Gaining weight on hormones

by Deb H

My doctor put me on the transdermal gel, Estrogel and Prometrium a progesterone. These are to help menopause symptoms and prevention of Osteoporosis. I have Osteopina and Osteoporosis is in our family history.

I have started to gain weight. I have heard a side effect from Prometrium is weight gain. At one point I was on a progesterone cream that seemed to work however, I am not sure what it was. I had been seeing a Naturopath and we have since moved, so I know longer have access to the Naturopath.

I am uncertain as to what to do, any ideas??

Deb H

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Gaining weight on hormones

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Dec 09, 2007
 Gaining weight
by: Wray

Hi Deb. Prometrium is a natural progesterone and initially you could gain weight. The reason for this is progesterone activates the oestrogen receptor sites, which in turn would make the oestrogen you have more active.

Oestrogen causes us to gain weight. It's the only hormone which causes cells to increase and water to be retained. So giving you the Estrogel would give you extra oestrogen, hence the weight gain. Progesterone is in fact a remarkable diuretic, but would have an uphill battle against the extra oestrogen you are taking. Which is why the progesterone cream worked for you, as presumably you weren't on any oestrogen?

I don't believe you need the Estrogel as progesterone works affectively against any menopausal symptoms. It also helps the deposition of minerals into bones. Oestrogen prevents minerals being lost from bone, which eventually leads to having old bones, not a good idea!

I would suggest you go back to using the progesterone cream. If you're concerned about osteoporosis, please have a hair mineral analysis done. This is the only reliable method for detecting a mineral imbalance. Bones are hugely complex and just giving oestrogen and progesterone is not going to address the problem. Trace Elements in the States are one of the best labs for this, please see their web address below.
Hope this helps Take care Wray

Trace Elements
http://www.traceelements.com/index.html

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