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.
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
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 :o
Hugs
:-*
-Jade
P is awesome stuff :laugh:
Congrats iKate that is wonderful. Good luck with the labs. Hugs
Mariah
Quote from: April_TO on October 07, 2015, 05:50:49 PM
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.
Quote from: Jade_404 on October 07, 2015, 06:22:35 PM
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 :o
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!
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.
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.
Quote from: Oliviah on November 02, 2015, 10:14:06 AM
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.
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. :)
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.
Quote from: iKate on November 02, 2015, 09:12:29 AM
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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Quote from: KristinaM on November 02, 2015, 07:14:29 PM
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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11 months
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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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).
Quote from: iKate on November 02, 2015, 12:49:29 PM
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.
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.
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.
Quote from: Blush on November 04, 2015, 09:35:24 AM
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.
Quote from: JessicaH on November 05, 2015, 12:58:13 AM
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.
QuoteAlso, 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.
This thread was a point of conversation between myself and my endo today. I start HRT next week, and asked him his thoughts on progesterone as it seems to be a debated topic. He said personally he hasn't seen any proof that it is accountable for the results some say it's had, but he did relent and say if I did wish to have that prescribed he would do so for me.
So my question to you iKate is if you had to do it all over again knowing what you know now, would you take progesterone from the start, or wait for your 11 month mark as you did?
Quote from: iKate on October 07, 2015, 09:33:15 AM
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.
Same here - I weigh just a little more than I used to but my butt has expanded and my boobs have rounded out and no longer resemble traffic cones.
With my weight basically the same its apparent that my fat distribution has definitely changed on P. I'm pretty much a happy camper now, but it did take about a year for the weird mood changes to slack off.
Quote from: Brooke33 on November 10, 2015, 07:47:10 PM
This thread was a point of conversation between myself and my endo today. I start HRT next week, and asked him his thoughts on progesterone as it seems to be a debated topic. He said personally he hasn't seen any proof that it is accountable for the results some say it's had, but he did relent and say if I did wish to have that prescribed he would do so for me.
So my question to you iKate is if you had to do it all over again knowing what you know now, would you take progesterone from the start, or wait for your 11 month mark as you did?
i would take it from the start. Absolutely. I didn't take it until 10 months in because I wasn't sure my doctor and nurse practitioner would prescribe it. But as it turns out she's pretty open to it.
My philosophy is that if the goal is to feminize, you can't and shouldn't pick and choose female hormones. You should opt for the whole package and correct dosages. Cis women have progesterone from the get go. Why can't we? I've heard a lot of inconsistent excuses from some endos and others in the medical and non-medical community. The one I dislike the most is that we don't breastfeed so we don't need to develop milk producing parts of our breasts. Honestly I want my breasts to be fully functional rather than just cosmetic. It is important to my well being as a woman. Heck, I would want a uterus if I could get one.
And for me it works and works very well.
The latest is that even though I've lost weight, my jeans are tighter. When I slide them on in the morning they hug my hips and butt rather than just hanging loose. I wear size 6 jeans and size 8 tops but it's going to be size 8 for my bottoms soon.
From someone that's been on it for 3 and a half years since the very start of hrt, I definitely have to say its made the biggest difference in terms of helping me gain weight plus stabilizing my mood.
That's one concern I would have is the weight gain. I'm actually trying to lose weight currently (also recommended by my GP). My weight's not very high, I'm 5'5 and 161lbs currently (was 182 about 2 months ago, but I'm doing well), but would like to get back to the mid 140s like I used to just to be at a 'normalized' weight for my height.
On the flip side, I'm wondering if once I start the T-blockers, the loss of muscle mass will drop weight fast as muscle weighs more than fat, and that would kinda balance out the weight gain from the estrogen/progesterone. Does that make sense, or is that a poor expectation?
It does make sense. I have been on progesterone for 10 months and have not had any problem with weight gain. I have actually lost 35 lbs during that time. While I did make the effort to lose the weight there was a 2.5 month period where I quit tracking my food and was eating a lot of junk (like multiple candy bars and bags of chips every night). Even during that time I only gained back about 5 pounds. Some of that loss is due to muscle but most was due to losing fat I think. But that's really hard to quantify how much of each exactly. I have a really hard time judging myself in the mirror, half the time seeing a huge body when I look at myself and at other times feeling better about it.
So, weight loss isn't especially hard on progesterone. But you do need to track your food and activity just as you would losing weight at any other time.
