Progesterone Protocol

[Emstar1892]

Hey everyone!

I've been prescribed a natural bioidentical progesterone cream by a compounding pharmacy in London. It's 20mg per pump. I'm a 24 year old with a regular 28 day cycle, but I've been producing next to no progesterone for a while after months of chronically producing cortisol. Unfortunately, i'm incredibly confused about dosage.

My doctor has put me on 20mg a day (1 pump) from days 5-28 of my cycle. She said that after 2 months I could increase to 40mg if need be.

I've been taking it for 20 days so far (currently on day 23 of cycle). She asked me to report my symptoms a few days ago, so I did. They were:

*Bloating/water retention (rings don't fit)
*Skin breakout
*Slightly raised pulse
*Day 15 spotting (which I've never had before)

She then backtracked and told me to reduce to half a pump, but I don't want to. I feel like this is adjustment, not failure/rejection. So...I won't.

I'm confused because on Ray Peat's side he writes: "In a 10% solution of progesterone in vitamin E, one drop contains about three milligrams of progesterone. Normally, the body produces 10 to 20 milligrams per day. A dose of 3 or 4 drops usually brings the blood levels up to the normal range, but this dose can be repeated several times during the day if it is needed to control symptoms." So his advice can be interpreted in many different ways in my case.

On ProgesteroneTherapy.com, they advocate 200mg to start with! They also say to restrict it to days 14-28.

What do you all make of the dosage? What would you suggest that it should be? Am I missing something here?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Emstar1892]

Or to put it more simply, do any of you take >20mg, or take it every single day of your cycle?

 

[tara]

Quoting myself from yesterday:

Exactly how much is most useful probably depends on our own state (we vary quite a bit), and maybe how severe the symptoms are that you are wanting to address. Some personal experimentation may be needed.

Here's one possible way to approach dosage:
https://www.longnaturalhealth.com/content/DrPeatsProgestEInstructions.pdf *

* That document refers to it as Dr Peat's progesterone formulation, but AIUI, it is not exactly to Peat's patented specification (though similar and useful to many of us), and Peat is not associated with the production or selling of it, and has no financial interest in it.

I started out with the 3 drops x5/day, with the intention of stopping after two weeks for menstruation. But menstruation started anyway befoere I go t to that, and I didn't want to stop, so I kept going. Dosage gradually crept up over the months, and got a bit less measured, and hard to remember x5 sometimes. I'm down to smaller regular doses now -~3 drops x2. The only possible negatives I've had were I think from erratic dosing (triggering menstruation), and hard to move after much higher doses when trying to stop migraine (at least 100mg over a couple of hours, but maybe as much as 200mg).

One of the reasons I like the progest-e is that the gum delivery is quick, whereas I've read that skin delivery can sometimes accumulate in fat for uncontrolled later release, making it harder to assess suitable dosage, and also potentially continuing to be released into the system after you've stopped.

One theory says that a small dose of progeterone can be enough to draw some of the estrogen out of tissues into circulation, but not be enough to counteract it fully. I think this is part of the logic for starting with higher doses.

I don't have confidence or qualification to advise what you do, but I don't think of 20mg as a high dose. Some here have taken much much more for a time.

 

[Emstar1892]

Quoting myself from yesterday:


I started out with the 3 drops x5/day, with the intention of stopping after two weeks for menstruation. But menstruation started anyway befoere I go t to that, and I didn't want to stop, so I kept going. Dosage gradually crept up over the months, and got a bit less measured, and hard to remember x5 sometimes. I'm down to smaller regular doses now -~3 drops x2. The only possible negatives I've had were I think from erratic dosing (triggering menstruation), and hard to move after much higher doses when trying to stop migraine (at least 100mg over a couple of hours, but maybe as much as 200mg).

One of the reasons I like the progest-e is that the gum delivery is quick, whereas I've read that skin delivery can sometimes accumulate in fat for uncontrolled later release, making it harder to assess suitable dosage, and also potentially continuing to be released into the system after you've stopped.

One theory says that a small dose of progeterone can be enough to draw some of the estrogen out of tissues into circulation, but not be enough to counteract it fully. I think this is part of the logic for starting with higher doses.

I don't have confidence or qualification to advise what you do, but I don't think of 20mg as a high dose. Some here have taken much much more for a time.

Thanks Tara, and thank you for elaborating on your previous response :) that's really weird, I tried to do an extensive search and couldn't bring up any responses like the one you quoted. Maybe I was just unlucky with the keywords!

I think I'll continue then, until the estrogen symptoms subside.

One amazing positive is that since I started it my hypoglycemia symptoms have reduced slightly - usually I'm shaking by midday if I haven't eaten since breakfast, but it hasn't happened this week for the first time in a year.

 

[tara]

One amazing positive is that since I started it my hypoglycemia symptoms have reduced slightly - usually I'm shaking by midday if I haven't eaten since breakfast, but it hasn't happened this week for the first time in a year.

Yay!

 

[LUH 3417]

Thanks Tara, and thank you for elaborating on your previous response :) that's really weird, I tried to do an extensive search and couldn't bring up any responses like the one you quoted. Maybe I was just unlucky with the keywords!

I think I'll continue then, until the estrogen symptoms subside.

One amazing positive is that since I started it my hypoglycemia symptoms have reduced slightly - usually I'm shaking by midday if I haven't eaten since breakfast, but it hasn't happened this week for the first time in a year.

I'm also experiencing similar relief. I would shake and sweat unless I constantly ate (only recently figured out the connection) and progest e seems to be decreasing the severity of hypoglycemic symptoms, esp nervousness, shaking, and inability to even have a full thought without food.