--- title: Can asthma get much worse right before your period? | Niyora description: Yes. One woman had life-threatening asthma attacks that only happened before her period. When a medication temporarily stopped her cycle, the attacks stopped. url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/premenstrual-exacerbation-of-lifethreatening-asthma-effect-of-gonadotrophin-1996/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Can asthma get much worse right before your period? Study, 1996 # Can asthma get much worse right before your period? Yes. One woman had life-threatening asthma attacks that only happened before her period. When a medication temporarily stopped her cycle, the attacks stopped. Early or limited evidence One 41-year-old woman with long-standing severe asthma ## What they did Doctors reported a case of a 41-year-old woman with long-standing, severe asthma. She had life-threatening asthma attacks and doctors suspected they were linked to her menstrual cycle. They treated her with buserelin, a medication that creates temporary chemical menopause to see if this would stop the attacks. ## What they found Once the medication created chemical menopause, the woman no longer had life-threatening asthma attacks, suggesting they were linked to her menstrual cycle. The finding suggests estrogen and progesterone may be involved. ## What it means for you Some women with very severe asthma may have attacks specifically tied to their menstrual cycle. Stopping the cycle temporarily may help in these severe cases. The main limitation is this is only one person, so we do not know how common this is or if it would help other women. 1 Participant 41 Age of participant ## About the study Original title Premenstrual Exacerbation of Life‐Threatening Asthma: Effect of Gonadotrophin Releasing Hormone Analogue Therapy Authors Alun L. Edwards, M Sarah Rose, Lois Donovan et al. Journal Canadian Respiratory Journal Year 1996 Study design Study What was tested Buserelin to create temporary chemical menopause Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1155/1996/691249](https://doi.org/10.1155/1996/691249) Original abstract Variability in the severity of asthma during various phases of the menstrual cycle has been frequently suspected. However, the hormonal changes that might affect mediators of bronchospasm have yet to be elucidated. The case of a 41‐year‐old woman suffering from longstanding asthma with life‐threatening exacerbations is reported. The patient was treated with buserelin, a gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue, which created a temporary chemical menopause and thus permitted diagnosis of a premenstrual exacerbation of asthma and offered insight into potential therapy. GnRH analogues may therefore be of value in assessing women with severe asthma suspected to vary with the menstrual cycle. The addition of estrogens and progestins at the same time as treatment with GnRH analogue may be of value in determining the role of these hormones in the pathogenesis of menstrually related exacerbations of asthma. Reproduced under CC-BY. ## Topics [Premenstrual exacerbation (PME)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pme/)[GnRH agonists and ovarian suppression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-gnrh/) 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, 2018 What are the most effective treatments for premenstrual syndrome and PMDD? Randomised trial, 1997 Does a GnRH agonist help PMS symptoms? Case report, 2022 Can stopping the menstrual cycle help women whose arthritis gets worse before their period? Case report, 2018 Does dienogest help premenstrual mood changes in someone with schizophrenia? Randomised trial, 2013 What treatments work for PMDD? Case report, 1999 Can suppressing menstrual hormones help severe premenstrual asthma? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