My progesterone experience and verdict

[iKate]

I've weighed the pros and cons of P since I started HRT. Finally last month I asked my endo to prescribe it. She sent off a scrip for bioidentical P (prometrium). She said just take it continuously and don't cycle it.

Moods have been about the same.

Breast growth has seen a marked increase, so much so that I am outgrowing my B cups and fitting into Cs now. More importantly they have started to round and look like normal breasts rather than pointy cones. They feel heavy and substantial now rather than just fatty mounds.

My skin has stopped being so dry now and it feels a lot better, softer and finer. It also has a bit of that "glow."

My hips and butt are filling out even better now. My jeans are tighter for sure. I gained maybe 3lbs so that could probably account for it, but the shape seems different. I can wear men's jeans and they look like a woman is wearing them.

So all in all I am happy with P. I think I'll continue to take it for now. No adverse effects and plenty of good stuff.

Next week I get labs done but so far I don't see any negative effects. I was worried about glucose metabolism in particular.

[April_TO]

Amazing progress. I have a doctor's appointment next month. I will ask her if she can prescribe Prometrium - I am just worried about the increase in appetite.

xoxo

April

[Jade_404]

I see my Dr. in December. She had mentioned increasing my dose of E. I was thinking I would try to get a earlier appointment and talk to her about progesterone. I could use the increase of appetite And round boobs, yup sign me up! Thanks for the prometrium tip, now I know what to ask my Dr. about

BTW

iKate, Carmenkate April  , I think I joined Susans about the same time as you and I have watched you two blossom in to very beautiful women! You both started HRT before me and I do have some catching up to do. You are an inspiration , the both of you! Also very stunning 

Hugs

-Jade

[Lady_Oracle]

P is awesome stuff 

[Mariah]

Congrats iKate that is wonderful. Good luck with the labs. Hugs
Mariah

[iKate]

Amazing progress. I have a doctor's appointment next month. I will ask her if she can prescribe Prometrium - I am just worried about the increase in appetite.

xoxo

April

Yes, it absolutely DOES increase your appetite. That is something you need to watch out for. It can result in weight gain and sometimes the hunger is intense, particularly in the morning since I take the dose at night.

Oh, one more thing - be sure to take it AT NIGHT right before bed because it WILL make you sleepy. At least it did that to me.

[iKate]

I see my Dr. in December. She had mentioned increasing my dose of E. I was thinking I would try to get a earlier appointment and talk to her about progesterone. I could use the increase of appetite And round boobs, yup sign me up! Thanks for the prometrium tip, now I know what to ask my Dr. about

BTW

iKate, Carmenkate, I think I joined Susans about the same time as you and I have watched you two blossom in to very beautiful women! You both started HRT before me and I do have some catching up to do. You are an inspiration , the both of you! Also very stunning 

Hugs

-Jade

It does seem to vary for people though. It can have some mood effects too, good and bad.

Also it is an additional cost if your insurance does not cover. It's around $40 or so. Thankfully since my insurance covers it as birth control, I get it for $5 copay.

Usually you'll get a generic. It's usually a capsule with the P suspended in peanut oil. Only if your doctor insists on genuine prometrium with a DAW prescription will you get it. But the generic works for me.

Try it and see if you like it.

Thanks for the kind words. I still have lots of challenges ahead but I think I am in a better place. My quality of life is much improved!

[iKate]

It's what, month 2 on progesterone? I have to check, but anyway I took a tape measure to myself this morning. Bust size has gone up from 38½" to an even 40" (32½" frame). Hips and butt is 39" even. Use to be 37" to 38". But it has a different shape to it now. I look in the mirror and I see the correct shape, even without any clothes on.

My estradiol dosage is the same. I have a high E1 (estrone) level over 1800 pg/ml but the nurse practitioner who does my hormones doesn't seem to think there is any cause for concern.

Skin is good. I get some acne sometimes-ish but it goes away. T level is in the basement as confirmed by testing.

Moods are hard to tell. I'm a bit down these days but that is due to other things like finances as well as frequent arguments with my wife, usually because she is not in a nice mood around me at all.  But I don't know if my moods are a result of the P. Outside of home I actually feel pretty good. Sometimes I do look in the mirror and I see him staring back which is annoying.

[Oliviah]

You look super fantastic kate.  I so want to give progesterone a chance, but don't see my endo again for 6 months.  She wants to switch me to shots then.

[iKate]

You look super fantastic kate.  I so want to give progesterone a chance, but don't see my endo again for 6 months.  She wants to switch me to shots then.

I want to switch to shots, mainly because pills are annoying and I feel that the levels are inconsistent with them. I see her (nurse practitioner) in January so I'll ask her.

[KayXo]

You can see how you feel on less progesterone...if your mood suddenly lifts and remains there, then you'll know...as always, ask your doc and see how she feels about it.

I've been on progesterone for more than a year. I find it relaxes me, helps with anxiety, falling asleep BUT I also get the impression it's the reason why I gained weight (and cellulite), why I sometimes feel down and have no appetite (it depresses mood, TOO RELAXED)...I also found my skin was softer on less progesterone, surprisingly. I also wish my breasts would be fuller and perhaps less progesterone would help as it is somewhat anti-estrogenic. In discussion with my doctor who actually wrote a book on female hormones.

