People's experience with progesterone.

[Sophia Sage]

Is there anything in the literature regarding whether progesterone has any effect on the skin?

[KayXo]

Yes.

Br J Dermatol. 2005 Sep;153(3):626-34.

"The results of this study demonstrate that topical (...) progesterone acts primarily in increasing elasticity and firmness in the skin of peri- and postmenopausal women. These effects in combination with good tolerability make progesterone a possible treatment agent for slowing down the ageing process of female skin after onset of the menopause."

Maturitas. 2001 Jul 25;39(1):43-55.

"Twenty-four patients (45-68 years; mean age, 54.9 years) without hormone treatment for at least 6 months were included. Patients were assigned to three therapy groups: 1, oestrogen only (...) (n=6); 2, transdermal oestrogen and progesterone (...) (n=7); and 3, oral oestrogen and progesterone"

Progesterone was administered intravaginally.

"Mean levels of epidermal skin moisture, elasticity and skin thickness were improved at the end of treatment based on both subjective and objective evaluation in patients with hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Skin surface lipids were increased during combined HRT, which may reflect stimulatory effects of the progestagen component on sebaceous gland activity, while oestrogen alone has a sebum-suppressive action."

"HRT with the mentioned regimes significantly improved parameters of skin ageing."

To be fair, some studies have also found no effect of P on sebum production while some studies even showed a temporary decrease. Results will depend on dose, the sex of the individual, hormonal environment, etc. I suspect that with E, P will have a slight sebum-stimulating action, preventing skin from getting too dry. This is my experience and that of some other transwomen. I also find my skin has improved in appearance and texture since taking P and several women, including myself can testify to its youth giving properties, based on the feedback of others.

[jujubes1986]

I've heard lots of varying things about people's experience with progesterone.  Some saying it helped breast growth, other sources saying its useless.  Some people say it had a positive mental effect, others saying it had a negative effect.

Has anyone here taken progesterone, and what difference do you think it made for you?

My surgeon recommended progesterone for elasticity of the vagina l cavity skin


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[judithlynn]

 In Australia, Promethium has recently been aded to what we call the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. This means that  all Doctors can prescribe it and its is available with a Government subsidy to citizens. For a long time now I have been trying to get my Doctor to prescribe it for me, but the only way he would do this was to refer me to an endocrinologist  as he wasn't able or willing to prescribe the medication (which up till October would have required compounding (that is making up special dosages).

Now Promethium has become "official;" on the PBS and is being hailed as the miracle drug for post menopausal women.

I have been on an Oestrogen only regime for nearly 4 years and  whilst for over 3.5 years was just on 1 pill per day, my GP doubled it a year ago and I have definitely seen more results. But I have  found now with the increased Oestrogen that I get sleepless nights, I get  stressed out to easily and I have a problem with dry and itching patches on my skin, especially on my shoulders and upper back. Also  hands are all too often terribly dry with my nails very brittle and breaking easily. Not so good when I like to keep my nails long.

I have been following all these discussions and know a couple of MTF friends in the UK that cycle Promethium from about the 15th day to about the 26th day of each month.  i have also tried cycling my Oestrogen to see if that would improve my overall feelings and growth. I am now a B going on C Cup but have little or no growth for 1 year now).  So I  take just one pill a day for the first  10 days then do  my full regime but one pill twice a day, then at the 4th week slip back to 1 pill once a day. What I am wondering is whether it would be sensible to consider this approach when taking Promethium (I plan on getting it on the PBS next week when I see my doctor) i.e. cycling it to the 13th-24th of the month, but taking it before I go to sleep but after dinner. What I wondering though is  should I be taking E+P on days 13-24 or just P and then E on the Days 1-15 and days  24-30. Obviously I am only seeing guidance here as I will discuss with my GP.  One point is I have a US Girlfriend that cycles mimicking the Cis female cycle and reports great progress, but by the end of it describes the Progesterone as very cloying ( basically making oneself very dependent on it). And I have another girlfriend in the UK that takes it  constantly. All advice would be welcome.
Judith Lynn

[KayXo]

I have been on an Oestrogen only regime for nearly 4 years and  whilst for over 3.5 years was just on 1 pill per day, my GP doubled it a year ago and I have definitely seen more results. But I have  found now with the increased Oestrogen that I get sleepless nights, I get  stressed out to easily and I have a problem with dry and itching patches on my skin, especially on my shoulders and upper back. Also  hands are all too often terribly dry with my nails very brittle and breaking easily. Not so good when I like to keep my nails long.

