What form of progesterone has a *doctor* prescribed for you?

[Autumn]

I have been out for going on two months now - I'm letting the estrogen soak into all the receptors for a bit, something my doctor suggested I could do, plus, I'm too poor to afford it anyway as i'd have to drop like $80 for some black label stuff. My insurance doesn't cover microgest or any other progesterone since I'm legally male.

However, it dawned on me that the $4 scripts program that Target and Wal-mart run covers MEDROXYPROGESTERONE ACETATE. I can't even begin to do the conversions of dosage from that to microgest - and I don't advise anyone to, after all, it's against site policy. But I am curious as to what forms of progesterone other girls have used and whether or not you paid out of pocket from a US pharmacy or not. My insurance won't even tell me what the cost of of micronized progesterone is since it's not covered.

[MeghanAndrews]

I have been taking Yasmin which is a combination of Drospirenone and Ethinyl Estradiol. They are birth control and come in a little 28 day supply thingie. That's all I know about it Meghan

[Janet_Girl]

I use an OTC progesterone creme.  And only for about 7 day, otherwise it is always Estrafem.

[rejennyrated]

Medoxyprogesterone acetate otherwise known as Provera is my least well liked form because it is so easily metabolised into Testosterone that it *can* sometimes trigger hairloss.

Over the nearly three decades that I've been on HRT I've taken Provera, Dupheston and now Prometrium (AKA Microgest/Utrogestan).

Of all the three I have personally found the last one on the list to be the one with least side effects and best overall results. But as metabolisms differ from one person to the next I'm certainly not going to suggest that that would always be the case. It's like everything else, you have to find what suits you.

[maidenprincess]

hmmm
my doctor doesn't prescribe progesterone because she says it's not necessary

[deviousxen]

hmmm
my doctor doesn't prescribe progesterone because she says it's not necessary

Your doctor just doesn't wanna be liable about something she obviously doesn't understand... Cause any doctor with half a brain should know that it does do something good. I feel more balanced with progesterone. My energy levels are better. Its rounding things out. I'm being conservative, and yeah sure I'm self medding microgest, but its only because I believe its less responsible to just use estro alone. I believe it all needs to be balanced to be effective... But thats just me.


My doctor also said I could/but that it was unnecessary and said I was acting like a child over the phone when my shrink said no. I was sad/freaked out. Now I'm on it, and it has not made me more depressed. They're nuts.

The shrink gave me a magic wand during my last appointment with her. And ordered me to keep taking that dose of lamictal even though it was giving me night terrors. Yay doctors and shrinks...


So I have yet to be prescribed... But hopefully I can soon. Seeing two gender therapists until I know which one works better...

[Cindy Stephens]

I take medroxyprogesterone by injection, once a month.  It is working fine for me.  I would suggest going to Prometrium.com and check out what they say regarding the various progestins.  I would suspect that they would be advertising any benefit to their molecule vrs the others.  They don't and maybe that says something.  They even state that "There is no evidence that bio-identical hormones are safer or more effective than other progestogens." Suzanne Sommers believes otherwise and has written a bunch of books shilling the bioidentical formula. Belive who you will, after you do your own investigation.
I actually prefer it because you use a much lower dosage because it is an injection and it bypasses the liver before acting.  That is very important to me. 

[Valerie Elizabeth]

Is it possible to vary the hormone dosages on a monthly basis so as to roughly mimic a female menstrual cycle?
Cycling hormones before removal of the testes is not recommended. The gonadotropin axis (feedback mechanism) is already precarious in a pre-op under hormone therapy; small fluctuations in the hormone regimen can translate into large variations in the endogenous androgen level, causing significant physical and emotional discomfort.

I've been taking Prometrium for 10 days every month, and I am pre-op.  I admit that when taking Prometrium, sometimes I get pretty depressed.  I don't know how it relates to being pre-op, but for me it doesn't matter.  I'm having SRS in 11 days and I have to be off my hormones before it's time for my next cycle.


So, I take Prometrium for 10 days every month.

[tatiana]

I'm also on Prometrium - no cycling. Just take it everyday.

My psychiatrist doesn't normally prescribe it, but I specifically requested it because my endocrinologist's guideline suggested it.

