---
title: Can long-cycle birth control pills reduce PMS and menstrual symptoms?
description: Long-cycle birth control pills may reduce PMS and related symptoms by lowering hormonal fluctuations. This is based on clinical opinion rather than a controll
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/long-cycle-treatment-in-oral-contraception-2009/
---

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- Can long-cycle birth control pills reduce PMS and menstrual symptoms?

Survey study, 2009

# Can long-cycle birth control pills reduce PMS and menstrual symptoms?

Long-cycle birth control pills may reduce PMS and related symptoms by lowering hormonal fluctuations. This is based on clinical opinion rather than a controlled trial.

 Early or limited evidence

Women in general (review article)

## What they did

Review of long-cycle oral contraceptive use, discussing women's preferences and stated benefits of this approach.

## What they found

Long-cycle pills reduce hormonal fluctuations caused by the pill-free interval, which can improve somatic and mental symptoms. Listed indications include PMS, dysmenorrhea, endometriosis, migraine related to estrogen deficiency, and other conditions.

## What it means for you

If you take the pill and have PMS or related symptoms, skipping pill-free intervals (long-cycle use) might help by keeping hormone levels more stable. The main limit is that this is clinical opinion, not research data from a controlled study.

## About the study

Original title [Long-cycle treatment in oral contraception] Authors Kuhl H, Birkhäuser M, Mueck A et al. Journal Therapeutische Umschau. Revue therapeutique Year 2009 Study design Survey study What was tested Long-cycle oral contraception Read the paper [doi.org/10.1024/0040-5930.66.2.101](https://doi.org/10.1024/0040-5930.66.2.101)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Dysmenorrhea and period pain](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-dysmenorrhea/)[Oral contraceptives and drospirenone](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormonal-contraceptives/)[Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-pcos/)[Endometriosis](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-endometriosis/)[Migraine](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-migraine/)

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