Hormones - Natural Progesterone

T.,

I don't know what state you live in, but there is a place in Houston, TX called the HOTZE Clinic. They use bio-identical hormones, not synthetic. We originally saw an article on the place, but later my husband found out about a co-worker who uses the clinic. They address the issue's women face that mainstream physicians don't seem to have the time to. I have had my first appointment and feel very confident in the plan they've layed out for me. There were people in the lobby all the way from Canada waiting with me. The first time I called them they discussed my symptoms with me over the phone and later sent me a copy of the founding physicians book. The book was the best I've read regarding Women's Health Issues. The program isn't cheap, but from the people I've spoken to well worth having their life back to normal.

I know the beginning of my program is to rid my body of yeast build-up which interferes with a woman's hormone levels. Just as an FYI...I'm 35, with 2 children, had a partial Hysterectomy three years ago. Since then I've gained 25 pounds, lose my hair by the clumps, constant fatigue, severe headaches and muscle/joint pain. After talking with others who've used this clinic and visiting the clinic myself, I'm glad to see this may soon b3e resolved. Good Luck!

Their website is: www.hotzehwc.com phone: (877)577-1900

I take it. And although I guess it is supposed to be the same days, I usually wait until I have no clear mucus left (fertile mucus) before I start. Then I stop when my cycle starts again. I've never had to take for more than a few cycles before my body kicks in gear. it helps a lot.

Don't worry about the dose. If it is a compound phyto-progesteron then it is the standard formulation.

PS you cannot substitute the synthetic progesterone pill for this. They seem to make things worse for a lot of women.

I am 45 and I take Prometrium, which is the only oral natural progesterone available. I take it from days 12 to 28. Except for a few days of weaning on and off, my dosage is 200mg every 6 hours. Thats 800mg/day. The doctor who prescribes it is a neuroendocrinologist in new york (there are only a handful of those in this country). He has bumped me up from 600mg/day to 800mg/day - and says if we need to, we can go as high as 1200mg/day. I take it to control catamenial (cycle-related) epilepsy, ie, seizures that occur at certain times of the month. Some women shouldn't take it in high doses like that, such as smokers, etc. I don't smoke and also passed all the other questions I was first asked. I have a lot of success with it and no negative side effects except for a few days of tender breasts which isn't really bad at all. I like taking it; aside from seizure reduction, it actually makes me feel better overall. I have been taking Prometrium this way since last spring when I was also 44. Prior to that, I took a form of synthetic progesterone and eventually had problems with that. If your pills aren't made by Solvay, then they are not natural progesterone. Now that I understand the difference, I will never take synthetic progesterone again. Solvay is the only company that was able to figure out and patent a way to capture natural progesterone into an oral form. The rest are creams. Btw, people with a peanut allergy can't take Solvay's Prometrium. Hope that helps. If you have questions for me, feel free to ask.

A.

Yeah for your doctor!! Natural progesterone is the best medicine for low progesterone. Many women in your age group struggle with hormonal shifts and natural is the way to go. It's the synthetic progesterones that have all of the dangerous side-effects. Natural progesterone, taken in the post-ovulation phase of the cycle when progesterone naturally occurs, is the best help for low hormones. As a side benefit, taking progesterone can regulate things like pms and breast tenderness, as well as help support the estrogen hormone.
However, I would suggest charting your cycles to make sure you are truly past ovulation. The standard recommendation of days 14-21 of the cycle only works if you have past ovulation by day 14. Charting is really easy and can also be beneficial for identifying any other abnormalities. Here is a website to find out more, fertilitycare.org. You can even find a practitioner in your area from this site. Good luck.
Just a note: you want bio-identical progesterone that comes from a sweet yam plant Africa. Kubots, a national pharmacy, compounds this from of progesterone. The bad side-effects associated with oral progesterones come from synthetic forms. So make sure it is bio-identical, not just "natural".

I've been looking into this as well.....

If you go to Whole Foods or Sprouts, they carry a natural progesterone cream. It's made from wild yams. A friend of mine told me about this and she's taking it. It's called Emerita Pro-Gest progesterone cream -- https://www.emerita.com/pages/menopause/pro-gest.asp?find.... I would imagine it's a lower dosage than what you would get in a prescription. The packaging tells you what days to take it, but you just rub some on your wrists, backs of knees, etc during those days. My friend says it's helped her (and her libido).

Maybe something like this might be worth trying? If it doesnt work you could go on the pills? I'm not a Dr so maybe you could talk about this with yours.

hello Tracy
I work at a health food store, and get a lot of feedback on progesterone supplements, and what seems to work efficiently for most women i come into contact with is the topical kind. In fact, i never hear anything good about the oral kind at all. However when I took it upon myself to regulate my menstrual cycle(i rarely had one at all) I took "holy basil" for a month and was as regular as I had been in my teens. Everybody responds differently to these things, but it can't hurt.

