Quote from: josie76 on May 17, 2017, 06:10:35 PM
So I just left my endocrinologist appointment and filled my prescriptions for a full dose of estradiol and medroxyprogesterone.
Congrats Josie and I don't mean to rain on your parade but I feel I must mention something as regards to medroxyprogesterone acetate as I've read extensively on the matter.
This is a progestogen that can, in some people, lead to depression, anxiety and/or suicidal depression so watch out for that. In contrast to progesterone that is naturally produced in our bodies and converts to neurosteroids (allopregnanolone, pregnanolone) that have shown to be anti-depressive and anxiolytic as long as their concentrations remain stable.
Medroxyprogesterone is also weakly to moderately androgenic as it triggers androgen receptors. This is the reason estrogen's beneficial effect on lipids (HDL, LDL) is reversed by MPA. Progesterone, on the other hand, is not androgenic and has no negative impact on lipids.
Medroxyprogesterone has been, in a large randomized trial involving ciswomen, associated with an increase in the risk of coronary heart disease and breast cancer. Other cohort studies, although less reliable, have further confirmed these findings. This is not the case with progesterone.
Lastly, it's been speculated that due to its glucocorticoid actions, it increases the risk of coagulation in women. Progesterone does not increase the risk.
Some doctors no longer prescribe medroxyprogesterone for this reason and many women refuse to take it.