Is it ok for me to take progesterone all month

by Eve
(Phoenix, AZ)

Hi Wray, I have been reading your suggestions and comments and was looking for your thoughts on my situation. I am now 37 years old. I was on oral BCP for 20 years. I had some very stressful life events and my hormones started going crazy - hot flashes, night sweats, lack of luster, depression etc.

My saliva tests indicated while on BCP very low progesterone. When I came off (April 2009) I did not use progesterone at first. I was stricken with severe PMDD that worsened every month - becoming unbearable by July 2009. In Octorber I started progesterone cream 25mg. I could feel the difference but it was not enough to fight off the PMDD - in this time frame I started having hypothyroid symptoms (now on armour 1grain) along with PMDD symptoms. At the same time I was treating my adrenals as the saliva indicated they were fatigued. I increased progesterone to 25mg two times a day during days 14-28. Still not enough relief. I thought I was going to commit suicide - the PMDD was so bad.

I finally read and ordered (Jan 2010) oral bio-identical progesterone and started a higher dose and I increased each month finally to 200mg AM and 300mg PM. I was stopping my dose at day 28 to start my period, however, last month it took 5 days for the bleed to come and the severe PMDD resurfaced and lasted while I was bleeding. Which normally it would stop once the onset of bleed. My new doctor changed my delivery method and dose thinking I might need less through this method - trouche 300mg in evening. She also decided I should be on it all month with a lower dose on day 1-14 (150mg/day).I am on day 18 of my cycle. I tried the 300mg at night only and I started to have some mild symptoms return, so I added my morning dose back - trying 100mg - still felt symptoms and extreme bloatedness - could not even wear my wedding ring. So I increased dose back to of 200mg in am and 300 mg in the PM and I feel better. My saliva report was taken (April 2010) on day 20 of my cycle showing my levels (even while on my progesterone which taken the day before first saliva sample approx 13hours) to be low at 70 (range is pg/ml 30-300). Am I at risk taking progesterone all month long and at these higher doses. I am frightened not to take high doses because when I don't - the PMDD that I experience is so bad I can hardly function.

I have gained 25 lbs since this all started and nothing seems to help with my weight. I tried HCG for a short period but it made me irritable and angry - doctor told me it was raising my estrogen and causing worse estrogen dominance. UGH I am fat and flustered! BTW my saliva indicated normal to high DHEA and testosterone levels - DHEA conclusive of an athlete which I used to be until the end of 2008! My adrenals are finally in a good spot - I still supplement them with a product called ADB5 Plus (it includes glandular and vitamins).

Any thoughts or insight would be great!

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Is it ok for me to take progesterone all month

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May 23, 2010
 Is it ok for me to take progesterone all month
by: Wray

Hi Eve. It doesn't surprise me your progesterone was low while on the BCP. It stops ovarian function, including ovulation. Production of progesterone stops. The reason for the PMDD was excess oestrogen. Your ovaries were beginning to 'wake up', after being suppressed for 20 years. During the first half of the cycle the egg is developing and maturing and is producing oestrogen. It's not until ovulation that progesterone is made, it would be very rare for you to have begun ovulating yet. Hence the increasing severity of the symptoms, nothing but oestrogen. 25-50mg of progesterone would have been far too low to make a dent in your symptoms. It doesn't surprise me you started having thyroid problems, as oestrogen suppresses thyroid function. I don't believe there is anything wrong with your thyroid, just too much oestrogen. Oral progesterone is the least effective delivery system, please see here. And here. Troches also fall in this category, see here. Oral progesterone is mostly destroyed by the gut and liver, this explains why your level was so low when you had the next test. Instead of using 500mg progesterone in an oral form as you are now doing, but in a cream, your symptoms would disappear overnight! 500mg is a very high dose, and something I recommend to women with severe symptoms such as heavy continual bleeding for months on end, unbearable hot flushes and night sweats (these go in about 4 days on 400mg), severe depression etc. So no you are at no risk taking such a high dose, but it's very wasteful of progesterone, costly, and it does put a strain on the liver which has to metabolise it. No risk either at using it daily, in fact I recommend this method to women with severe symptoms. It's far better to get rid of them first, and then reduce the dose and follow a cycle. It's easy enough to get the cycle going again using progesterone. For more info see here. The weight gain doesn't surprise me either. Oestrogen is a mitogen, it causes cells to divide and grow, including fat cells, progesterone inhibits this. It also causes insulin resistance, for more on this please see here. Oestrogen also causes water retention, progesterone is an excellent diuretic preventing oedema, please see here. I would really recommend you change to a cream form, it's also more versatile, as it can be applied where needed. Take care, Wray
May 31, 2010
 Is it ok for me to take progesterone all month
by: Eve