T.,

I know you got lots of good responses. But I wanted you to know of one more option available. Since you already know that your progesterone is low, what you're using may work--especially since its from the wild yam.

But if that doesn't work, I take Vitex. Its an herb and it works very gently to balance your hormones. And its only $6 a bottle at Sprouts or health food stores.

I too had an issue with hormones and long periods- I had to go on BC and then I met an herbalist. I started using a natural progesterone creme- Pro-Yam-G creme from Naturessunhine.com They have all sorts of natural meds- and I feel great. I like the fact that I don't have to take pills, but just have to rub a tiny amount of creme on my skin.

Hopefully you had a hormone panel done? If not, you should request one.
The natural progesterone is wonderful. I've noticed a change in only ten days.
My raging hot flashes have been greatly reduced.
Good luck.
K

I would trust your doctor. Pharmacists are wonderful and most of them do a really good job. Sounds like you found one that does a really good job. I wouldn't be surprised if he found anything a miss that he /she would of called your doctor if there was a problem before dispensing the progesterone to you. If you have any reservations about taking the progesterone then I would call your doctors office and either talk to your doctor directly or her nurse.

Hello T.,

I am on a hormone program thru womentowomen.com.

Good luck,
J.

Hi T., I am 48 and wish I was as lucky as you are to have a doctor that is treating you and not just your symptoms; and naturally at that! I fist got "sick" in March 2005, I had a period that I bled, very heavily and clotty, for over a month. My GYN at the time had just retired and the doctor that took over his practice prescribed BC pills - two a day until the bleeding stopped, which didn't for almost two weeks after that. I was scheduled to see him and when I did I told him I did not want to take the "pill" because of the weight gain and the way they made me so sick with nausea and sleepiness... he basically said that - the weight gain was all in my head that I needed to exercise more and lose weight that I would feel better. Well I didn't and when I complained more - his office staff is very nice but not all that knowledgeable... they just kept switching my pill from one to the other and another and another. Well, the saga with my pills and "health" goes on forever (it seems) but since all that I have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Scleroderma. I have stopped going to conventional medicine doctors and have been recently seeing a Naturopath. After extensive testing I have been diagnosed with "Estrogen Dominance" and am taking a Natural Progesterone supplement; Progon B (Bezwecken). On days 15-28 of my cycle I take 105mgs a day, and on days 1-14 of my cycled I have just started taking 50+mgs a day. It has really made a big difference in the way I have been feeling and I wish I could take more all the time. But I have been told that it will take time that I will get back to feeling more normal before too long. I have probably had some problems with my hormones for most of my life but never realized just how important "hormonal balance" is until I became so ill. I am not sure what you have been prescribed but there are "natural" progesterones that are not really natural and could be more harmful over the long haul. I "Google" everything - check out what you have been prescribed on the internet you should get some information before you commit your health to medications. I wish that one pharmacist would have stopped and talked to me about going on those BC pills - I found out later that they were a very high estrogen content medication. When I asked my GYN about it he simply said that if I wanted something lower in Estrogen I would need to do the research and let him know what I wanted prescribed... It's up to you - and I think Mamasource is a pretty good place to start. Hope I have been able to shed some light on your questions.

AC - San Antonio

i take one pump a day of arbonnes natural balancing cream and i cannot live without it now... you can try it and if you like it I can show you how to get it every month for 35% off you can read about it more, because of course you can show it to your Dr..... at www.lisauselton.myarbonne.com good luck...

Be very concerned. My story is I was about your age wnen I started taking harmones. Later I found from a gal I woeked with who worked in a pharmacy that they are horse urine. I went because I could not sleep all night and for days. I still can stay up late and not sleep. Well I was alternating two one for 21 days off for 5 adding the other. I think it was Estace and Pro something. After awhile I saw in the doc office a mag that advertised taing one pill and not quitting it. I asked the doc and he said wait till I was regulated. A uyear later he said now I want to do a little experiment. He upped the doze on what I was taking and said stay on it the whole time. Two months later we were moving here. I did ot feel well.I would pack lay down,padk and lay down. I told my hubby I thought I had a sinux infection. So I went to the doc. He gave me meds and took my blood pressure fine. We drove from New Orleans to here. Got a Hotel and the next day I had a stroke. I was in the hospital for a week. They found a blood clot that had broken up and a thickened flat by my heart. The blood clot caused the stroke. So I have een on Coumadin for 10 years. After a stroke no one wants to insure you and because I got a divorce had to get my own. But when I left my job and becaome self employed I just know have insurance. I had brain damage and my right hand was numb. Then as time went on a determination I learned to adjust. Today, I do not feel different. I went to College an and got good grades and a degree. No one could ever tell. My brain returned the information I lost and my memory came back. But it was a big ordeal. My ex divorced me probably becaues he got scared.I was running high blood pressure is what happened that day too. Normal one day and high the day of the stroke. I went to take care of his parents as his day was dying and while I was in another state he started an affair and many. Three years after I decorated our home and landscaped the yard he wanted out. I moved 40 miles away and all my friends I loved there I have no time for. I work full time at home and raising now a granddaughter. Friends are all married and makes it hard to do things on week ends and my week ends are grocery shopping for my day care and cleaning up for the next week. So I would do anything to have not had a stroke. I have to have my blood monitored monthly with blood tests. The doctors will not take me off Coumadin and the first few years I had to to visit the doctor every month. I got so sick of it. There are times I would just like to quit meds but from what a pharmasits told me they would be liable. So I would go to a natural path and get on vitamins. Women went through menapause for years without all this stuff. I try to warn any time I can the danger of this. So please get another opinion. I got a video from a health food store I never took back all about strokes and heart attacks from taking harmones. What is natural? Horse Urine? Keep searching for a better way. My friend got on Amway vitamins and took pills and regulated things without taking drugs. So Good Luck G. W

