Progest E . A Decrease In My Progesterone Levels?

[Corinne Harding]

Hi there,
I have been using progest E for one and half months now and my progesterone level has dropped dramatically from March 28th when it was 2.34 ng/ml to 0.4 ng/ml May 14th. ( I had been using another product which was progesterone and coconut oil, "progestelle")

I have been taking 3 drops of progest E before bed everyday and sometimes 3 drops in the morning as well thinking I was boosting my progesterone level and ousting any excess estrogen. I stopped for a few days after the first month, as recommended, and then started again.

I bought the progest E from a company in the UK and have kept it refrigerated as instructed since it arrived. Any ideas why my levels would have dropped? I have up to 30+ severe hot flushes/ 24hr and sleep is really poor at the moment as I wake up in hot sweats what seems constantly, never getting more than and hour or two of uninterrupted sleep. I was hoping the progest E would help after reading so much here, has anyone had anything similar happen with progest E?

 

[Jennifer]

Hi @Corinne Harding!

Do you know where you were at in your cycle when both tests were taken, since I see the first test was taken at the end of the month and the second was taken mid-month? It's my understanding that our progesterone level rises during our cycle so around March 28th may be when your progesterone level is naturally at its highest?

The hot flashes — did you have them prior to taking Progest-E or just when you started using it?

 

[Corinne Harding]

Hi @Corinne Harding!

Do you know where you were at in your cycle when both tests were taken, since I see the first test was taken at the end of the month and the second was taken mid-month? It's my understanding that our progesterone level rises during our cycle so around March 28th may be when your progesterone level is naturally at its highest?

The hot flashes — did you have them prior to taking Progest-E or just when you started using it?

Hi Jennifer,

Thank you for getting back to me.
I do not have a cycle as such, I had a hysterectomy back in 2010 due to a large benign uterine fibroid and unfortunately the surgeon decided to remove both my ovaries as well due to the fact that I was 50 and 'over the hill' as it were in his mind!

In hind sight I know this op was not necessary but look on the upside that I have been led into this 'new' world of self learning and awareness of body and mind because of it.

I did have the hot flushes before taking Progest E but they were not so frequent and severe.

 

[Jennifer]

Hi Jennifer,

Thank you for getting back to me.
I do not have a cycle as such, I had a hysterectomy back in 2010 due to a large benign uterine fibroid and unfortunately the surgeon decided to remove both my ovaries as well due to the fact that I was 50 and 'over the hill' as it were in his mind!

In hind sight I know this op was not necessary but look on the upside that I have been led into this 'new' world of self learning and awareness of body and mind because of it.

I did have the hot flushes before taking Progest E but they were not so frequent and severe.

Oh, geez! Sorry you went through that, Corinne. I'm glad you feel positive about where it led you. I feel the same way about my trials.

I had hot flashes from Progest-E, but I had a bad experience with it overall which isn't too common so I'm probably not one to go by. Some say it's a symptom of estrogen leaving the tissues, but I'm not sure if that's true or not. I never saw a rise in my estrogen or prolactin levels while taking it. Maybe some of the other ladies here will chime in with their experiences with it.

I hope you get it straightened out and start feeling better soon. :)

 

[Dolomite]

Hi @Corrine Harding, I have not used Progest-E. I have been trying to get my health on track with diet. I am post menopausal but I still have ovaries so I probably make some progesterone.

I used a progesterone cream for 3 years about 8 years ago. I initially tried using more and more when estrogen symptoms increased but I never succeeded in getting rid of the estrogen symptoms. I backed off and only used tiny amounts and then eventually quit.

It could be that my health was not good enough to use progesterone, the cream was contaminated and not only progesterone, or that I did not use enough. I felt like my body was going to counter the progesterone every step of the way with estrogen. Sometimes I think I will try Progest-E but I don't want to damage the gains I have made.

I hope you can find the right combination.

 

[Corinne Harding]

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Thanks Jennifer for your imput and kind wishes, greatly appreciated!

 

[Corinne Harding]

Hi @Corrine Harding, I have not used Progest-E. I have been trying to get my health on track with diet. I am post menopausal but I still have ovaries so I probably make some progesterone.

I used a progesterone cream for 3 years about 8 years ago. I initially tried using more and more when estrogen symptoms increased but I never succeeded in getting rid of the estrogen symptoms. I backed off and only used tiny amounts and then eventually quit.

