I get the following positive effects from bio-identical progesterone (Prometrium):
- softer skin and hair, skin more translucent
- improved mood, increased motivation
- sleep better
- breasts get fuller, firmer and ache
- easier to cope with stressful situations
Not so good,
- increased appetite
I take a high dose of progesterone WITH food which, in a study, showed that taken this way, maximum levels are 4-8 fold higher relative to fasting condition, with levels typical of pregnancy levels but they also drop quite quickly (within an hour).
I find sublingual to be inconvenient and the "high" I get doesn't last nearly as long as when I take it orally. That is not good, for me. Rectally, not sure it absorbs efficiently, never checked levels when pills were inserted that way but when suppository was taken, levels were VERY low. Also mood enhancing effects are much less when taken this way. A study showed, however, very good and steady levels when progesterone suppositories were taken rectally.
Cycles may be conducive to increased breast cancer risk.
Lancet. 2012 Jun 23;379(9834):2322-3.
"MacMahon and colleagues3 were
the first investigators to make a formal link with parity,
showing, in 1970, that parous women had a decreased
risk of breast cancer compared with nulliparous women.
Parous women receive further protection if they have
their first child at a young age, bear more children, and
if they breastfeed. These reproductive factors are now
known also to protect against the risk of ovarian and
endometrial cancer.4"
"Nulliparous women have a higher number of ovulatory
menstrual cycles than do parous women because of the
absence of pregnancy and lactation, and an increased
number of cycles affects cancer risk. Epidemiological
studies5,6 of breast cancer have directly linked number
of menstrual cycles to cancer risk."
"Time and further research will tell whether
continuous suppression of all menstrual cycles will
increase the protection against breast, ovarian, and
uterine cancers."
(see John Rock's error)
"someone hundreds of years ago had menarche at seventeen and had five babies and had three hundred fewer menstrual cycles than most women have today. The world is not the world it was. And some of the risks that go with the benefits of a woman getting educated and not getting pregnant all the time are breast cancer and ovarian cancer"
Traditionally, women experienced less menstrual cycles as they spent most their lives being pregnant and/or breastfeeding, times during which levels are more constant. Back then, breast cancer was less common but still more widespread among nuns who had many menstrual cycles.
Furthermore, taking estrogen in any which route (expect subcutaneously by implants) has shown to yield, in many instances, quickly fluctuating levels. For instance, with EV taken by intramuscular injection, levels peak and then drop relatively quickly (I know from personal experienced and studies have confirmed this, again and again, establishing half life at 4-5 days). This is even more marked with sublingual intake. Orally, it depends on the individual but some show a relatively quick drop in levels (within 6 hours of intake). Transdermal has also shown to result in fluctuating levels. Percutaneously, it depends and with EC taken intramuscularly, levels do indeed show more constancy.
Maturitas, 12 (1990) 171-197
"Large variations in oestradiol and oestrone levels can be observed in an individual
woman from day to day or from hour to hour, even during transdermal therapy
with oestradiol"
"After a single oral dose of (...) oestradiol valerate the plasma level of 17B-oestradiol rises measurably, although only minimally. The results of five separate studies all show that after a single administration of the ester maximum 17B-oestradiol concentrations in the range of 24- 140 pg/ml can be demonstrated at individually very different times (Table I). After the maximum concentration has been reached, the levels usually fall again quickly. There are again
great individual variations in the time at which the plasma concentrations of endogenous 17P-oestradiol as measured before administration of oestradiol valerate are reached again - from 6 h after administration in some cases to over 48 h in others."
Also, the claim that cyclicity is superior to constant levels should be reconsidered given:
CLIMACTERIC 2005;8(Suppl 1):3–63
"It has been shown that, in normal human epithelial
breast cells as well as in ER-positive breast
cancer cells, the proliferation rate did not differ
between incubation with 1 nmol/l estradiol for
24 h and with 24 nmol/l for 1 h"
Some show very good breast development with pellets which deliver constant levels of estradiol. I experienced better breast development on oral E2 (sublingual was the same) when levels were more constant versus IM injections where levels fluctuate very much.
"The comparable clinical efficacy of intranasal,
transdermal and oral administration of estradiol
indicates that the total exposure to the intracellular
estradiol (area under the concentration–time
curve, AUC) is an important determinant for the
biological response. The short-term presence of
high concentrations and the long-term presence
of low concentrations of estradiol may, therefore,
cause a similar expression of estrogen-dependent
products during a time interval of 12–48 h."
Overall concentration seems the key determinant rather than fluctuations.
