Started Progesterone Therapy and now my period is spotty

by S.N
(Canada)

Hello, I started PT last month. Prior to that my periods were pretty heavy and lasted about 5 days. Now I am experiencing spotty brown discharge and I'm not sure what this could be. I am using a saliva based test to check when I am ovulating and on the day I saw a bit of the fern pattern I started using progesterone. I stopped on the day before my expected period (which varies a little bit but I guessed) and it still hasn't come. I tested for pregnancy the day I was supposed to get my period but it's negative. Any suggestions?

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Started Progesterone Therapy and now my period is spotty

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Dec 09, 2011
 Started Progesterone Therapy and now my period is spotty
by: Wray

Hi SN Progesterone can upset the cycle when first using it, making it either early or late. Although I've found it's more often earlier. The brown discharge is old, oxidised blood, a good sign. I would have to know how much you are using, but it appears a very low level. I recommend 100-200mg/day, more if symptoms are severe. It appears you might be trying to fall pregnant? In which case please see our Pregnancy page. You live in Canada, the majority of people living there have very low vitamin D levels, see here, here, here and here. Vitamin D is critical for pregnancy and the growth of the foetus, see here, here, here, here and here. These are excellent videos to watch too, see here and here. For more info on levels, testing etc see the Vitamin D Council, GrassrootsHealth, Birmingham Hospital and Vitamin D Links websites. Blood levels should be 70-100ng/ml or 175-250nmol/L and not the 30ng/ml or 75nmol/L most labs and doctors regard as adequate. And the minimum daily dose should be 5000iu's per day, although the latest research indicates it should be 10,000iu's per day, see here. Take care Wray
Jan 13, 2012
 Also Curious About Brown Discharge
by: Lily

Hi Wray,

Could you expand on why you believe the oxidized brown blood is a good sign?

I am 44, very regular, but progesterone deficient, per your questionnaire. The symptoms I suffered with most were severe, irrational anxiety (which wreaked havoc in my marriage), blowing up like a balloon with water retention mid-cycle, horrible night sweats about a week before my period (like I threw a bucket of water on the bed), and heavier than normal, clotting periods.

I have faithfully applied Natpro (200-300mgs daily) for the last 14 days of my last 3 cycles & also removed all known estrogenics I was unknowingly putting in and on my body. Thankfully, my symptoms of estrogen dominance almost completely cleared up, and rather quickly. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Were it not for your website, I would've continued suffering thru my symptoms, unaware there was anything I could proactively do about them.

But although my symptomology has improved, this month, instead of my period starting with red blood, it has begun with brown sediment, which I understand is aged, oxidized blood. I'm relieved to hear you believe this to be a good sign, but can you expand on the details of why? Thanks very much in advance and again, thank you for the website & cream!
Jan 17, 2012
 Also Curious About Brown Discharge
by: Wray

Hi Lily Bless you for the kind words, and the good news too! I'm so delighted you used the high amount, I get very discouraged when all the time I get people complaining about progesterone, and I have to put them right. It's getting a bad name for no reason. It's always because they have been advised to use 20mg/day! That's the amount we make in a normal luteal phase, if it was sufficient, why then do we get adverse symptoms?! I seem to go round in circles, so it's such a pleasure to find someone who used a high amount. Each month we bleed, but not all the lining comes away. Some is absorbed back into the body, which is in fact how it works in most animals. We unfortunately bleed it out! But some remains in the uterus, it then oxidises, forms clots in some cases and stays there. I've found progesterone invariable 'cleans' out the uterus, which means no old blood is left behind. It normally only occurs once, but who knows, it could occur again! To put you in the picture of how it all works…….MMP's are enzymes that break down protein. They play a role in the breakdown of endometrial tissues at the end of the menstrual cycle, see here. Progesterone suppresses MMP's, see here. So it's only when the corpus luteum stops making progesterone at the end of the cycle, that levels plummet and the MMP's can begin breaking down the lining. In some instances they can cause a pathological reaction if excess oestrogen is present, as oestrogen stimulates their production. This can lead to inflammation, spotting and/or excessive bleeding in the uterus. If a low level of progesterone is present, and a high level of oestrogen, the lining will continue to grow. With a high level of MMP's the lining will also continue to break down. This of course leads to heavy continual bleeding. Using high amounts of progesterone, ie about 400mg/day, reverses this, and the bleeding stops. High oestrogen and high MMP's are also implicated in inflammatory diseases like arthritis. The MMP's degrade protein in the joints and cause inflammation. Take care Wray

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