It could be that my health was not good enough to use progesterone, the cream was contaminated and not only progesterone, or that I did not use enough. I felt like my body was going to counter the progesterone every step of the way with estrogen. Sometimes I think I will try Progest-E but I don't want to damage the gains I have made.

I hope you can find the right combination.

Thank you for your time and caring, fingers crossed I'll get this sorted. It is good to hear and read about 'actual' real time cases and every experience brings knowledge in some form and shape.....Carpe Diem !

 

[Laura]

Oh, geez! Sorry you went through that, Corinne. I'm glad you feel positive about where it led you. I feel the same way about my trials.

I had hot flashes from Progest-E, but I had a bad experience with it overall which isn't too common so I'm probably not one to go by. Some say it's a symptom of estrogen leaving the tissues, but I'm not sure if that's true or not. I never saw a rise in my estrogen or prolactin levels while taking it. Maybe some of the other ladies here will chime in with their experiences with it.

I hope you get it straightened out and start feeling better soon. :)

I have recently asked the same thing about this progest-E oil, I live in Australia & bought 6 bottles from Kenogen in the US which I have kept in the fridge for 1yr now. l am onto my 3rd bottle now. l started taking it for 2wks of the month but recently read you should take it 3wks of the month @ 56yrs, so I started this about 2 to 4mnths ago. l also read this Peogest-E is not what they say it is quality wise although my Progesterone from 'blood' tests had gone from 0.5 to 1.6 over a 6 months period so maybe they are wrong. l went to see my GP recently who did Saliva hormone tests just before l started the Progest-E & l am going to have another Saliva hormone test taken soon to see if there is any change from 1yr ago via Saliva tests. They say Saliva tests are the only way to go as far as testing hormones.

 

[Jennifer]

I have recently asked the same thing about this progest-E oil, I live in Australia & bought 6 bottles from Kenogen in the US which I have kept in the fridge for 1yr now. l am onto my 3rd bottle now. l started taking it for 2wks of the month but recently read you should take it 3wks of the month @ 56yrs, so I started this about 2 to 4mnths ago. l also read this Peogest-E is not what they say it is quality wise although my Progesterone from 'blood' tests had gone from 0.5 to 1.6 over a 6 months period so maybe they are wrong. l went to see my GP recently who did Saliva hormone tests just before l started the Progest-E & l am going to have another Saliva hormone test taken soon to see if there is any change from 1yr ago via Saliva tests. They say Saliva tests are the only way to go as far as testing hormones.

My progesterone went from around .45 to over 11 within a few months (I was 33yrs old at the time) so with it being that high, it was surprising to me that it induced heavy bleeding for 10+ days straight every two weeks. Now my levels are just as high, but I have none of the negative effects I had while supplementing hormones. Do you feel saliva tests are accurate? My doctor wanted to test me via saliva, but Ray has said it isn't accurate so I've stuck with blood tests.

 

[danishispsychic]

Hi there,
I have been using progest E for one and half months now and my progesterone level has dropped dramatically from March 28th when it was 2.34 ng/ml to 0.4 ng/ml May 14th. ( I had been using another product which was progesterone and coconut oil, "progestelle")

I have been taking 3 drops of progest E before bed everyday and sometimes 3 drops in the morning as well thinking I was boosting my progesterone level and ousting any excess estrogen. I stopped for a few days after the first month, as recommended, and then started again.

I bought the progest E from a company in the UK and have kept it refrigerated as instructed since it arrived. Any ideas why my levels would have dropped? I have up to 30+ severe hot flushes/ 24hr and sleep is really poor at the moment as I wake up in hot sweats what seems constantly, never getting more than and hour or two of uninterrupted sleep. I was hoping the progest E would help after reading so much here, has anyone had anything similar happen with progest E?

I did not have a good reaction to Progest E- and gave up on trying to raise my progesterone all together. It just made my boobs big and made me gain weight. I work on getting rid of excess bad estrogen instead.

 

[Corinne Harding]

I did not have a good reaction to Progest E- and gave up on trying to raise my progesterone all together. It just made my boobs big and made me gain weight. I work on getting rid of excess bad estrogen instead.

Hi there, I have read that progesterone helps get rid of the excess estrogen bulit up in fat tissue over the years. Your boobs swelling could be just that, although I am certainly NO expert! Apparently, so I have read here in this forum , alot of people draw conclusions from their early 'sypmtoms' when starting progesterone but which infact are caused by the stored estrogen which is being released or 'pushed' out by the progesterone. About 8 years ago I had tried progest E for one month only and stopped as I developed carpel tunnel syndrome and immediately blamed the progest E, after reading alot more of Ray Peat's articles and a few years of slf learning I realised that the carpel was the excess estrogen and fluid bulid up in my body at the time...

