TREATMENT OF THE PAIN ASSOCIATED WITH ENDOMETRIOSIS
Drug Treatment
There have been two placebo-controlled studies of the efficacy of drugs for the treatment of the pain associated with endometriosis. One evaluated the effects of treatment with medroxyprogesterone acetate (100 mg per day), danazol (600 mg per day), or placebo for six months in 59 women endometriosis. Both drugs resulted in pain scores that were
substantially better than those achieved with placebo, both during treatment and for six months after treatment
was discontinued. At the end of the study, the decrease in the severity of pain attributable to treatment was 50 to 74 percent. In the other study, women were given either the GnRH agonist leuprolide acetate or placebo for six months.
At three months, leuprolide was more effective, but its later effects could not be evaluated because of poor follow- up in the placebo group.