---
title: Do women's body chemistry responses to an opiate drug differ between menstruation and ovulation?
description: Yes. Growth hormone response was weaker during menstruation than at ovulation. Prolactin was about 1.5 times higher at ovulation. Other hormones and mood did
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/influence-of-the-menstrual-cycle-on-neuroendocrine-and-behavioral-responses-to-1988/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- Do women's body chemistry responses to an opiate drug differ between menstruation and ovulation?

Study, 1988

# Do women's body chemistry responses to an opiate drug differ between menstruation and ovulation?

Yes. Growth hormone response was weaker during menstruation than at ovulation. Prolactin was about 1.5 times higher at ovulation. Other hormones and mood did not clearly differ.

 Early or limited evidence

5 healthy, drug-free women

## What they did

Five healthy women received the drug Fentanyl (dose of 0.2 mg per 70 kg body weight given through a vein) at two times in their cycle: at menstruation and at ovulation. Doctors measured five hormones (growth hormone, prolactin, cortisol, noradrenaline) plus mood and behavior.

## What they found

Growth hormone response to Fentanyl was weaker at menstruation than at ovulation. Prolactin was about 1.5 times higher at ovulation than at menstruation. Cortisol, noradrenaline, mood, and behavior did not differ between the two cycle phases.

## What it means for you

The menstrual cycle affects how women's bodies respond to opiate drugs, particularly for growth hormone and prolactin. This is a very small preliminary study of only one opiate drug, so larger studies are needed to confirm the results.

5

women

0.2 mg per 70 kg

Fentanyl dose

1.5 times higher

prolactin at ovulation versus menstruation

## About the study

Original title Influence of the menstrual cycle on neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to an opiate agonist in humans: preliminary results Authors Hoehe M Journal Psychoneuroendocrinology Year 1988 Study design Study What was tested Fentanyl 0.2 mg per 70 kg body weight intravenously Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/0306-4530(88)90059-5](https://doi.org/10.1016/0306-4530(88)90059-5)

## Topics

[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)

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

Cohort study, 2025

Is the stress hormone cortisol different in women with PMDD?

Survey study, 2024

Does thinking style affect mood through the menstrual cycle in people with PMDD?

Case-control study, 2023

Do emotion regulation strategies help women with PMDD manage mood and stress hormones?

Survey study, 2023

How do rumination and awareness affect mood and stress hormones during the menstrual cycle in PMDD?

Cohort study, 2022

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

Lab study, 2020

Does anxiety sensitivity change during different parts of the menstrual cycle?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