 

[Obi-wan]

Wanted to chime in on this one. I have advanced prostate cancer and take Firmagon and Xtandi for androgen deprivation therapy. I was getting a lot of hot flashes until I started taking Natpro. A USP progesterone crème product. A @lisaferraro approved product (lisa correct me if I am wrong) I take about 100mgs per day (sometimes higher) and now hardly get any hot flashes Most people make a mistake and start to low on progesterone and get symptoms. I believe you have to go high in the beginning (couple hundred mgs to convert from estrogen dominance to progesterone dominance. Natural Progesterone Cream | Healthy Hormone Balance to Overcome Estrogen Dominant Symptoms, bio identical progesterone, natural progesterone cream.

Men also experience hot flashes. It can be caused by low testosterone, particularly in older men going through andropause. It can also happen during anti-androgen therapy for prostate or testicular cancer, or after removal of the testes.

"In average menopausal women require 100-200mg/day progesterone unless symptoms are severe. Once the hot flashes have started, it will only respond to levels of 400mg/day or more.
Men need 10-100mg/day progesterone, but 100mg/day and over will be needed to stop hot flashes."

I think starting to low on progesterone just wakes up the estrogen receptors and makes thing worse... @danishispsychic just stated a good example

 

[Corinne Harding]

Wanted to chime in on this one. I have advanced prostate cancer and take Firmagon and Xtandi for androgen deprivation therapy. I was getting a lot of hot flashes until I started taking Natpro. A USP progesterone crème product. A @lisaferraro approved product (lisa correct me if I am wrong) I take about 100mgs per day (sometimes higher) and now hardly get any hot flashes Most people make a mistake and start to low on progesterone and get symptoms. I believe you have to go high in the beginning (couple hundred mgs to convert from estrogen dominance to progesterone dominance. Natural Progesterone Cream | Healthy Hormone Balance to Overcome Estrogen Dominant Symptoms, bio identical progesterone, natural progesterone cream.

Men also experience hot flashes. It can be caused by low testosterone, particularly in older men going through andropause. It can also happen during anti-androgen therapy for prostate or testicular cancer, or after removal of the testes.

"In average menopausal women require 100-200mg/day progesterone unless symptoms are severe. Once the hot flashes have started, it will only respond to levels of 400mg/day or more.
Men need 10-100mg/day progesterone, but 100mg/day and over will be needed to stop hot flashes."

That is really interesting, thank you for your imput.
This may well be my case as it would explain why I am not having any 'joy' with whatever I do, the hot flushes continue~ I need to increase my progesterone dramatically for a short period to decrease the hot flashes and estrogen dominance. My blood tests from May 14th 2018 show estrogen at just 8 but I guess there could be alot stored still in my fat tissue. I shall contact Lisa too, thank you so much for the link too!

 

[danishispsychic]

Hi there, I have read that progesterone helps get rid of the excess estrogen bulit up in fat tissue over the years. Your boobs swelling could be just that, although I am certainly NO expert! Apparently, so I have read here in this forum , alot of people draw conclusions from their early 'sypmtoms' when starting progesterone but which infact are caused by the stored estrogen which is being released or 'pushed' out by the progesterone. About 8 years ago I had tried progest E for one month only and stopped as I developed carpel tunnel syndrome and immediately blamed the progest E, after reading alot more of Ray Peat's articles and a few years of slf learning I realised that the carpel was the excess estrogen and fluid bulid up in my body at the time...

yes i tried long term and still it did not work for me. other brands worked better - but when i stopped all together i got way healthier. just my body - i do better with low pufa and liver cleansing

 

[Obi-wan]

yes i tried long term and still it did not work for me. other brands worked better - but when i stopped all together i got way healthier. just my body - i do better with low pufa and liver cleansing

A healthy liver helps eliminate circulating estrogens. B Vitamins to the rescue. Do I hear Energin by IdeaLabs ala @haidut

My 500th post. Yay!

 

[Corinne Harding]

Congrats on your 500th post!
I have bought Energin and take it 3-4 times/week and my liver tests came back 2 weeks ago at SGOT 18 and SGPT 19, they are way better than when I was taking BHRT both estrogen gel and micronised progesterone. I think over the 5 years of taking BHRT my liver was working overtime!