Hi Wray, thanks for your help and suggestions. I am going to switch to cream. I wonder what the correct dose will be? Do you have any suggestions? I guess I am totally confused on what my cycle is 21, 28, 36 days? It has not been consistant since getting off the pill April 2009.

The article link you suggested said starting day 14 is not necessarily the start of ovulation - depending on your cycle. How will I know and what are some signs I should be aware of if I am actually ovulating? At this point, I take low dose day 1-14 and a higher dose day 14-28 switching back to the low dose from day 28 in hopes to start my period. This is the first month we are trying this. My cycle has been inconsistent since comeing off the pill (even after starting progesterone at higher dose in Jan 2010) - I do have a period each month but sometimes it starts day 27, 28, 36. Any thoughts?

And by the way, THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH for having this website and also your product! There are so many women out there suffering and sooo many doctors that don't have the experience to help them. My mom committed suicide in 2007 - she had a hysterectomy in her early-mid 30's. We always thought she was kind of "crazy". I really believe she was progesterone difficient all those years - she refused to take synthetic hormones and now that I am so much more educated about the role our hormones play, I am convinced that was her true ailment. Very sad... so I am glad you were able to find help and you are helping others! What a blessing :-)
Jun 05, 2010
 Is it ok for me to take progesterone all month
by: Wray

Hi Eve. Bless you for the kind words! I'm so sorry to hear of your mother, very sad as there was no need. It's most definitely not 'in our minds', there are a growing number of doctors and private clinics who understand this, but far too few. As you are already trying the 28 day cycle I suggest sticking to that, your own natural cycle will come in it's own time, it might even be 28 days. There are two ways to approach it, you either follow the 28 days as your body would, ie do not use progesterone in the first half of the cycle, but only on day 15 for 14 days. Or you use it daily as you are doing. I'll have to leave that decision to you, as you evidently have severe PMS.

Ovulation signs to look for is a mucus plug coming away, a higher temperature, a slight pain on the side of the body where the ovary sits and possible irritation/PMS feelings. This last is due to a surge in oestrogen levels just prior to ovulation. But none of these are of importance right now, getting you to feel better is! So the two approaches, no progesterone in the first half of the cycle, and use at least 200-300mg in the second half, from day 15 for 14 days, then stop. Count 14 days from bleeding and start using it again on day 15. Divide the dose into at least two, if not more applications. I've had women use it hourly for severe symptoms. Second approach, use ±50mg/day divided am and pm for the first 14 days, then increase to the 200-300mg/day for the last 14 days. There is a third alternative, and that's to use a high dose daily for 2-3 months, through your period too. This will come and go as it wishes, which is pretty much what's happening now. But this will suppress the oestrogen and hopefully eliminate the PMS, as I'm concerned about it returning if you follow your cycle. Once you feel stable you can then reduce the dose for the first half, or eliminate it completely, only using it again on day 15. I wish I could tell you which is the best route, but only you can know that, and only by experiencing it. I feel it's better to get rid of symptoms first, it's normally easy to get the cycle going again, but the pill really upsets us. I've been helping one woman and it's taken nearly a year. I now have her on large amounts of antioxidants, as her ovaries have been so upset by the pill I believe they are now inflamed. She's taking 1600mg/day arginine, 1800mg/day N-acetyl cysteine, 2000mg/day taurine and 5000iu's/day vitamin D, plus 4000mg/day inositol, you might consider this too as it is helping her. All of the above help ovarian function and are known to initiate ovulation. I don't have space here to give you the references to the papers, but they are all on this web page. Take care, Wray

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