A short duration of vitamin B1 (thiamine) supplementation can potentially cure dysmenorrhea symptoms, says the Cochrane review of herbs and supplements for primary dysmenorrhea. Till date, a single largest RCT evaluated thiamine on 556 young (aged 12–21) women living in India with moderate to very severe symptoms. Thiamine hydrochloride was given in a dose of 100 mg orally daily for 90 days . At the end of the study, 87% completely cured, 8% relieved and 5% showed no effect whatsoever.
The results remained the same two months later as well when no drug was administered. Unlike all the current treatments which are suppression-oriented, this curative treatment directly treats the cause, is free from side effects, is inexpensive and easy to administer. However, additional studies are necessary prior to recommending vitamin B1 as treatment for primary dysmenorrhea. Reference Abigail Yu.…
