--- title: Does a low-dose birth control pill help with menstrual pain in women with endometriosis? description: Yes. A birth control pill containing drospirenone and ethinylestradiol significantly reduced menstrual pain, pelvic pain, pain with sex, and premenstrual bloa url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/effects-of-low-dose-combined-drospirenone-ethinylestradiol-on-perimenstrual-2016/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does a low-dose birth control pill help with menstrual pain in women with endometriosis? Non-randomised trial, 2016 # Does a low-dose birth control pill help with menstrual pain in women with endometriosis? Yes. A birth control pill containing drospirenone and ethinylestradiol significantly reduced menstrual pain, pelvic pain, pain with sex, and premenstrual bloating and mood symptoms. The study had no control group, so we cannot be completely certain the improvement was from the pill. Early or limited evidence 46 Japanese women with endometriosis diagnosed by imaging or surgery ## What they did Prospective non-randomized study of 46 Japanese women with endometriosis treated with a low-dose birth control pill (drospirenone-ethinylestradiol on a 24/4-day regimen) for six treatment cycles. Women rated their pain and symptoms using visual analog scales and questionnaires after three and six cycles. ## What they found Menstrual pain, chronic pelvic pain, and pain with sex were all significantly reduced after three and six treatment cycles compared to baseline (P<0.001 for all). After six cycles, all menstrual symptoms improved significantly, and premenstrual water retention and negative mood also improved significantly (all P<0.05). ## What it means for you This birth control pill may help women with endometriosis manage their menstrual and premenstrual symptoms. However, only Japanese women were studied at one hospital with no control group to compare against, so results may not apply to all women. 46 Number of women in study 6 Number of treatment cycles P<0.001 Significance for pain reduction at 3 and 6 cycles ## About the study Original title Effects of low-dose combined drospirenone-ethinylestradiol on perimenstrual symptoms experienced by women with endometriosis Authors Tanaka Y, Mori T, Ito F et al. Journal International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics Year 2016 Study design Non-randomised trial Participants 46 What was tested Drospirenone-ethinylestradiol birth control pill on 24/4-day regimen for six treatment cycles Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgo.2016.05.004](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgo.2016.05.004) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Dysmenorrhea and period pain](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-dysmenorrhea/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[Oral contraceptives and drospirenone](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormonal-contraceptives/)[Endometriosis](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-endometriosis/) 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 Review, 1981 What causes period pain and how is it treated? Review, 2014 Do birth control pills help PMS? Cohort study, 2006 How should severe period pain in teenagers be treated? Randomised trial, 2024 Does estetrol/drospirenone birth control improve PMS symptoms? Randomised trial, 2015 Which birth control pill better reduces PMS and menstrual symptoms: nomegestrol acetate or drospirenone? Case-control study, 2014 How common is severe period pain and what causes it? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