Progesterone, perimenopause, and pregnancy

by Kim
(Sherwood, OR)

Hi Wray, I have been told that I am in perimenopause and my progesterone is low. I was put on progesterone taken under the tongue once a day for the last 14 days of my cycle. I was not getting any results, so was sent to a specialist who let me know that I have about 2.5% change (because of my age) of having a baby even with help. I am 43.

I was wondering if I should even continue with the progesterone because I was feeling awful and defintely not myself, yet I had been that way before starting it too. I found your site and looked at my dose and decided that maybe the dose was too low at 80, so I doubled it. Within 2 days I was feeling great and normal again (it had been years since I had felt normal). I ordered the cream and started using 1/4 tsp 4 times a day and have continued to feel much better. My cycle came and I stopped using the cream, yet within a week I gained 5 pounds and felt horrible again, so I started back up again.

I know that if I do not use it for the about 2 weeks there might be a remote chance of conceiving, but I feel awful. My question is should I just use the cream all the time and give up on having a baby or try something else? Thanks!

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Progesterone, perimenopause, and pregnancy

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Oct 03, 2011
 Progesterone, perimenopause, and pregnancy
by: Wray

Hi Kim No need to give up trying to have a baby, a friend of mine still had viable eggs at 51. Not that I'd enjoy giving birth at that age, and I'm sure she wouldn't either! Peri-menopause starts 5 to 10 years before Menopause, the average age of this is 51. If you know when your mother went into menopause, it's a good indication of when you will. At 43 you could be in the beginning stages of P-M. But what's of more importance is whether you are ovulating. Normally we get anovulatory cycles in P-M, ie there are months when we don't ovulate. This usually begins with one skipped month in a few, but the nearer menopause we get, the more frequent the skipped months. We do have a page on Pregnancy which explains how to use progesterone. Plus advice on the mini-microscopes which I suggest you get. It takes the guessing out of when you ovulate. It seems to me you were probably deficient in progesterone for a long time, if you say you haven't felt normal for years. Plus the fact you reacted badly when you stopped it. I suggest you use the progesterone daily for 2-3 months, to suppress any excess oestrogen. And then follow your cycle when feeling stable, we have more info on our page How to use progesterone cream. And please read our page on Oestrogen Dominance, as it explains why you felt horrible. I've run out of space so will start a new comment below. Take care Wray
Oct 03, 2011
 Progesterone, perimenopause, and pregnancy
by: Wray

Hi Kim Vitamin D is critical for ovulation, please have a test done. For more info see the Vitamin D Council, GrassrootsHealth Birmingham Hospital and Vitamin D Links websites. Vitamin D is vital for a successful pregnancy and for the growing foetus, see here, here, here, here and here. These are excellent videos to watch too, see here and here. Finally a lack of vitamin D reduces the benefits of progesterone. You might consider taking taurine too, also vital for pregnancy and the growing foetus, see here, here and here. Take care Wray

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