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What is Evening Primrose Oil?

Evening primrose oil (EPO) contains an omega-6 essential fatty acid, gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which is believed to be the active ingredient. EPO has been studied in a wide variety of disorders, particularly those affected by metabolic products of essential fatty acids.

Reported Purpose & Efficacy

Reasons and Efficacy
Purpose # of patients
# of patients with evaluations Efficacy
Major
Moderate
Slight
None
Can’t tell
MS (Multiple Sclerosis) 58 9 Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_none Efficacy_cant_tell
General health 51 12 Efficacy_major Efficacy_slight Efficacy_none Efficacy_cant_tell
Other 12 1 Efficacy_cant_tell
Mood swings 6 2 Efficacy_major Efficacy_cant_tell
ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) 6 1 Efficacy_slight
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) 5 0

See all 141 patients currently taking Evening Primrose Oil

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Reported Side Effects

Side effects as an overall problem

Severe
 0
Moderate
 2
Mild
 0
None
 26

Commonly reported side effects, conditions, and hospitalizations associated with Evening Primrose Oil

Constipation 1
Nausea 1

Reported Dosages

Frequently reported dosages based on patients currently taking Evening Primrose Oil. See all 19 dosages ►

  daily - as needed 500 mg daily 1,000 mg daily 1,300 mg daily 1,500 mg daily 2,000 mg daily 2,600 mg daily 3,000 mg daily 4,000 mg daily
  99 Number of Patients: 99 3 Number of Patients: 3 3 Number of Patients: 3 10 Number of Patients: 10 5 Number of Patients: 5 3 Number of Patients: 3 4 Number of Patients: 4 2 Number of Patients: 2 2 Number of Patients: 2 3 Number of Patients: 3  

Reported Stop Reasons

Why Patients Stopped Taking Evening Primrose Oil (multiple reasons could be selected)
Reason # Patients Percentage of patients
Other 18   Other: 38%
Did not seem to work 16   Did not seem to work: 33%
Expense 7   Expense: 15%
Personal research 5   Personal research: 10%
Course of treatment ended 3   Course of treatment ended: 6%
Doctor's advice 3   Doctor's advice: 6%
Not indicated 1   Not indicated: 2%
Side effects too severe 1   Side effects too severe: 2%

See all 46 patients who’ve stopped taking Evening Primrose Oil

Reported Duration See details about how long patients take this treatment ▼

Currently Taking Evening Primrose Oil

A bar graph

0-1 month 1-3 months 3-6 months 6 months-1year 1-2 years 2 years or more
0

Stopped Taking Evening Primrose Oil

A bar graph

0-1 month 1-3 months 3-6 months 6 months-1year 1-2 years 2 years or more

Reported Adherence, Burden & Cost See details from patient evaluations ▼

Adherence

Taking treatment as prescribed

Adherence of Evening Primrose Oil

Always
 20 71%
Usually
 5 18%
Sometimes
 3 11%
Never
 0 0%

Burden

Difficulty being on treatment

Burden of Evening Primrose Oil

Very
 0 0%
Somewhat
 1 4%
A little
 3 11%
Not at all
 24 86%

Cost

Paid out of pocket

Cost of Evening Primrose Oil

$200+
 0 0%
$100-199
 0 0%
$50-99
 0 0%
$25-49
 0 0%
< $25
 16 100%

See more information, including instructions, precautions, side effects, and interactions.

Report created on February 11, 2012.