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Will Progesterone Cream help me?

by Amy

I was wondering if progesterone would help me in my situation. I had a baby 10 months ago and struggled with anxiety in my 8th month of pregnancy. I continued to have anxiety after having him and have been going through postpartum depression/anxiety.

I am currently taking Prozac for it and it works ok. I was doing great with the depression until the 3rd month of using BC (Yasmin). I had an axiety attack after only being on it for 3 months. Well that scared me enough to come off of it, but since then I havn't had a period (it has been almost 5 months). I went to an endo and they did all the testing for PCOS, thyroid and IR and everything came back normal. The only thing that she believes could be the problem is my weight. I lost all of my baby weight and about 15lbs extra. I beleive she said that my progesterone was 1.4 (I could be wrong but I am pretty sure this was the number she gave). She said that result was a decent number considering I am not ovulating/or menstruating. I have never gone this long without a period and I really don't want to take Progesterone pills to "kick start" it due to all the ill side effects.

I have always been irregular. I also had a blood workup for PCOS when I was ready to get pregnant. Everything came back fine. So my question is this... Would Progesterone cream help me get my cycle back to somewhat of a normal state? And how would I start using it since I haven't really ovulated? I have also had heart palpitations, some mild anxiety, and some mild depression ever since coming off the stupid BC pill. I am just looking to get my life back and feel better. Also where do people get saliva tests done to check their progesterone?

Comments for Will Progesterone Cream help me?

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Jul 21, 2010
 yaz
by: Anonymous

I understand where you are coming from I have been trying to straiten mine out to. I tried YAZ and had the same reaction... severe anxiety attack. The girl I work with same thing so what ever you do don't go back on that.
Jul 22, 2010
 Will Progesterone Cream help me?
by: Wray

Hi Amy You should have been given progesterone for the anxiety during pregnancy, obviously your progesterone was dropping. Progesterone always drops sharply after birth too causing severe depression in some. It's a pity you were given the pill, as that drops progesterone levels too. It stops all ovarian function, so you will not be ovulating and therefore making no progesterone. Please see here and here. It doesn't surprise me you had an anxiety attack being on it. Progesterone is essential for activating GABA receptor sites, GABA is one of our most calming neurotransmitters, if it drops, anxiety and panic attacks can occur. Please see our page on Anxiety. Some women get their period within the first month after birth. But if breast feeding it can take as long as 20 months, so there's nothing unusual in your cycle. So please don't think about kick starting it again with any progestin! And the pill does upset things too, please see our page on Contraceptives. Your progesterone level is within normal range, but what is your oestrogen level? The ratio of progesterone:oestrogen should be well over 300:1, but better if it's over 600:1. To find this divide the progesterone result by the oestrogen result. The best lab for saliva tests is done by ZRT Labs The progesterone will help the depression, anxiety and heart palpitations. The amino acid taurine is also extremely good for all these too, please consider taking about 2000mg/day, it's safe to go up to 5000mg/day. If you're still breast feeding taurine is essential for the baby too, see here, and for anxiety see here. If you're interested in using the progesterone the amount should be between 100-200mg/day, but with your symptoms I suggest you try the higher amount to begin with. Before you do please see this page on Oestrogen Dominance. You might like to read our page on Pregnancy, please read the section by Dr Dalton, as she goes into PND too. Take care Wray
Jul 23, 2010
 Will Progesterone Cream help me?
by: Amy

Thanks Wray!!! I had my Endo mail in my results and my progesterone was 0.6 and my estradiol was 45 pg/ml. I have learned so much about my body in the last couple of months and after being on BC I will NEVER do that again. I often wonder if I would have started the progesterone during my pregnancy would it have saved me a ton of mental stress in the long run. Let me know what you think of my lab results. Thank you again your site has given me hope!
Jul 26, 2010
 Will Progesterone Cream help me?
by: Wray

Hi Amy Yes if you had used the progesterone during pregnancy it would have saved you the mental stress. Pity so little is known about it, it's the 'pregnancy' hormone and is then dismissed. To find the ratio between progesterone and oestrogen, the progesterone result is divided by the oestrogen result. I'm not sure if your progesterone was measured in pg/ml as the oestradiol was, it's normally done ng/ml. Assuming this to be the case your ratio is 13:1. I find the ratio should be well over 300:1, better still if it's 600:1, so it's no wonder you feel as you do! And I'm happy you will never take BC pills again, they are the bane of my life, so many write of their problems using it, and even more after stopping it. Take care Wray

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