS. Symptoms don't return when hormones are added b
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-premenstrual-syndrome-1991/
---

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- Does progesterone or stopping your period treat PMS?

Review, 1991

# Does progesterone or stopping your period treat PMS?

Progesterone doesn't work better than placebo. Stopping your period with surgery or medication does treat PMS. Symptoms don't return when hormones are added back afterward.

 Moderate study design

Review of research across multiple studies

## What they did

Review of recent research on PMS, examining progesterone treatment, ways to eliminate the menstrual cycle, and hormone replacement approaches.

## What they found

A large, well-designed study found progesterone supplementation was no better than placebo. Stopping menstrual cyclicity through surgery or medication effectively treats PMS. Adding sex steroids afterward did not cause PMS symptoms to return.

## What it means for you

Stopping your period works for PMS, but progesterone pills alone don't. The cause of PMS remains unclear but may involve hormones, nutrition, and the adrenal gland.

## About the study

Original title The premenstrual syndrome Authors Muse K Journal Current opinion in obstetrics & gynecology Year 1991 Study design Review What was tested Progesterone supplementation, surgical or medical elimination of menstrual cycle Read the paper [doi.org/10.1097/00001703-199112000-00021](https://doi.org/10.1097/00001703-199112000-00021)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[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/)[Diet and nutrition](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-diet/)

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.

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