Natural progesterone is the name of a specific hormone that is made in the female ovaries as well as in the placenta during pregnancy. It is known as the “anti-stress, anti-anxiety hormone” and works in tandem with estrogen.

If your progesterone levels become too low, as happens with many women due to a variety of causes, estrogen becomes dominant causing a range of troublesome symptoms.

Progesterone ripens the thickened endometrium so that it can be implanted with a fertilised egg – hence its name “pro” “gesta

Progesterone is also responsible for making alot of other important hormones such as estrogen and testosterone.

Although a controlled clinical research study has yet to be done on the use of the cream, woman from all over the world are finding that it is improving their Pre menstral tension, post natal issues, menopausal symptoms, heavy bleeding/ painful periods and increasing the chances of conceiving and carrying a baby to full term.

Woman are moving away from the traditional synthetic HRT therapies that carry an unacceptable risk of cardio vascular disease and breast cancer and turning to hormones that are identical to what your body would make, hence risks are reduced.

The cream is made from diogensin, an extract from the wild mexican yam or soy bean, it is converted into progesterone in the pharmacy, the myth that it is not natural as it is chemically made up in a pharmacy is not true as the molecular structure of the hormone still remains identical to that your own body would make, therefore it is natural.

Interest in bioidentical hormones increased when the Women’s Health Initiative study examining conventional hormone replacement therapy reported previously unappreciated risks; the resulting negative publicity left many women seeking alternative treatments that were percieved as safer. Compounded BHRT has been endorsed and popularized by Suzanne Somers.

Terminology

“Bioidentical” describes hormones that exactly duplicate the molecular structure of those created by the human body^[8] and has been used in FDA packaging inserts since before 1998. Manufactured on an indiustrial scale, the hormones are available as commercial products available in standardized doses. Compounding pharmacies use bulk quantities to prepare individualized doses, prescriptions and delivery systems based on prescriptions. The lack of distinction between bioidentical hormones and BHRT has added to the confusion and lack of understanding.^[9]

Patients requesting “bioidentical” hormones may not be clear on what they are asking for. What is sought may be individual or tailored hormone replacements, and the marketing and advertising of BHRT has resulted in a significant increase in its popularity. Compounded BHRT has been promoted as a treatment that could improve the symptoms of menopause without the risks of conventional hormone replacement therapy.

Sourced from WIKIPEDIA

Interest in bioidentical hormones increased when the Women’s Health Initiative study examining conventional hormone replacement therapy reported previously unappreciated risks; the resulting negative publicity left many women seeking alternative treatments that were percieved as safer. Compounded BHRT has been endorsed and popularized by Suzanne Somers.

Terminology

“Bioidentical” describes hormones that exactly duplicate the molecular structure of those created by the human body^[8] and has been used in FDA packaging inserts since before 1998. Manufactured on an indiustrial scale, the hormones are available as commercial products available in standardized doses. Compounding pharmacies use bulk quantities to prepare individualized doses, prescriptions and delivery systems based on prescriptions. The lack of distinction between bioidentical hormones and BHRT has added to the confusion and lack of understanding.^[9]

Patients requesting “bioidentical” hormones may not be clear on what they are asking for. What is sought may be individual or tailored hormone replacements, and the marketing and advertising of BHRT has resulted in a significant increase in its popularity. Compounded BHRT has been promoted as a treatment that could improve the symptoms of menopause without the risks of conventional hormone replacement therapy.

Sourced from WIKIPEDIA

A new baby should be a time of happiness, joy, hope, it is a time that most of us look forward to.

It can be very unexpected and frightening to suddenly feel like your world has come crashing down once your baby is born or even in the months that follow.

Symptoms can occur sometimes during pregnancy but mostly once the baby is born and usually anywhere up to six months later which can last for years if left untreated.

They include feelings of anxiety, depression, sometimes extreme to the point where you may feel you cannot even leave your house, insomnia, anger, tearfulness, guilt, hopelessness, helplessness, loss of control, some woman also experience thoughts of harming themselves and the baby, all of which are quite normal if you feel there is no way out.

It is important to know you are not alone, statistics show around 15 per cent of mothers will experience some form of PND within the first six months, this figure is likely to be far higher as many mothers simply do not seek or ask for help or fall through the cracks of their health care workers, such as their GP or midwife.