[iKate]

Oh I definitely have appetite gain! I did gain a small amount of weight but I've been working it off and keeping it under control.

[KristinaM]

It's what, month 2 on progesterone? I have to check, but anyway I took a tape measure to myself this morning. Bust size has gone up from 38½" to an even 40" (32½" frame). Hips and butt is 39" even. Use to be 37" to 38". But it has a different shape to it now. I look in the mirror and I see the correct shape, even without any clothes on.

My estradiol dosage is the same. I have a high E1 (estrone) level over 1800 pg/ml but the nurse practitioner who does my hormones doesn't seem to think there is any cause for concern.

Skin is good. I get some acne sometimes-ish but it goes away. T level is in the basement as confirmed by testing.

Moods are hard to tell. I'm a bit down these days but that is due to other things like finances as well as frequent arguments with my wife, usually because she is not in a nice mood around me at all.  But I don't know if my moods are a result of the P. Outside of home I actually feel pretty good. Sometimes I do look in the mirror and I see him staring back which is annoying.

Hey Kate. Congratulations! How long have you been on HRT now? I am going full time in two months and am really dedicated to this, so at my next endo appointment in 3 weeks I want to talk about getting more serious with my dosages. Would it be too early to ask for progesterone?

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[iKate]

Hey Kate. Congratulations! How long have you been on HRT now? I am going full time in two months and am really dedicated to this, so at my next endo appointment in 3 weeks I want to talk about getting more serious with my dosages. Would it be too early to ask for progesterone?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

11 months

[iKate]

As for "too early" there is never too early. Some have P from the start. Others never take it. There is all sorts of controversy around it and some of it revolves around the fact that we (usually) don't breastfeed. Personally I wanted my beasts to develop fully, and I did not want to go through transition wondering what it would have been like without P.

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[Blush]

Progesterone so far has only been negative for me. I've experimented with it twice; once orally a few years ago for a ~4 month span, and once topically this year for another ~4 month span.

Orally I literally didn't notice anything, complete placebo.

Topically (cream) the first time I took it (a few drops rubbed into the wrists) I became quite fatigued and wanted sit down and stay seated for a few hours. The rest of the day (and every subsequent time I took it during the daytime) I was in a pretty negative head space, irritable, generally unsettled mentally.

Physically I noticed extremely little, nothing in the way of breast stuff, butt, nothing. The only things I think I noticed was a slight increase in body hair (arms, legs, pubic), and the skin on my face seemed thicker (comperable to pre-estrogen facial skin).

[JessicaH]

I want to switch to shots, mainly because pills are annoying and I feel that the levels are inconsistent with them. I see her (nurse practitioner) in January so I'll ask her.

The half-life of injected P4 is extremely short so you would have to inject like every 3 days if you wanted to maintain somewhat even levels. Also, there is a lot of evidence showing that it is good to cycle it due to the way that works best with estrogen when each have a dominate period in your system.  There is evidence that shows that it helps sensitize your E2 receptors and it also counteracts some of the unwanted effects of E2.

Just stay away from the synthetics like MPA/provera as they have many very bad side effects on the mind and body.

[Ashey]

I was on Provera from the start, but just switched to Prometrium a few days ago. My endo doesn't really know much, but prescribed it anyway, so I'm a bit unsure about my dosage. Right now I'm doing half the max dose and cycling it (first 15 days of the month on, the rest off). My period is right around the first of the month, so I figure first 15 days on should work well in mimicking a more natural cycle. I'm going to see how it goes and then maybe double my dose.

I will say, I didn't really have any issue with the Provera, at least from what I could tell. But I feel like something more natural would benefit me more and be better for my health at least.

[Debra]

I've tried prometrium orally as well as progesterone cream over the years. I go off and on them and I'm still unsure about what they do or dont do for me.

[KayXo]

Progesterone so far has only been negative for me. I've experimented with it twice; once orally a few years ago for a ~4 month span, and once topically this year for another ~4 month span

Topically, progesterone is poorly absorbed while its metabolites may have an effect, like allopregnanolone, making you sleepy and spaced out.

Orally, did you take progesterone or medroxyprogesterone acetate? Perhaps the dose was too low to have any significant effect as bio-availability is low.

Progesterone is not androgenic. In my case, it makes my skin more shiny, elastic and younger looking. I've not seen an increase in body hairs, on the contrary.

The half-life of injected P4 is extremely short so you would have to inject like every 3 days if you wanted to maintain somewhat even levels.

Actually, it needs to be injected DAILY to keep levels steady as progesterone is very quickly metabolized. Not convenient and VERY painful. That's how pregnant women do it to prevent miscarriage, EVERY DAY.

Also, there is a lot of evidence showing that it is good to cycle it due to the way that works best with estrogen when each have a dominate period in your system.  There is evidence that shows that it helps sensitize your E2 receptors and it also counteracts some of the unwanted effects of E2.

Cycling creates fluctuations in levels and can cause pms symptoms. Cycles aren't natural and are a new phenomena since the Industrial revolution. We have the advantage of not having to go through cycles.

Progesterone actually desensitizes the body to estrogen because it downregulates estrogen receptors and increases conversion of estradiol  to estrone and inactive metabolites. It is somewhat anti-estrogenic but can also complement in terms of overall breast growth.