Re: Progesterone

Is there any benefit to at some point taking only progesterone? I see
a lot of web sites that claim there is. Is there any harm in it?

x-no-archive: yes

Miss Trish wrote:
> Is there any benefit to at some point taking only progesterone? I see
> a lot of web sites that claim there is. Is there any harm in it?

It's a steroid hormone, and if you have more than you need/should, your
whole endocrine feedback loop will respond and possibly go out of whack.

I've come to believe that it's important to test levels of all these
hormones and to evaluate them in relation to one another before
treating. This is what my endocrinologist does, repeatedly.

Susan

On Mar 20, 11:32 am, Susan <neverm...@nomail.com> wrote:
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> Miss Trish wrote:
> > Is there any benefit to at some point taking only progesterone? I see
> > a lot of web sites that claim there is. Is there any harm in it?
>
> It's a steroid hormone, and if you have more than you need/should, your
> whole endocrine feedback loop will respond and possibly go out of whack.
>
> I've come to believe that it's important to test levels of all these
> hormones and to evaluate them in relation to one another before
> treating. This is what my endocrinologist does, repeatedly.
>
> Susan

here is where i continue to be bewildered (ok, not just here, but...)
i still don't understand how anyone can get reliable measures of the
hormones most greatly impacted by the fluctuations during peri. i
know that this was just discussed again on another thread. & i know
that some people, like vliet, claim that measurement during beginning,
middle, & end of the menstrual cycle provide enough info to gauge
treatment. but my own lab results at these points certainly don't
provide reliable data (ie - bizarrely high estrogen levels early in
cycle). unless you are referring to post-meno readings, after things
have calmed down.

i know that there are plenty of women using bioidentical hormones
during peri & i don't see how they do this, unless i am missing
something really obvious.

ellen, still searching for enlightenment

x-no-archive: yes

ellen wrote:

> here is where i continue to be bewildered (ok, not just here, but...)
> i still don't understand how anyone can get reliable measures of the
> hormones most greatly impacted by the fluctuations during peri. i
> know that this was just discussed again on another thread. & i know
> that some people, like vliet, claim that measurement during beginning,
> middle, & end of the menstrual cycle provide enough info to gauge
> treatment. but my own lab results at these points certainly don't
> provide reliable data (ie - bizarrely high estrogen levels early in
> cycle). unless you are referring to post-meno readings, after things
> have calmed down.

I'm post meno, so that's less of an issue for me, but in peri I think
you have to go by more trial and error. But if you're very deficient,
you're going to fall below the reference range for any age group. In
cycling women, measuring at certain parts of the cycle provides another
reference range.

>
> i know that there are plenty of women using bioidentical hormones
> during peri & i don't see how they do this, unless i am missing
> something really obvious.

How I did it was to take the dose that rid me of the debilitating
symptoms immediately, then took some months to verrrrry sloooowly taper
to the lowest dose that allowed me to function and feel human.

>
> ellen, still searching for enlightenment

Give it up, already! The more I learn, the less I know! ;-)

Susan

On Mar 20, 2:27 pm, Susan <neverm...@nomail.com> wrote:
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> ellen wrote:
> > here is where i continue to be bewildered (ok, not just here, but...)
> > i still don't understand how anyone can get reliable measures of the
> > hormones most greatly impacted by the fluctuations during peri. i
> > know that this was just discussed again on another thread. & i know
> > that some people, like vliet, claim that measurement during beginning,
> > middle, & end of the menstrual cycle provide enough info to gauge
> > treatment. but my own lab results at these points certainly don't
> > provide reliable data (ie - bizarrely high estrogen levels early in
> > cycle). unless you are referring to post-meno readings, after things
> > have calmed down.
>
> I'm post meno, so that's less of an issue for me, but in peri I think
> you have to go by more trial and error. But if you're very deficient,
> you're going to fall below the reference range for any age group. In
> cycling women, measuring at certain parts of the cycle provides another
> reference range.
>
>
>
> > i know that there are plenty of women using bioidentical hormones
> > during peri & i don't see how they do this, unless i am missing
> > something really obvious.
>
> How I did it was to take the dose that rid me of the debilitating
> symptoms immediately, then took some months to verrrrry sloooowly taper
> to the lowest dose that allowed me to function and feel human.
>
>
>
> > ellen, still searching for enlightenment
>
> Give it up, already! The more I learn, the less I know! ;-)
>
> Susan

thanks, susan. i don't think i am really deficient yet, or at least
my numbers for estradiol still all look within the ranges that are
given as low baselines for feeling good (but my cycles are ranging
from 18 to 50 days). i think it is the fluctuations that are killing
me. just as the pms has done all my life. just as puberty beat me
up. but this is way worse than all the other times combined. the
states just change so quickly at times, like i'm in an out of control
bumper car ride (then there is the occasional get thrown out of the
car & get run over...). i spent all day yesterday as a 14 yr old -
happy & horrified/overjoyed & overwrought.