[Cindy Stephens]

Muffin quotes Dr. Jeffrey Dach, MD on bio-identical hormones.  Dr. Dach specialized in interventional Radiology and is a board member of the "American Academy of Anti-aging Medicine."  He also: Doesn't believe that the HIV virus causes AIDS, believes that Darwin was wrong and pushes intelligent design, believes that tiny amounts of mercury in vaccines cause all sorts of problems.  Wasn't that last one pretty much demolished by the British Medical Society just recently?  Sorry, neither he nor Suzanne Somers seem terribly convincing to me. Sometime it may come out, through extensive testing, that one form or the other is superior, but I don't see any proof or even strong evidence yet. I do, however, see people making huge bucks pushing bio-identicals basing their arguments on little more than innuendo and allusions to some vast medical conspiracy. 
Please note,  given the choice of same price, dosage, means of administering, etc. I would probably prefer the bio-identical.  At least I am honest.

[Kay]

Hi Autumn,
.
I was prescribed Medroxyprogesterone acetate.
At the clinic's pharmacy it was $45 for a 3 month supply.  It's not covered under my insurance, so it's completely out of pocket.  (Spiro was the budget buster at $250 for 3 months, with Estradiol around $60.)
.
My doctor told me that I would be on progesterone for 2 years, and then since the majority of breast growth is completed in that span, that I would be taken off of it. (due to the health concerns that have been raised regarding its long term use)
.
$4?  Really?  Gosh...I may have to look into getting my scrip filled there...

[Naturally Blonde]

Re: What form of progesterone has a *doctor* prescribed for you?

None!

But whenever I get my blood tests done there are reasonable progesterone levels in the test results!

[Kay]

Does this mean natal females should be using progesterone blockers by the age of 16?? Just curious. And would these 'alleged' health concerns be from synthetic or natural progesterone's?

.
Heh...well someone sounds a bit touchy on this subject.  Sorry to offend, that's just what my doc told me.
.
The studies that have been done deal with synthetic progesterones that are administered in HRT regimins of post-menopausal cis-women.    The main concern has been regarding the increased risk of cancer, notably breast cancer.  Unfortunately I couldn't find the study that I remembered reading last year.  There was one study that concluded in the UK late last year that showed significant increases in the rate of breast cancer for women who took synthetic progesterones for 5 years or more.  Nothing as bad as double-digit concerns in cancer increase...but significant enough to cause doctors to keep a closer eye on their prescription habits...and balance whether or not there is any appreciable benefit in continuing synthetic progesterones for an extended period of years that would outweigh these newfound risks. 

Hope this helps.

Kay

[Dale]

I take cyclogest, microgest and progesterone injected monthly, along with my other meds

My doctor is please with my levels. I feel great and breasts are growing nicely

[pheonix]

However, it dawned on me that the $4 scripts program that Target and Wal-mart run covers MEDROXYPROGESTERONE ACETATE.

My Endo prescribes that to me and I get it at WalMart.

[Autumn]

My Endo prescribes that to me and I get it at WalMart.

So on closer inspection, it's Depo, and you do get it for $4?

[pheonix]

So on closer inspection, it's Depo, and you do get it for $4?

Yes $4.

[Kay]

I was prescribed Medroxyprogesterone acetate.
At the clinic's pharmacy it was $45 for a 3 month supply.  It's not covered under my insurance, so it's completely out of pocket.  (Spiro was the budget buster at $250 for 3 months, with Estradiol around $60.)

.
I checked out Walmart today.  Muuuuuch cheaper...by about half.
(it helps that 2 of them are on their $4 prescription list)

$122 for 3 months of Spiro
$10 for 3 months of Estradiol
$30 for 3 months of Medroxyprogesterone

Thanks for the tip. 

[Kaori]

I was taking Medroxyprogesterone for just over 8 months.

My new Endo took me off.  I'm moving in 3 weeks and will need to see a new Therapist and get back on HRT with a new Endocrinologist.

I guess we'll decide what to do about progestines and what not at that time.

[pheonix]

$122 for 3 months of Spiro

I suspect I know how you came to this price; if your doctor will prescribe a lower dose pill but with a greater frequency, you can cut the prices far further.