Hi T.,

Have you ever thought about using a natural balancing cream? Arbonne has a progesterone cream called PhytoProlief. It is a topical cream that you apply twice a day to your soft tissues, such as the inner elbow, behind the knee, etc. It is not greasy at all and is odorless, too. Plus, it's made from botanicals. I have a friend who's 42 and has been using it for about a year now and can't live without it. She definitely notices a difference in her mood swings and hot flashes. If you're intersted, let me know and I'll send you a sample of it. Arbonne does offer a 45 day money-back guarantee on all of their products.

Good luck in finding what's best for you!

Jacqueline

T.,
Hi Go to Arbonne.com and check out thier natural balancing creams.It is awesome and I have lots of women using it and they love it.They swear by it.You can read all about the product under product knowledge If you have any questions you can contact me and I will be glad to help you.Arbonne is my Homebased business and thier products are pure safe and beneifcial.You can contact me through my web site www.valeriehampton.myarbonne.com Have a great day!

I tried that once for a very short time. Yes it was a high dosage, but it did slow my cylces down. I was having 3 a month. Because of my severe ovarian cysts, heavy cycles, the severe pain the doctor decided that an ablation. Let me tell you the world of difference!! Life is wonderful now. Although if you are planning on having more children, then this is not for you. Once this proceedure is done, you can not have it reversed and you can not have children. Plus there is no pills involved. Good luck!

I am also taking 200 mg of "prometrium" progesterone to help address hormonal imbalances. My husband is a pharmacist, my doc is very competent, and I am a very tiny and drug sensitive person (I usually have to take 1/2 a normal dose of regular drugs) . . . I have been fine and have been taking it through 6 cycles now and it has been really helpful! I would suggest talking to your doctor about your concerns and he will be able to give information on sutdies and what not that back up the reasons for his dosage amount. Best of luck!

Arbonne also carries a natural progesterone cream (made from plants) that works wonders. They have a pump that dispenses the right amount of cream each time. I believe you're also supposed to take it from around day 12-20 of your cycle (or thereabouts). I've been using it and it's helped tremendously with my headaches associated with PMS time.

http://amychichester.myarbonne.com/
Shop Online
Natural Balancing Creams
Items #800 and #805

Good luck!
A.

If your ob/gyn actually did prescribe NATURAL progesterone, you have a savvy doctor. Most MD's just prescribe drugs. From what I've read, Natural Progesterone has no side effects. I wish I had had benefit of a good doctor. I was prescribed double the amount of estrogen, and for 2 years didn't realize it. Everything went haywire. I will live with the effects of that blunder for the rest of my life. Google or Web MD the particular name you are taking and research it. I am a strong believer that you should never take any meds without doing your own homework on it. MD's are fallible.

I take it at night, if you take any kind of estrogen you need more progesterin to balance it out so no bad side effects. It is best taken at night, I have a oral as well as a rub that I put on my ankles!
Email me if you have other questions...I am a big fan and got my 70 year old mom on them and they have helped with her hot flashes and lack of sleep.
____@____.com

I'm real interested in what other people have to say about this also,I believe I have this same problem.I tried using a cream but the only problem is that it gave me planters warts on the bottom of my feet so I had to stop taking it.

This may sound a little crazy but my doctor treated my ovarian cysts with birth control. He put me on demulen and this completely rid my body of the cysts. I am sure there is less progesterone in this... ask your doctor, or even call the pharmacist.

I am not sure that anyone else has mentioned this as I have not read all the posts. 80% of Oral progesterone is destroyed in the liver. Even taking it several times a day causes fluctuations in the level, which in turn causes a reaction in some people. For example, women with low progesterone caused miscarriages can have an additional one with the oral. Its the fluctuation that causes the damage. For a steady dose, the cream is the best. You can have a cream compounded to the strengh that you need.