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Perimenopause

by Cathie
(Brisbane, Australia)

Hi Wray

I was just reading some old posts of yours and I noticed you say that you recommend 100-200mg of progesterone as a minimum per day unlike most who recommend 20-40mg.
As I understand from my compound pharmacy (I live in Brisbane, Australia) my cream is 2% progesterone in 100gms of cream.
So the syringe I use holds 100mg or 1 gram which is equivalent to taking 20mg (2% of 100gms) of progesterone.
So when you say you recommend 100mgs of progesterone, isn't that what I am taking but the strength of the progesterone in that 100mgs is 20mg? I actually take two syringefuls and am assuming I am taking 200mg of progesterone. But perhaps not!
I am a little confused about it all and would apprciate your help in working it out. My Maths is appalling so I may have misunderstood what the pharmacist told me too.
I am definitely oestrogen dominant (confirmed by saliva tests) and have been slowly increasing my dose but notice from other posts you recommend 400mg per day (taken twice/day) for oestrogen dominance and reduce as necessary so I think I will do that
Things are improving at the 200mg dose but still not sleeping great.
I love your site - really helpful, thank you and I intend to try and order progesterone from you in future. I think it works out a little cheaper (but not sure about the delivery) as I understand there isn't any stock at the moment.
Thanks again
Cathie

Comments for Perimenopause

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Nov 19, 2014
 Perimenopause
by: Wray

Hi Cathie Your maths start off well, but then how shall I put it, disintegrates?! I find many people get confused between grams, milligrams and millilitres. 1g (weight) is 1000mg (weight) or 1 millilitre (volumetric). So you said "the syringe I use holds 100mg or 1 gram". If it's a 1g syringe, then it will hold 1000mg of cream, not 100mg of cream. If the cream is 2% then as you say 1g will contain 20mg progesterone. If the syringe holds 1g of cream, then there will also be 20mg progesterone in the cream. To get to 100mg of progesterone, you will need to use 5 times the amount you are using, i.e. 100mg divided by 20mg = 5, or 5 syringes of cream. So you are currently getting 40mg of progesterone if you use 2 syringes. As a comparison, the Natpro contains 33.3mg progesterone per gram (ml) of cream. So to get 100mg progesterone one would need to use 3ml (approx 3g) of cream. I tend to use ml as a measurement, as it's impossible to weigh the amount of cream we use, no one has a scale that accurate unless in a lab. And metric spoons are readily available. I do hope I haven't confused things further! If your symptoms have improved with 40mg, then I don't think you need anywhere near 400mg/day! We do have a page on Peri-menopause you could look through. Plus another on How to use Progesterone Cream. If you have sleep problems then please have a vitamin D test done. Living in Australia you probably have a low vitamin D level. Not only does a deficiency affect sleep, see here and here, but it reduces the benefits of progesterone. It could be you lack sodium, so try taking 1/2 tsp salt in some warm water just before you go to bed. If you want help working out a cost comparison then I'm happy to do it. Thanks for the kind words. Take care Wray
Nov 21, 2014
 Perimenopause
by: Cathie

Hi Wray
Thanks so much for your reply. I have a much better understanding of the levels of progesterone in cream now.. i do supplement (irregularly) with Vitamin D so need to be more regular I suppose. Will also try the salt in water as well.
I ramped up my Progesterone to 100mg 3 days ago - I feel like I have some PMT symptoms but am determined to just put up with it. The insomnia is the worst part waking up regularly at 3.30am every morning!
My Naturopath says I have oestrogen dominance and with that an abnormal oestrogen metabolism as I don't clear the oestrogen very well. I currently take DIM for this but wondered whether I could stop the DIM once the extra progesterone kicks in? Would like your thoughts on this...
I would love a cost comparison if possible. I rang my compound pharmacy and they said 100gms of 3% would cost about AUD$62
Thanks again Wray!
Nov 23, 2014
 Perimenopause
by: Wray

Hi Cathie Yes please make vitamin D a priority, and have a test done to check your level. DIM doesn't actually clear oestrogen. It's regarded as an anti-oestrogen. Oestrogen is broken down into 2 principle metabolites, 2-hydroxyestrone (2-OHE1) and 16-alpha hydroxyestrone (16alpha-OHE1). 16alpha-OHE1 is regarded as a potent oestrogen, whereas 2-OHE1 is a weaker oestrogen. In some studies DIM (3,3'-Diindolylmethane) increased levels of 2-OHE1, by doing so it also increases the ratio of 2-OHE1:16alpha-OHE1. This increased ratio is associated with a lower risk for breast cancer in some studies, not in others. It appears to have a positive affect on pancreatic, thyroid, prostate and gastric cancers too, and leukemia. The precursor to DIM is Indole 3 Carbinol (I3C) which also has antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. These are a selection of papers here, here, here. You could stop it once the progesterone kicks in, see how you feel. I've done a cost comparison and it works out to US$35.78 per container or AU$41.33 for 2000mg progesterone. Whereas Natpro costs US$25.70 or AU$28.87 for 2000mg progesterone. You would of course have to add on transport. Take care Wray

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