Progesterone

Progesterone is one of the sex hormones made by a womans ovary.  After menopause, the production of progesterone is significantly reduced and the majority of it comes from your adrenal glands.  Progesterone balances estrogen and is not only safe but crucial to maintain balance and good health.  In addition to balancing estrogen, natural progesterone does the following:

1. Helps you sleep
2. Has a natural calming effect
3. Lowers high blood pressure
4. Lowers cholesterol
5. Thickens scalp hair
6. May protect against breast cancer
7. Normalizes libido

In the premenopausal patient, progesterone levels may begin to decline as early as age 35.  There may be many reasons for this early decline.  Stress, antidepressants, sugar, saturated fats, vitamin deficiencies (A, B6, C & zinc) and decreased thyroid hormone are some of the common causes for this decline.  Low progesterone levels may be associated with anxiety, depression, irritability, mood swings, insomnia, pain and inflammation, osteoporosis, low HDL and excessive menstruation. 

Progesterone can be obtained in its natural state from soybeans and Mexican yams.  Natural progesterone is biologically identical to what you produce.    Prescription synthetic progestins (Provera®, medroxy progesterone acetate and the progestins found in birth control pills) are NOT progesterone and have very different and usually deleterious effects in the body.  A recent study has shown that synthetic progestins increase the risk of breast cancer by 800% as compared to estrogen alone!

Side effects of synthetic progestins include increased appetite, weight gain, fluid retention, irritability, depression, bloating, decreased energy,  breast tenderness, decreased sexual interest, acne, hair loss, nausea and insomnia to name a few.  In addition, progestins do not balance estrogen, remain in your body longer, causes spasm of your coronary arteries, counters the protective effects that estrogen has on your heart, increases LDL (bad cholesterol), decreases HDL (good cholesterol) and may make the symptoms of progesterone deficiency worse.

Clearly, natural progesterone is superior for hormone replacement than synthetic progestins.  The best source of natural progesterone is from a reputable compounding pharmacy.  Your compounded formulation of natural progesterone will have an enzyme added to it to convert the diosgenin in the yam into progesterone.  Over-the-counter progesterone frequently does not contain this enzyme.  Balancing progesterone with estrogen is the key to correct hormone replacement therapy.  It is not enough to simply relieve symptoms since you may be taking excessive amounts of estrogen and not be in proper balance with progesterone.  A qualified, properly trained professional who is knowledgeable in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy can help you achieve proper hormone balance and symptom relief safely.

 

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