somewhat human today, anyway - which meant go to the zen center & eat
some sublime unidentifiable lunch while all the buddhists ate without
talking but while listening to a scratchy album of the sound of
music. how does one solve a problem like maria?

btw, 'give it up already'/'the more i learn, the less i know' does
sound like enlightenment.... ;-)

"Miss Trish" wrote:
> Is there any benefit to at some point taking only progesterone? I see
> a lot of web sites that claim there is. Is there any harm in it?

Last summer, my ob/gyn put me on progesterone only. She said something about
a build-up of estrogen on the uterine wall, and the standard of care
treatment is to put a woman on that. She said I might have some PMS
symptoms. OMG! What an understated misrepresentation! Never have I been so
miserable in my whole life as I was on that stuff. I'd rather consume rat
poison than go back on provera. Nasty, nasty stuff!

When I complained to her of how badly I felt, she switched me to the natural
hormone, Prometrium, and the symptoms eased some. But it was a bad chapter
in my life. What really irks me is I had a second opinion consult with
another ob/gyn in Aug., and he looked over the biopsy results from the test
my doctor had performed, and it was his opinion I probably didn't even need
to be on progesterone at all. Apparently, the lab results showed only a
slight build-up of estrogen in one very small area of the uterus. I was so
furious with that first doctor! I dumped her like radioactive waste and
signed on with the new one.

There is no amount of money, or privilege, or treat great enough to get me
back on progesterone.

Kimmy

"HotFlashesColdTears" <kimstar2856@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:L2FFj.19912$xq2.12917@newssvr21.news.prodigy. net...
> "Miss Trish" wrote:
> > Is there any benefit to at some point taking only progesterone? I see
>> a lot of web sites that claim there is. Is there any harm in it?
>
> Last summer, my ob/gyn put me on progesterone only. She said something
> about a build-up of estrogen on the uterine wall, and the standard of care
> treatment is to put a woman on that. She said I might have some PMS
> symptoms. OMG! What an understated misrepresentation! Never have I been so
> miserable in my whole life as I was on that stuff. I'd rather consume rat
> poison than go back on provera. Nasty, nasty stuff!
>
> When I complained to her of how badly I felt, she switched me to the
> natural hormone, Prometrium, and the symptoms eased some. But it was a bad
> chapter in my life. What really irks me is I had a second opinion consult
> with another ob/gyn in Aug., and he looked over the biopsy results from
> the test my doctor had performed, and it was his opinion I probably didn't
> even need to be on progesterone at all. Apparently, the lab results showed
> only a slight build-up of estrogen in one very small area of the uterus. I
> was so furious with that first doctor! I dumped her like radioactive waste
> and signed on with the new one.
>
> There is no amount of money, or privilege, or treat great enough to get me
> back on progesterone.
>
> Kimmy

Progesterone seems to be the *in thing* for some docs. It was a favourite of
Dr John Lee and Dr Jerilynn Prior. Not only MD's but naturopaths too.My
friend went to a naturopath/MD for relief of her severe hot flashes and she
walked out of his office with a script for bioidentical progesterone cream.
She followed the dosage to a tee and her hot flashes skyrocketed, even when
she dropped the dose she still felt like crap. Needless to say she stopped
using it and made the decision to tough things out then she found really
good relief using a product called Nutrifem (sp), something made from mung
beans. This product was endorsed by a Canadian broadcaster named Dini Petty
in Toronto who wanted to get off of HRT.

Roseanne

On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:47:52 -0500, "foggydoggy"
<foggydoggy@cogeco.ca> wrote:

>and Dr Jerilynn Prior.

Most recently with a study comparing Provera to Premarin as a therapy
for hot flashes following premenopausal ovariectomy . [PMID: 17419685
] The Provera worked equally as well as the estrogen. The next study
will compare Prometrium treatment to placebo on post menopause hot
flashes.

http://www.cemcor.ubc.ca/get_involve...ne_hot_flushes

Me? I'm munching on walnuts.

Kathryn