I experienced all of the above on estradiol PILLS (Estrace) and the higher the dose, the worse these things became BUT my breasts grew! Adding Prometrium somewhat helped but switching to injections of estradiol valerate pretty much resolved all these things. My skin is now soft, smooth, much more elastic and young looking. Hair is shiny and looks great. I sleep well at night, for the most part. My nails are strong. Apparently, progesterone increases sebum production (where estrogen has the opposite action) so makes skin less dry and nails stronger but I noticed these when I switched to injections, not when I added progesterone. 

I have been following all these discussions and know a couple of MTF friends in the UK that cycle Promethium from about the 15th day to about the 26th day of each month.

I take it continuously. Cycling it would lead to mood swings, I personally don't like it. It's also speculated on the basis of findings today and in the past, in celibate nuns, that perhaps cycles increase breast cancer risk. Discuss this with a doctor.

Lancet. 2012 Jun 23;379(9834):2322-3.

« 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."

I have a US Girlfriend that cycles mimicking the Cis female cycle

Today, women have an increased incidence of breast cancer and the number of cycles has greatly increased as well compared to traditional times when women spent most their lives being pregnant or breastfeeding and where cycles were much less. More cycles, greater rate of proliferation of cells as cells get renewed following apoptosis, increased risk of mutation as well. Cycles also increase the chance of having PMS. No thanks!

[SadieBlake]

Since I last posted to this thread (November, now mid January) I've had to attribute some return of depression to the progesterone. No experiment can be done in absence of external factors and it's been a time of greatly increased stress, still I believe my responses have been trending depressive and so I'm taking a bit of a holiday from P.

My operating theory for right now is that a steady diet of progesterone over several months has had a strong negative effect on mood while going off of it has definitely cut into my libido.

So I will reintroduce it cycling, which is more like what happens for natal females anyhow.

I'll continue to update this thread as I continue to address a best approach.

[KayXo]

I've been on HRT since 2004. Being on both progesterone and estrogen for quite a long time, I'm starting to suspect that if progesterone causes a depression in mood, it may be, in certain women, because of its somewhat anti-estrogenic actions so that increasing E a little might offset this while still benefiting from progesterone's other effects (growth of milk glands, hair/skin improvement, libido increase). Progesterone is also quickly metabolized and eliminated from the body so that in some women, taking it once daily versus twice or even thrice daily may cause withdrawal symptoms such that the mood drops after a certain number of hours. Interestingly, a study also found that by reducing the levels of one its metabolites, allopregnanolone, which has hypnotic/sedative effects, mood could be improved. They did this by administering dutasteride which blocks the conversion of progesterone to that metabolite.

These are merely my observations as a transsexual woman. You absolutely need to discuss this with a professional and find what works best for you and what is safe for you to do. As with anything, there are potential side-effects that one must not overlook.

[RobynD]

After about 10 months of adding progesterone, i have not seen increased skin oiliness at least that i am aware of. In general HRT has softened my skin and i've had too many comments to the affect of " your skin looks great" or " you look younger" to ignore the thought that progesterone may have something to do with that. It feels like elasticity is better too.

It is just a bit confusing because i do not see increased sebum, i lotion daily pretty much my whole body.

Mood wise i do see both improvement after taking the prometrium (which i take in later evening for sleep benefits) and somewhat of a down turn in between. I'm going to ask my doctor about that. The effects on my breasts maturing have been awesome.

[KayXo]

My skin also looks better with progesterone, less dry, more elastic. Hair, too. It's "glowy" sometimes and translucent. People think I'm up to 20 yrs younger (usually about 10-15 yrs) than I am and I'm not exaggerating, recent interactions with colleagues at work have confirmed this to my surprise and delight, of course. I also get compliments on my hair looking so nice and shiny. Can't complain.