There are a lot of overwhelming factors that can contribute to PND/anxiety, such as sleep deprivation, broken sleep, feeling house bound, trapped, loss of  job, income, change of usual routine, isolation,  (not mixing with other adults), stressful pregnancy, childbirth, self image changes, weight gain, lack of vitamins/minerals, estrogen dominance, premature birth, difficult baby (colic) silent reflux, baby born to down syndrome, loss of baby,  poor support, previous or current mental health conditions that can often flare up again following the stress of pregnancy or childbirth.

During pregnancy the hormones estrogen and progesterone rise in volume by 30 to 50 times.

This creates the morning sickness, increase in urination, and tiredness as the hormones reach a peak and then level off, during this time you should feel better than the first three months.
By the third trimester your body will be producing 300 to 400 mg of progesterone per day.

In some pregnancies the placenta does not produce enough progesterone, which can lead to feelings of depression/anxiety  even before the baby is born.

However, most post natal symptoms usually occur a few months after the baby is born, but it takes only three days post birth for the hormones to plummet and return to normal.
75 per cent of your hormones are lost through your placenta when the baby is born.

It is not surprising you may be feel anxious and depressed.
Some woman have also experienced an increase in post natal anxiety following IVF.
A study of 27 new mothers  carried out in 1976 showed those at greatest risk of depression/anxiety following birth also had the greatest drop of progesterone levels.
Highly regarded American Obstetrician Dr Christiane Northrup recommends woman at risk of post natal should start using progesterone cream the minute the baby is born.
I would always take a saliva test as a first line approach for woman with post natal issues, to check their progesterone levels before looking at anti depressants.
This is not to say that I would not recommend anti depressants/ or hospitalisation if I felt the need based on ten years as an RN with acute mental health experience.

Research has also shown that those woman who suffer from PMS are more likely to get Post Natal Depression (PND) as the symptoms and predisposition  for estrogen dominance is already there and has likely gone on for many years without treatment, there is often a link to family, for example if your mother/grandmother/ suffered from PMS/post natal depression/ fibroids, heavy bleeding, hysterectomy, research is now showing  that it is likely you may be prone to the same symptoms your mother had.

A simple saliva test will check whether you are estrogen dominant, the use of the progesterone cream 20mg twice a day on days 14-28 of your cycle will increase your progesterone levels and make estrogen the less dominant hormone that appears to be causing the array of symptoms outlined above.

Optimal levels with woman on transdermal progesterone cream should be around 5-10nmol/L although this can vary from woman to woman.

From personal experience and years of dealing with PMS right from when my first period occurred and getting worse with age, at 39 -years old my intolerable symptoms have almost gone completely with the ongoing use of trans dermal progesterone cream.

Woman from all over the world are raving about the cream and how their PMS is greatly improved.

One in six couples will experience infertility and one in four pregnancies will end in miscarriage.

Infertility can put enourmous pressure/strain  on relationships, it creates an environment of guilt/ blame and also isolation.

At the time of your life when all your friends are going off to kids birthday parties, talking about breast feeding and birthing and attending coffee groups or PND classess you are left feeling more isolated and desperate than ever to share in that experience.

It must be one of the most horrific things to go through if both you are your partner really want that experience, it is what life is about after all.

There are many reasons why a woman may not fall pregnant or suffer from multiple miscarriages.

Your doctor will run tests to find out if there is any underlying medical condition’s in you and your partner to find a probable cause.

In many circumstances infertility can be what is termed as unexplained, this means that there is no underlying medical reason why a woman cannot fall pregnant

Factors can include stress, endometriosis, immune problems, pelvic inflammatory disease, irregular ovulation, hormonal problems, poor state of health/ nutrition to name a few.
Dr John Lee MD on bioidentical hormones believes estrogen dominance is reaching near epidemic proportions around woman in their mid thirties.
Excess estrogens seems to stimulate the ovaries to over produce follicles which combined with delayed child bearing results in early burn out of the follicles.
Dr Lee recommends that these woman use the progesterone cream from day five-26 of their cycle(stopping only to bring on menstruation) and use it only after ovulation.
He recommends not to stop the cream until the third month of pregnancy to prevent the endometrial lining from shedding, causing miscarriage.
Vitamin C, Folic Acid, Omega and Zinc should be used as essential minerals prior to and during pregnancy.
Along with progesterone cream, new research which is having fantastic results but still in its early stages of testing is a procedure called (Lipiodol uterine bathing)
Lipiodol is a poppy seed oil injected into the uterus to help make the egg stick to the endometrial lining, similar to a glue or a venous fly trap to prevent the egg from slipping away.
It will not work on woman who have blocked fallopian tubes or any underlying medical conditions that will prevent the oil from working.
Dr Shelley Reilly on 021 915771 or www.nurture.org.nz will give you more information.
Pregnancy by use of natural methods such as progesterone cream or lipiodol oil can prevent a woman from going through the expense and stress of invasive IVF.

