Use every day when starting natural progesterone?

by Jessica
(Washington, DC)

I am a 29 female, no pregnancies. I have started natural progesterone and have felt and see great results. I have a history of very fibrocystic breasts that get very sore and a size larger when PMSing. I have had depression for years but the worst symptom is the agitation/irritation I feel when PMSing. It used to be just the few days before I would start bleeding but now I find it's bad when I ovulate, and a whole week before I start bleeding. I feel like two weeks of every month are ruined for me.

I started bleeding so I am following the guidelines of not using the cream until I ovulate. However, I feel more agitated/irritated than usual. I know I'm supposed to wait until I ovulate to start using it again but when first starting the cream, if symptoms are really bad, can it be used continuously for the first couple months? Would it hurt? Thank you.

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Use every day when starting natural progesterone?

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Dec 08, 2010
 Using it every day
by: Anonymous

If you read through the section on how to use the cream, you'll see that you can use it every day for the first few months. I recommend that from my own experience with the cream. I used it every day the first month and then went to starting it at ovulation. What happened for me is that I started getting anxious two days before ovulation and the day of but about an hour after I used the cream, the anxiety subsided and has been much better. For the next few months, I am going to use the whole time like is suggested because my guess is that my estrogen level is high and that I am getting estrogen dominance. It's possible that is what is happening to you as well and that using it the whole time would help this. The other issue is how much cream you're using. If you use too little, you get the opposite result because of estrogen dominance so I have been using it as is suggested. It's a shame more doctors don't know the correct way to dose it. I am thankful I found this sight. Best wishes to you. Hope you will have good results.
Dec 09, 2010
 Use every day when starting natural progesterone?
by: Wray

Hi Jessica I'm so pleased the progesterone has helped you. Many women experience PMS symptoms the few days before bleeding. Unfortunately many also experience it the entire 2 weeks of the luteal phase. Neither are normal. The few days before is caused by progesterone dropping too fast in relation to oestrogen, so the ratio of two becomes unbalanced. Oestrogen rises just prior to ovulation, it should drop slightly when this occurs, and rises again mid luteal phase. If insufficient progesterone is made after ovulation, oestrogen remains the dominant hormone. Hence the PMS during the luteal phase. Please look at the Graph we have on the rise and fall of the hormones. I always advise using progesterone daily, throughout the period too if symptoms are bad. No harm is done, and it's better to get rid of symptoms first, it's easy enough to regulate the cycle with progesterone once they've gone. I suggest following this route for about 2-3 months, symptoms are the best way to ascertain when you can start the cycle again. Unless you use about 400mg/day, your periods will occur, but often erratically. So it's something to watch out for, and not be caught short! For more info please see our page on How to use progesterone cream. Take care Wray
Dec 17, 2010
 Using it every day
by: Wray

Hi there Thank you for your encouraging comment. I'm so pleased you trusted me enough to use it daily, and a higher amount than is normally recommended. I've found through my own experience and the women I've helped, it really does have to be high to help sufficiently. And if symptoms are bad, using it initially for 1-3 months on a daily basis, ensures progesterone becomes the dominant hormone. I've found this to be essential, otherwise adverse symptoms continue. It's easy enough to reduce the amount slowly till you find the optimum level. Always bearing in mind that progesterone levels drop with stress, so more will be needed if stressed. Your anxiety should have subsided using the cream, progesterone is an excellent anxiolytic, see here, here and here. You might like to see the results of the Saliva Tests we run on a regular basis. If the ratio of progesterone to oestrogen is 600:1 and over, all oestrogen dominance symptoms go. Thanks for the kind words about the site too! Take care Wray

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