PMS Health Center

Low-Dose Birth Control Pill Treats Severe PMS

SSRIs Don't Work for Everyone

Jean Endicott, PhD, says it is not clear if the new contraceptive is uniquely useful for treating PMS and PMDD because other contraceptives have not been tested.

"What we do know is that the high-dose estrogen and progestin contraceptives did not help and seemed to [promote symptoms] in some women," she says. "But that doesn't seem to be the case with the low-dose formulations."

Endicott directs the Premenstrual Evaluation Unit at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and is also affiliated with the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

She says the low-dose contraceptive could prove to be a useful alternative treatment for the 35% to 40% of women with PMDD who are not helped by antidepressants and for women who simply don't want to take them."

"Certainly for many women there is a stigma attached to taking antidepressants," she says. "And others are bothered by the side effects, especially the sexual side effects [seen with many SSRIs]. There is a need for more treatment options."