Does Progesterone Accumulate In The Fatty Tissues?

[Ben]

I know that rubbing progest-E on areas of the body that have fat tissue, extend its half-life to several months, and progest-E administered to the gums like RP recommends is very fast-acting. Does progest-E in the blood like from gum administration get "caught" by fat tissue and build up, like fat-soluble vitamins?

I wonder if one could show their "real levels" for a blood test, just by stopping progest-E. It should probably take only a day or two, since gum-administered progest-E has a short half-life, correct? But the progesterone in fat tissue is a concern too, if one wants to show their "true" progesterone level.

 

[aguilaroja]

... Does progest-E in the blood like from gum administration get "caught" by fat tissue and build up, like fat-soluble vitamins?

I wonder if one could show their "real levels" for a blood test, just by stopping progest-E. It should probably take only a day or two, since gum-administered progest-E has a short half-life, correct? But the progesterone in fat tissue is a concern too, if one wants to show their "true" progesterone level.

When external events were causing great physiologic demands a few years ago, I used sizable amount of Progest-E to the gums. When checking various labs, the serum and saliva progesterone levels were very high.

After the demands subsided and I was able to rapidly reduce the Progest-E use, the serum and saliva levels rapidly (less than 2 weeks-I only tested once) returned to the normal ('age adjusted") levels. By experience and by lab testing, there appeared to be no pronounced fat reservoir storage of progesterone. I cannot say precisely if an accumulated effect would mainly wash out in a few days or less.

 

[ampersand]

[moderataor edit: threads merged]


Dr. Edward Zimmer, M.S., D.C. wrote this article describing the hormone imbalances he witnessed in his patients after they were using bioidentical hormone creams. He argues that because the progesterone accumulates in the fatty tissues, one ends up getting unnaturally high levels of progesterone throughout the hormonal cycle, and this in turn causes levels of other hormones such as estrogen and testosterone to rise, throwing everything wildly off balance.

Here is the article: Progesterone Cream Dangers | Zimmer Nutrition

Has Peat addressed this anywhere? Has anyone using Progest-e seen similar results to what Dr. Zimmer claims to have seen in his patients?

It seems like enough studies have been done with progesterone, that we would see more reports like this if what Dr. Zimmer were saying was true.

What do you think?

 

[tara]

I don't have the expertise to assess all of this. This is how it seems to me.

It seems the problems he is pointing to in that article are from topical creams. He could well be right that that allows the progesterone to store and build up in fat tissue.
That it not the same as what Peat usually recommends for improving hormone balance.
His patent for progesterone in vit-E was intended to be taken rubbed into the gums, so that absorption would be fairly quick. Theoretically, this should allow one to assess some of the effects quite quickly. For instance, he has for some cases suggested taking 10mg, waiting 10 mins and taking another dose, and continuing to take more doses every 10 mins till symptom relief occurs. This avoids the risk of severe sedation from taking more than our system can handle in the short-term.

Peat sometimes suggests taking progest-e from after ovulation till before menstruation. Since it should not store so much for slow release, that would mean not having the supplement-elevated progesterone in the system all the time.
Because of the delivery method, it also means that the levels should not continue accumulate and remain elevated long after use is discontinued.

He also has said that if symptoms are severe it is OK to take enough continuously to keep symptoms at bay, and at times suggested topical application for local issues, so these could have different effects on timing, but this is not the main use he recommends.

Some of use here have taken quite high doses for particular reasons, but as with anything, it makes sense to watch the effect on symptoms, not just blindly continuing to take something that is causing more harm than good.

From your linked article:
"I can tell you that I rarely find levels of estrogen that out of the normal range in my patients. This observation alone would seem to argue against the presence of estrogen dominance. But just like everything related to health, the story is not so simple and/or straight-forward."
This looks as though he is not aware of the tissue-bound estrogen issues Peat has written about.

 

[ampersand]

Tara, those are all excellent points, thanks for helping me think this through! I now remember reading most of the things that you've pointed out, but I got myself into a temporary panic and forgot it all after reading Zimmer's article.

 

[tara]

This looks as though he is not aware of the tissue-bound estrogen issues Peat has written about.

Tissue-bound estrogen in aging