 

[Corinne Harding]

yes i tried long term and still it did not work for me. other brands worked better - but when i stopped all together i got way healthier. just my body - i do better with low pufa and liver cleansing

Once my hot flashes go, I will try to get where you are and take as little as possible with max benefits! May I ask how old you are purely for comparative reasons. I am 57.
thanks and I wish you well

 

[Jennifer]

yes i tried long term and still it did not work for me. other brands worked better - but when i stopped all together i got way healthier. just my body - i do better with low pufa and liver cleansing

Same here, except it didn't matter the brand. I took Progest-E for over a year and the bleeding and other nasty symptoms only got worse, and I didn't have high estrogen to begin with. Diet alone is what worked for me.

 

[Obi-wan]

Once my hot flashes go, I will try to get where you are and take as little as possible with max benefits! May I ask how old you are purely for comparative reasons. I am 57.
thanks and I wish you well

Corinne my dear, at our age the more the better...Ray was all about progesterone. My daughter is 23 and was not getting her period and getting migraines. I put her on high dose Natpro in the right time of her cycle. No more migraines and the periods are back. She had done a saliva test which showed she was making cortisol instead of progesterone on the back end of her cycle (College stress) Natpro changed that

 

[lollipop]

Wanted to chime in on this one. I have advanced prostate cancer and take Firmagon and Xtandi for androgen deprivation therapy. I was getting a lot of hot flashes until I started taking Natpro. A USP progesterone crème product. A @lisaferraro approved product (lisa correct me if I am wrong) I take about 100mgs per day (sometimes higher) and now hardly get any hot flashes Most people make a mistake and start to low on progesterone and get symptoms. I believe you have to go high in the beginning (couple hundred mgs to convert from estrogen dominance to progesterone dominance. Natural Progesterone Cream | Healthy Hormone Balance to Overcome Estrogen Dominant Symptoms, bio identical progesterone, natural progesterone cream.

Men also experience hot flashes. It can be caused by low testosterone, particularly in older men going through andropause. It can also happen during anti-androgen therapy for prostate or testicular cancer, or after removal of the testes.

"In average menopausal women require 100-200mg/day progesterone unless symptoms are severe. Once the hot flashes have started, it will only respond to levels of 400mg/day or more.
Men need 10-100mg/day progesterone, but 100mg/day and over will be needed to stop hot flashes."

I think starting to low on progesterone just wakes up the estrogen receptors and makes thing worse... @danishispsychic just stated a good example

Hi @Obi-wan @Corinne Harding @danishispsychic

Here is the deal, I started out on Progest-e in May 2015 low dose ignoring the instructions to take 5 x a day for two weeks because? “I knew better of course - lol” I suffered horribly - became way more estrogen dominant and blamed progest-e pretty much like a lot of people I see posting on here. Stopped it after a few months.

Continued to suffer and then then sometime in 2016 I kept feeling that I needed to try progesterone again. So I started researching it. Between Peatarian’s posts on this forum encouraging high high doses initially AND Wray’s site (Dalton as well), I became convinced my mistake was way tooooo low amounts. Having to decide whether to use natpro or progest-e, my inner intuition said progest-e.

SO I bought 6 bottles and jumped from 40 milligrams to 200 in one day. INSTANT relief, than I continued to bump it up to at times 400 or 500 milligrams a day. This high dose which was daily between 200-500 mg continued for 6 or so months until I began to feel that I did not need as much, that I had finally made my system progesterone dominant. I slowly weaned back down to maybe 80mg a day - Daily for about a year and then I began to feel the need for only 14 days on 14 days off following cyclical flow. THEN after that I weaned back down to 20mg 14 days on and 14 days off. I feel amazing and no longer struggle with symptoms.

You all have choice as to which product works for you best or which product you are being led to. I humbly would like to suggest that rather than bashing a certain product (most people bash progest-e) that it is not the product but rather user error. UNLESS the product contains an excipient that does not agree with your system. They all will work. Which one are you drawn to?

There is a lot of fear mongering around progesterone. Read Peatarian’s posts. They are helpful to overcome fear. Also, please make note that high doses are not required forever. They are short term to reorganize your system.

Hope this helps

Best of luck to you all!

Edit: I did notice that it took also focusing on healing my liver at the same time. I think that also helped my success with high dose progesterone and why I could eventually come off and feel wonderful. @Jennifer maybe that could have been blocking some of your success?