I am 5'11" and started at about 205 in Jan when I started HRT. Right now I'm at 169 lbs and have lost 2 lbs in the last week since I got back to being disciplined about eating. I'm hoping to lose another 10 to 15 lbs to maybe get rid of what fat I have left in the muffin top area. That would be nice since that fat has been there since I was a little kid.
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Ugh so I'm worried that my endo doesn't know what he's doing or he's following an outdated protocol. Two months into HRT and he put me on medroxyprogesterone, non-cycled. I'm not sure why he prescribed synthetic over bio-identical - I'm guessing because synthetic is cheaper?
It's been a little over two weeks and so far I haven't noticed any negative effects.
I'm hoping that from a biochemical perspective medroxyprogesterone will have the exact same action on breast tissue receptors as bio-identical progesterone. I have not seen evidence that contradicts that statement. I just hear people talking about "negative side-effects" but so far no negative side-effects. I figure it's not hurting me and there's a chance it will help with breast development so might as well keep taking it until I experience negative side-effects.
Quote from: Brooke33 on November 12, 2015, 11:27:35 PM
That's one concern I would have is the weight gain. I'm actually trying to lose weight currently (also recommended by my GP). My weight's not very high, I'm 5'5 and 161lbs currently (was 182 about 2 months ago, but I'm doing well), but would like to get back to the mid 140s like I used to just to be at a 'normalized' weight for my height.
On the flip side, I'm wondering if once I start the T-blockers, the loss of muscle mass will drop weight fast as muscle weighs more than fat, and that would kinda balance out the weight gain from the estrogen/progesterone. Does that make sense, or is that a poor expectation?
I'm 5'6" and 150lbs. I want to get down to the 140s as well. I do not want to be rail thin, just not chunky. I'm size 8 tops and apparently almost size 8 bottom too.
Yes, your muscle mass will drop drastically. You will lose a LOT of weight and physical size that way. It's as if I had someone aim a shrink ray on me.
Quote from: RachelsMantra on November 13, 2015, 11:00:11 AM
Ugh so I'm worried that my endo doesn't know what he's doing or he's following an outdated protocol. Two months into HRT and he put me on medroxyprogesterone, non-cycled. I'm not sure why he prescribed synthetic over bio-identical - I'm guessing because synthetic is cheaper?
It's been a little over two weeks and so far I haven't noticed any negative effects.
I'm hoping that from a biochemical perspective medroxyprogesterone will have the exact same action on breast tissue receptors as bio-identical progesterone. I have not seen evidence that contradicts that statement. I just hear people talking about "negative side-effects" but so far no negative side-effects. I figure it's not hurting me and there's a chance it will help with breast development so might as well keep taking it until I experience negative side-effects.
Cycling shouldn't matter much. The MPA though, I would try to stay away from. I heard that it can cause some of the bad mental effects. Bio identical (prometrium or equivalent) all the way.
Action on receptors in brain and breast are different...
bioidentical is the one, like in cis people...
Quote from: iKate on November 13, 2015, 11:41:43 AM
Cycling shouldn't matter much. The MPA though, I would try to stay away from. I heard that it can cause some of the bad mental effects. Bio identical (prometrium or equivalent) all the way.
I keep hearing about these "bad mental effects" such as crazy mood swings but I have never ever been a moody person and I rarely experience swings in my emotions so it would really surprise me if medroxyprogesterone made a huge difference to my overall mental life. I will keep monitoring how I feel though. I don't see my endo for like another 3.5 months and my plan is to stay on medroxyprogesterone for that time.
Quote from: RachelsMantra on November 13, 2015, 12:04:33 PM
I keep hearing about these "bad mental effects" such as crazy mood swings but I have never ever been a moody person and I rarely experience swings in my emotions so it would really surprise me if medroxyprogesterone made a huge difference to my overall mental life. I will keep monitoring how I feel though. I don't see my endo for like another 3.5 months and my plan is to stay on medroxyprogesterone for that time.
There is also supposedly hair loss.
I wouldn't know as I haven't tried it but that alone is enough to scare me off.
Quote from: iKate on November 13, 2015, 02:18:44 PM
There is also supposedly hair loss.
I wouldn't know as I haven't tried it but that alone is enough to scare me off.
I am taking finasteride as well so hopefully that will prevent any hair loss.
Besides, the listing of scalp hair loss is just a possible side-effect not a guarantee. They have to put it on there for liability reasons but it could be an extremely rare side-effect. I take other medication that lists as side-effects "sudden death" but that's not going to stop me...
