Comparisons with other treatments
Evening primrose oil has been tested against the drugs bromocriptine and danazol in a study on 361 patients at the Cardiff Breast Pain Clinic.
The result of the trial was that there was no significant difference between the three drugs. They all produced relief in 50-62% of women. The results for evening primrose oil were slightly worse than those for danazol and slightly better than those for bromocriptine.
However, some patients who had previously failed to respond to either danazol or bromocriptine did respond to evening primrose oil.
However, evening primrose oil did score over the other two drugs in one important respect – it did not produce side-effects compared to danazol and bromocriptine, which both produced side-effects in 24% of patients.

Diet
For best results, evening primrose oil should be taken in conjunction with a healthy, low saturated fat diet. In particular, the methylxanthine group of substances (caffeine, theophylline) found m coffee, tea and cola drinks should be excluded, as these substances increase the binding of prolactin to the breast.
The vitamin and mineral co-factors should also be taken with the evening primrose oil.
There is no doubt that evening primrose oil is effective in treating breast pain, whether cyclical or non-cyclical. It is equally effective as the more traditional drugs used to treat this condition but has none of their side-effects. For that reason some doctors feel that evening primrose oil should be the first- line treatment for breast pain.

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WOMEN’S HEALTH