You might already know that Viagra was originally intended as a heart medication. After all, its better-known effects help to regulate the blood flow to certain areas ― and it makes sense that it can do that across the rest of the body.
However, it turns out that the drug could, potentially, also be used to alleviate period pain. A 2013 study found that “vaginal preparation of sildenafil citrate [the active ingredient behind Viagra] is capable of alleviating acute menstrual pain in patients with PD with no observed adverse effects” ― though this study was small, and the researchers did not meet their required sample size.
Still, the study seemed promising ― when vaginally inserted, the drug led to a significant reduction in pain among many of the participants. “With more data, we believe our hypothesis could be confirmed,” wrote the authors of the 2013 study, which begs the question from this crampy girl ― how come I haven’t heard more about this in the ten years since?
The science behind its potential success is kind of fascinating
That painful cramping some people get during their period is due to the contraction of the womb caused by hormones called prostaglandins.
Richard Legro, a gynaecologist at Penn State College of Medicine and one of the authors of the study, told the LA Times that “It seems counterintuitive, but what sildenafil citrate does is dilate blood vessels.”
This works, the researchers theorised, because thinner blood can flush the cramp-causing prostaglandins away from the womb more easily.
“It’s like how a good rain can clear up smog,” Legro said. Well, it’s not the most fortunate image ― but it does make sense.
As we’ve said before, the study, which also involved controls, was only done on 25 people (it was originally meant to observe more than 60 participants, but many of them didn’t want to come in for observation as they didn’t want to risk skipping their self-medication and/or were unable to make it in while their cramps were at their worst).
Previous studies had been done on oral administration of the drug, which seemed to cause headaches among some participants ― this one, which focused on vaginal administration, found no such side-effect.
So... have we heard much more about it since?
Nothing huge that we could find, really. Which seems odd, seeing as dysmenorrhea (period pain) affects an estimated 50-90% of people who menstruate ― and led 13.8% of participants in a 32,000-strong study to skip work at least once over the course of the research.
The original Viagra-for-cramps study explained that non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), the current darling of the cramp-curing world, are only effective among 75% of those who suffer from dysmenorrhea. “It’s estimated that nearly 1 in 5 people with dysmenorrhea — or painful periods with or without an underlying medical issue like endometriosis or uterine fibroids — don’t get relief from existing treatments,” shared Stat.
And when you take into account the millions and millions of people who suffer from the condition, that 20-25% adds up fast.
Part of the reason for the dearth of information on the topic is due to funding issues. The study we referred to ran out of money before they could find more participants (per Stat), and the researchers’ applications to the National Institutes of Health for further funding have been rejected twice.
“I just feel they’re out of touch with women’s health,” Legro told Stat.
Chen X. Chen, a menstrual pain researcher at the Indiana University School of Nursing, also told Stat that “There’s no foundation to pay for menstrual pain research. There is for endometriosis, there is for fibromyalgia, there is for Crohn’s disease, but there’s no philanthropic organisation to pay for menstrual pain research.”
At this point, all I can do is sigh.