With that said, if I start noticing hair loss I will stop immediately.
Quote from: RachelsMantra on November 13, 2015, 02:45:51 PM
I am taking finasteride as well so hopefully that will prevent any hair loss.
Besides, the listing of scalp hair loss is just a possible side-effect not a guarantee. They have to put it on there for liability reasons but it could be an extremely rare side-effect. I take other medication that lists as side-effects "sudden death" but that's not going to stop me...
With that said, if I start noticing hair loss I will stop immediately.
If bioidentical progesterone is used finasteride might not be needed...
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,192953.msg1733564.html#msg1733564
As said, reactions on receptors are like in cis people...
Thanks jade, sorry it took me awhile to reply back to you. Hope you can start sooner...
Hugs xoxo
April
Quote from: Jade_404 on October 07, 2015, 06:22:35 PM
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 :o
Hugs
:-*
-Jade
Had a negative experience with Progesterone the first time around. It had my moods swinging pretty wildly. My endo and I discussed it in October and I elected to skip it for now. I get the thought that it is naturally present and therefor just a part of being a woman, but that does not remove my concerns of over the top swings.
Quote from: RachelsMantra on November 13, 2015, 12:04:33 PM
I keep hearing about these "bad mental effects" such as crazy mood swings but I have never ever been a moody person and I rarely experience swings in my emotions so it would really surprise me if medroxyprogesterone made a huge difference to my overall mental life. I will keep monitoring how I feel though. I don't see my endo for like another 3.5 months and my plan is to stay on medroxyprogesterone for that time.
I wouldn't worry about it so much. I was on it until recently, and I didn't experience what I could describe as negative effects. In fact I've had pretty decent breast growth from it (solid B-cup now), non-cycled, as well as a fairly consistent period. I wouldn't even cycle it since it works differently than something like Prometrium, which I'm attempting cycling. And yes I have heard situations where it is meant to be cycled, but they don't exactly apply. But then it also has a fairly low bioavailability I believe, so I might have to figure out my own doses. :/ MY endo is certainly the one that doesn't know anything. You'll probably be fine starting on the medroxy and not cycling it. Take my advice with a grain of salt though, I am not a doctor.
EDIT: Also I will say, you're going to have to get used to mood swings anyway. It really is just a part of the female brain chemistry. Expect mental changes, especially along with the social. I've found that I have developed a certain irrationality, I've become more communicative and social, and I do experience mood swings through my cycle, but within normality for a female. You just have to sort of adapt.
Quote from: Ashey on November 17, 2015, 03:52:37 AM
I wouldn't worry about it so much. I was on it until recently, and I didn't experience what I could describe as negative effects.
Yeah, I also asked the girls in my support group and some of them have been on medroxy for awhile with no negative side effects so Im feeling better about it.
If it works for you it works. Personally I want the closest thing to what a cis female has in her blood stream, so I stick to prometrium/bioidentical P.
There's a trans woman I know who swears by Premarin as well. It works for her. Everyone is different.
I was first put on medroxy. The negative side effects (deperession/mood swings) didnt come in till about 4-6 months in. My doc switched me to Prometrium and everything got better like within a few weeks.
I'm almost at a year. I've asked multiple times for P and my endo won't. She told me she would only do it if my T-levels are too high. She took my blood once at the 3 month mark and it was fine, but I felt good then. My breasts were growing fast. I had no "male problems". A month later my breasts stopped growing and I started having "male problems" again. Since then its only gotten worse. She keeps telling me its suppressed and that I shouldn't be experiencing "male problems", but she only checked my blood once. She never even showed me the results. I'm fed up with her and I'm ready for a second opinion. I'm pretty sure there is another doctor that will prescribe P. So I'm ready to move on.
P makes sense to me. Its a pregnancy hormone and pregnant women get bigger breasts. That's just a fact. I think that's why everyone on this board says it works. It sounds like there are some risks, but unless I'm mistaken you only need it for a couple years for breast growth.
I have been on Prometrium for a couple of months now. I started out cycling, then tried one month taking it every day and now I am back cycling but on a higher dosage.
My breasts were developing pretty good but it is hard for me to tell what is happening right now because of my breast augmentation at the end of August. Because of the dropping and changes that are occurring with that it is a little hard to tell what is natural and what is from the BA. I do think that they are still growing at a pretty steady level, I just have no of telling right now. Since the BA has pretty much settled at this point, I should be able to tell going forward.
