I started taking provera last month. I've gone through 2 cycles of it(8-9 days each). I've heard some horror stories about provera, but for me it actually doesn't do much. I think it makes me a bit more emotional and gives me some mood swings, but that's it. Physically I haven't noticed much, but at the same time I haven't really looked out for anything. I was actually hoping it'd increase my sex drive a bit, but nope.

Quote from: mfox on March 03, 2015, 04:28:26 AM
I wonder if the masculinization side effects to the face, stomach and hair are because you might have had too much progesterone in your system and you weren't on a T blocker?  According to this, excess is converted into testosterone:

http://www.hemingways.org/GIDinfo/hrt_m2f.htm

".. your body will likely first try to enzymatically convert [Progesterone] to testosterone. This is likely the underlying cause of the "virilazation" (mostly unwanted facial or body hair growth) reported by some men and women who've taken Progesterone supplements - and what likely has also led to the general belief that it is undesirable as part of TS HRT."

"In lower doses, though, this enzymatic conversion is less of a problem and can be further mitigated by combining Pg supplements with Spironolactone, which happens to suppress expression of the P-405 gene responsible for signalling enzymatic conversion of progesterone into testosterone."

I almost have zero T in my body and I am post op so I dont need to take any form of T blocker anymore. The last time I was on progesterone, I checked my blood levels and my T was still in zero point something level. I dont think I am taking too much progesterone as I am only taking it once a day before bed time too. When I was still on injections, I inject every 15days.

I guess its a case to case basis and its up to you if you can take the negative effects over the positive once. One thing is for sure though, I am not the only one who experienced the negative things I experienced.

Quote from: mfox on March 03, 2015, 04:28:26 AM
I wonder if the masculinization side effects to the face, stomach and hair are because you might have had too much progesterone in your system and you weren't on a T blocker?  According to this, excess is converted into testosterone:

http://www.hemingways.org/GIDinfo/hrt_m2f.htm

I was on a T blocker while using progesterone and my T remained at a normal female level during that time; it did not really change much. The androgenic effects and weight gain were clearly caused by the progesterone itself and not by conversion to testosterone. My doctor said it was plausible that progesterone could be androgenic, since it binds to androgen receptors that may otherwise be vacant (and therefore inactive) while testosterone production is suppressed. She really does not care whether I take it or not; whatever makes me look and feel better is fine. I did not do well on it.

Quote from: katrinaw on March 01, 2015, 07:49:52 AM
Interesting debate, there seems to be a real divide between good and not so good...

Wow you're right, so far the poll results are split 50/50.  And the feedback is along those lines too, if I interpret these stories right:

9 cases are neutral (positives may not outweigh the negatives)
5 are mostly negative
5 are mostly positive

Positives like improved mood and breast swelling (some of you say it's temporary), and negatives like masculinization in the belly/face and depression, make it a hard decision.  It's probably different for each person and dose.

It makes sense now that a lot of Endos don't include it.  There doesn't seem to be a consistently positive effect.   You probably wouldn't see a drug sold on the market that only helped 50% of the people that took it.

For me, I picked up my first prescription of micronized progesterone (at the lowest dose), but I don't have high expectations.

I just wanted to follow up and to say that I've tried the lowest dose of micronized progesterone on and off for the past month.

For breast size/development, I was surprised how noticeable the effects were immediately. When I take it once at night, I have measurably fuller breasts for the following 1 - 2 days.  But the effect is mostly temporary, and if I haven't taken another capsule by the third day, they lose their extra fullness.

I was happy that however, maybe by coincidence, my bust size had started measurably growing again a little when it had previously seemed to plateau.

It also noticeably improves mood and libido in those following 2 days, but only moderately, and I wonder if it might be due to the breast changes.

One side effect is definitely increased appetite, like other people mentioned.  I also had to take it at night, because taking it in the morning made me moody/tired by the evening.  I didn't notice any face/stomach masculine changes when I only took it once every 2-3 days.  I haven't seen any other side effects so far so I plan to continue taking it  every 3 days.

It wasn't part of my HRT but I have tried progesterone recently because I didn't like how my nipples were so small compared to the areolas and the breast. It's an easy thing to do as progesterone creams are also available OTC. The ingredients say USP Progesterone, so it's not some weird herbal thing.

I did that for 15 days, now I'm off for 15 days. It seems to have helped a bit with the nipple size.

About the breast swelling, totally agreed - it's temporary and stops after you're off. But even after that my breast were more sensitive for a while

My conclusion is that it could help for the nipples, not sure about the rest so I'm just applying the cream on my boobs and I'll see. It's OTC anyway.

Is cyproterone a progestin? I get confused. Was on that, now spironolactone and progynova. Has worked really well for me.

But yeah, I never thought I would grow big boobs naturally either. Hello double D's. They are still growing actually - 13-14 years later. My Endo offered me a progesterone shot to halt breast growth. I'm thinking I might take it.

But yeah. 20D or 18DD depending on my weight... I never really cared about boob size. I must say though, I like mine. They do get a bit too much attention sometimes though lol!