Low dose aspirin 75mg is also now being commonly used once a woman has conceived for the first 3 months.

In medical terms in means ‘around the time of menopause.’

A time of the dreaded and embarrassing hot flushes, night sweats, fluctuating libido and emotions, heavy or irregular bleeding, anxiety, insomnia, depression.

The use of progesterone cream will not stop menopause from happening but will ease the ghastly symptoms, as woman age progesterone levels decline significantly.

Woman who have had a full or partial hysterectomy will benefit from progesterone cream as even if the ovaries are left they tend to stop functioning one to three years after the hysterectomy.
Low dose estrogen may be included if the woman has had  full hysterectomy (ovaries removed) in conjunction with progesterone.

Symptoms tend to include all those of estrogen dominance, as your  progesterone levels start to decline as we age but an occur at any age if progesterone is low.

Cold/hands and feet, sudden weight gain, very heavy or light periods, foggy thinking, memory loss, lack of libido(sex drive) bleeding between periods, fatigue,  PMS, anxiety, depression, PND, difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a baby to full term, endometriosis, fibroids and  lumpy/droopy breasts (fibrocystic breasts)  to name a few.

Correct doseage of progesterone cream has been shown to dramatically reduce these symptoms, 20mg progesterone twice a day from day 12-28.

During your pre menopausal phase your hormones are in a constant state of change.

A hormone could read very low one day then very high the next.

A saliva test should act as a guide only, it is best for YOU to gauge your hormonal changes and keep yourself in balance through the monitoring of your symptoms and when they tend to occur.

It is during this period that you need to make some lifestyle changes, such as increase the amount of excersise you do, lessen any stress, watch what you are eating,  keeping your hormones balanced is a lifetime challenge, but one you will not regret.

At this stage of your life not only would you expect your progesterone levels to be low but it is likely that you will be lacking in estrogen, testosterone and DHEA.

Besides regular use of progesterone cream it may be beneficial to add some DHEA/ estrogen or testosterone.

DHEA is the feel good hormone produced by your adrenal glands and works well in woman around the pre/peri/post menopausal phase when used with the progesterone/estrogen creams.

Most Gp’s will do a blood test.

A blood test does not provide an accurate picture of available hormones, as most of the hormones in your body are unusable-tightly bound to proteins in the bloodstream.

Only 1 to 2 per cent escape the bindings and are free bioavailable to enter tissues throughout the body.

Conventional blood tests measure only the total level of hormones in the blood stream.

One of the tissues that  bioavailable hormones enter is the saliva gland, which passes freely into the saliva.

During your pre menopausal phase your hormones will be in a constantly changing, they could read very low one day, then very high the next.

My advice to woman on the cream and who do the saliva testing is to gauge for themselves how they are feeling by keeping a daily diary, or simly monitoring your symtoms.

If for example saliva levels are reading consistanly high and your symtoms seem to have reduced or gone away then stopping the cream for a few months and re checking your saliva tests may be an option.

Saliva testing is easy, no pricking involved.

We have a ready supply of saliva test kits with instructions, we simply post you the tests, you send it to the lab in a courier bag for $28.12, your results will be send to me via the Christchurch laboratory.

My role as a Registered Nurse is to then go over the results and do a comprehensive assessment and work out what  will work for you as an individual.

It is not just about using the cream, we go through a full one hours assessment with a questionare and  look at any underlying issues such as diet, exercise,  minerals. vitamins, stress , previous medical history.

In some cases you may not even need the progesterone cream and there may be a need for further tests carried out on your other hormones such as estrogens or testosterone, DHEA or you simply require some life style changes/counselling or looking into any other underlying medical conditions.

Maintaining hormonal harmony will occur over the rest of your life and our relationship with you will be ongoing.

Maintain your own  diary on what your symptoms are and monitor how they improve, based on the initial questionnaire.

A low progesterone reading for a woman would be anywhere under 1.5nmol/L. This is the same for a testosterone reading.

It is the aim to raise this to between 3 and 10nmol/L using the creams.