My butt has defiantly changed. I used to have no butt but now I do have some butt. It really is nice to not have my pants just slide off me.
My Endo said that he has not seen such dramatic changes in such a short period of time in someone my age. :)
I started on progesterone about 1.8 months ago now and haven't experienced any noticeable breast growth. Was already on HRT for a bit over a year. I did start to get erections more often/more easily again though.
Interesting I've only been on estrogen and started having erections at month 4. They've been more frequent since then.
Quote from: Ashey on November 17, 2015, 03:52:37 AM
EDIT: Also I will say, you're going to have to get used to mood swings anyway. It really is just a part of the female brain chemistry. Expect mental changes, especially along with the social. I've found that I have developed a certain irrationality, I've become more communicative and social, and I do experience mood swings through my cycle, but within normality for a female. You just have to sort of adapt.
^^^ This. Welcome to being a female.
Ive been on prometrium for about 18 months now. One of the negative effects i've noticed is mood swings and being emotional. I cycle it on a 12 day cycle as prescribed by my endo. On some months I notice nothing out of the unusual except being extra tired and sleepy, but on some months by day 12 my emotions have run the full gamut - I've been emotionally up, down, and sideways. When that happens things tend to get magnified way out of proportion, and I tend to be snappish and impatient/annoyed with people. Now that I know it's possible during those 12 days for me to be that way I make extra efforts to stay cool and calm.
One other odd thing i've noticed is that i've developed certain symptoms that precede the 12 day cycle starting. One of them is that I now reliably have headaches every month just before the 12 day cycle begins.
When it's time to start a cycle i'm always looking forward to it. By the 12th day it's gotten cloying and i'm ready to be off of it :laugh:
I put up with all of this to get the physical effects that P brings - namely, curves in the right places.
The other problems with medroxyprogesterone acetate are vascular problems, increase in risk in blood clotting and breast cancer whereas this is not the case with bio-identical progesterone. Medroxyprogesterone acetate is also mildly androgenic whereas bio P is not.
I personally am wondering, despite some of its benefits to me, if it has made me gain a little too much weight and increased cellulite (also water retention) or if this is due to estradiol.
Lastly, cycling isn't something natural to ciswomen and only a recent phenomena since industrialisation. In the past, women would spend more time being pregnant and breastfeeding and much less time cycling, whereas nuns who would spend all their time cycling had a significantly higher breast cancer occurrence. Plus, cycling increases the risk of mood swings. I don't see the point of it, personally.
I did some reading a little while back on the effects of progesterone on breast growth, and here's a basic description of what I learned.
Estrogen promotes the development of "breast tissue" which is the main component of breasts, obviously.
However, progesterone promotes the development of all the other structures present, such as milk ducts and some other things that I can't remember exactly.
So that explains why progesterone makes breasts "fill out" because it causes other parts of the breast to start development which would otherwise lie dormant without it. Based on that knowledge, progesterone seems like the way to go for the genuine development of female breasts. I'll be sure to ask my endo about it when I see her on Tuesday!
Quote from: KristinaM on November 20, 2015, 07:46:56 AM
I did some reading a little while back on the effects of progesterone on breast growth, and here's a basic description of what I learned.
Estrogen promotes the development of "breast tissue" which is the main component of breasts, obviously.
However, progesterone promotes the development of all the other structures present, such as milk ducts and some other things that I can't remember exactly.
So that explains why progesterone makes breasts "fill out" because it causes other parts of the breast to start development which would otherwise lie dormant without it. Based on that knowledge, progesterone seems like the way to go for the genuine development of female breasts. I'll be sure to ask my endo about it when I see her on Tuesday!
Bioidentical progesterone also seems to have to do with form.
Quite a few people report helping being less cone shaped.
It has anti androgenic properties, too...
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,192953.msg1733564.html#msg1733564
hugs
I was taking Prometrium from the 5th month of HRT til month 11, that's when my doc wrote the script for the injectables as I'm already using E via injection.
I couldn't be happier! While there was some modest breast growth with Prometrium, the injectables are taking this to a whole new level. I'm almost filling out a size B cup now.
One thing I've learned is to adapt to a new schedule of injecting...every 3rd day. This way I'm not dumping all the P into my system once a week. Doing that makes me extremely sleepy, groggy and irritable. These are known side effects of P. Backing off the dose to less than half appropriately every 3rd day makes for a much better experience.
Yeah, injecting every 3rd days gets to be old, but it's benefits outweigh the annoyance to me.
Quote from: Monica Jean on November 21, 2015, 09:12:11 PM
I was taking Prometrium from the 5th month of HRT til month 11, that's when my doc wrote the script for the injectables as I'm already using E via injection.
I couldn't be happier! While there was some modest breast growth with Prometrium, the injectables are taking this to a whole new level. I'm almost filling out a size B cup now.
One thing I've learned is to adapt to a new schedule of injecting...every 3rd day. This way I'm not dumping all the P into my system once a week. Doing that makes me extremely sleepy, groggy and irritable. These are known side effects of P. Backing off the dose to less than half appropriately every 3rd day makes for a much better experience.
Yeah, injecting every 3rd days gets to be old, but it's benefits outweigh the annoyance to me.
I already fill a C and size is really not an issue for me. However, fullness and shape is. And P helps in that department a ton.
I am on pills strictly right now. My endo seems to think they're doing just fine. Maybe she's right. They seem to work for me. I get a lot of "hurt" and itchiness now so something is happening.
Quote from: KristinaM on November 20, 2015, 07:46:56 AM
I did some reading a little while back on the effects of progesterone on breast growth, and here's a basic description of what I learned.
Estrogen promotes the development of "breast tissue" which is the main component of breasts, obviously.
However, progesterone promotes the development of all the other structures present, such as milk ducts and some other things that I can't remember exactly.
So that explains why progesterone makes breasts "fill out" because it causes other parts of the breast to start development which would otherwise lie dormant without it.
Estrogen promotes the formation of milk ducts while progesterone promotes lobulo-alveolar development (side-branching, milk glands), making the breasts look fuller and rounder.
Quote from: Monica Jean on November 21, 2015, 09:12:11 PM
I was taking Prometrium from the 5th month of HRT til month 11, that's when my doc wrote the script for the injectables as I'm already using E via injection.
I couldn't be happier! While there was some modest breast growth with Prometrium, the injectables are taking this to a whole new level. I'm almost filling out a size B cup now.
One thing I've learned is to adapt to a new schedule of injecting...every 3rd day. This way I'm not dumping all the P into my system once a week. Doing that makes me extremely sleepy, groggy and irritable. These are known side effects of P. Backing off the dose to less than half appropriately every 3rd day makes for a much better experience.
Yeah, injecting every 3rd days gets to be old, but it's benefits outweigh the annoyance to me.
Progesterone needs to be injected DAILY, this is how it's done in pregnant women to avoid miscarriage. Progesterone has a very short half-life so by the 2nd day, levels have already significantly dropped to almost nothing. It's different for estradiol valerate as it can last for longer, so 7 days is usually ok, up to 10 days. I take prometrium orally, always with food, twice daily, a high dose and it works fine by me. :) I would worry about fluctuations in progesterone because when they drop, I go into PMS! You should test your levels on day 3 just before injecting progesterone or even on day 2...and compare them to day 1, 12 hours after injecting. You'll see...
I have taken oral P bio identical and have had excellent development and normal looking breasts especially so for almost 47 years old. I am right at a year on HRT and 9 months P. Probably B cup and normal looking says the gynecologist.
Quote from: KayXo on November 26, 2015, 05:24:07 PM
Estrogen promotes the formation of milk ducts while progesterone promotes lobulo-alveolar development (side-branching, milk glands), making the breasts look fuller and rounder.
Progesterone needs to be injected DAILY, this is how it's done in pregnant women to avoid miscarriage. Progesterone has a very short half-life so by the 2nd day, levels have already significantly dropped to almost nothing. It's different for estradiol valerate as it can last for longer, so 7 days is usually ok, up to 10 days. I take prometrium orally, always with food, twice daily, a high dose and it works fine by me. :) I would worry about fluctuations in progesterone because when they drop, I go into PMS! You should test your levels on day 3 just before injecting progesterone or even on day 2...and compare them to day 1, 12 hours after injecting. You'll see...
I exhibit the opposite effect as you, when P levels drop, I have more energy. I was able to note this if I took P of a certain amount (amounts doses not allowed to be published). If I backed off the P every 3 days, I rarely noticed the up & down cycle and still come close to the dr's prescribed amount per week. And my boobs still are growing and hurt! It's a good hurt :D
I won't go back to pills, injections make it easy to know exactly how much goes in to the bloodstream. They just work better for me than the micronized pills.