How to use progesterone cream
Hormonal changes mark the transitional phases of our lives. Although both sexes are subject to them, women have a far more complex experience than men when it comes to life changes initiated by hormonal transitions. What follows are details of how to use progesterone cream to help the body through these specific transitional phases.
•The Pre-pubertal phase
Progesterone is given to pre-term male and female infants with respiratory distress syndrome. It's effective for calming, and for any sleep issues in babies and children. Babies have been bathed in it for 9 months of their lives prior to birth.
Natural progesterone is the only hormone that does not adversely affect a male or female baby or child. So if some should rub off an adult using it, no harm will come. Unlike testosterone or oestrogen, which cause serious side effects in a male or female baby or child.
If progesterone is used on an infant or child, this is the only case when size does matter.
1mg of progesterone or a pin head amount of cream can be applied to infants,
older children use 5-10mg.
It only needs to be used for easing the child over a rough patch.
It helps with adverse symptoms experienced prior to puberty, and any found while going through puberty.
•Menarche
Menstruation starts about two years after puberty begins and is known as menarche.
These two years can bring mood swings, temper tantrums, defiant behaviour, skin outbreaks and more. Oestrogen and testosterone levels are rising, but it's not until menarche occurs and with it ovulation, does progesterone production begin.
100-200mg/day progesterone should be used, dependant on symptoms.
As there is no cycle to follow the progesterone can be applied daily until a cycle starts.
•Heavy / Continual Bleeding
It is essential to use a high amount of progesterone if menorrhagia or excessive, continual bleeding is a problem.
Between 400-600mg/day is normally needed.
If the bleeding is continual, use it both daily and hourly. Using it hourly by splitting the dose into small portions keeps the level constant throughout the day.
If there is a menstruation cycle, it is best to ignore it and use the progesterone daily, hourly too, until the bleeding is under control. The progesterone can be used to regulate the cycle once bleeding has stopped.
If the heavy bleeding occurs during peri-menopause, the progesterone will stop it, but will not regulate the cycle again.
Women are often given progestins to stop the bleeding, but these suppress progesterone production and come with adverse side effects. Please see this page on contraceptives.
Supporting nutrients for heavy bleeding:
The amino acid N-acetyl cysteine is a powerful antioxidant, which can help control the bleeding as it inhibits MMP's. Consider taking 2000mg/day.
Vitamin D is essential for the normal functioning of all cells, and to prevent early commencement of the menstruation cycle. Have a blood test done to check the level. For more information please see.
GrassrootsHealth
Vitamin D Links
VitaminD Society
Please note vitamin D specialists recommend a minimum of 50ng/ml (125nmol). The less conservative a range of 70-100ng/ml (175-250nmo/L), and not 30ng/ml (75nmol/L), which is regarded as adequate by various governments. The minimum daily dose should be 5000iu's per day. Although the latest research suggests 10,000 per day, see here.
Taurine is another powerful antioxidant. Low levels have been found in women with endometrial cancer, cystic endometrial hyperplasia, fibromyoma (fibroids), and dysfunctional uterine bleeding. Consider taking 2000mg/day.
Bioflavonoids have been found to strengthen capillaries. They appear to be weakened in heavy and/or continual bleeding or spotting. The preparation that was used in the study comprised 90% diosmin and 10% hesperidin. Consider taking 1000mg/day.
•Reproductive phase
This lasts from menarche to peri-menopause when fertility starts to drop.
A normal cycle length varies from 21 days to 35 days, 28 days being the average. This is the reason that manufacturers of contraceptives and HRT pack their product in twenty eight day batches.
Cycles outside this range are generally regarded as abnormal. For more information on this see the pages on menstruation and PCOS.
All women, irrespective of their cycle length, ovulate 12-14 days before bleeding.
This phase of the cycle is known as the luteal or secretory phase. Progesterone should be used during the luteal phase, ie from ovulation to bleeding, to supplement any deficiency. The deficiency can be caused by a defective luteal phase, or anovulatory cycles. These begin round about age 35, which is when many women find their PMS symptoms become worse.
100-200mg/day progesterone should be used, more if symptoms are severe.
Normal Cycle Lengths
Everyone, including the medical profession, assumes a normal cycle length is always 28 days in all women. This is simply not the case.
It varies between 21 to 35 days, which makes 28 days the average only.
There is a fundamental error in advising women to start using progesterone on day 14. This is only appropriate for women with a 28 day cycle.
If a woman has a 21 day cycle, starting on day 14 would mean she starts using progesterone a week after ovulation. She would then only use progesterone for 7 days before bleeding began.
Likewise a woman with a 35 day cycle would begin progesterone a week before ovulation,
which would effectively stop it. She would then use progesterone for 21 days.
Progesterone should always be used from ovulation, for the last 12-14 days of the cycle.
Or if wishing to fall pregnant, it can be started during the 50 hour surge which occurs prior to ovulation.
Progesterone can be used while on drug based contraceptives. It should be used when taking the second half of the packet.
Progesterone is safe to use with any drug, there are no contraindications.
•Peri-menopause
This normally begins 5 to 10 years before menopause. As a rough guide, women tend to go into menopause round about the same age as their mothers.
There's no significant change when entering peri-menopause, such as the start of bleeding in puberty. Or the stopping of bleeding in menopause.
Many women have no symptoms at all, but many do, some quite severe. Progesterone levels are now dropping, and continue dropping at an ever faster rate. This is due to the increased frequency of anovulatory cycles.
Roughly one to two years prior to menopause cycles can become very erratic. Every two weeks, or at three month intervals, there is no telling when bleeding will occur. This can vary from spotting, to a normal period, to flooding.
100-200mg/day progesterone should be used, more if symptoms are severe.
Once cycles become erratic, and impossible to follow, it's best to stop following the cycle and use progesterone daily, through any bleeding. It is safe to do so. For more information see progesterone misconceptions.
Ironically no caution is given to women who take contraceptives continually, some of which are progestin only.
•Menopause
This begins on average at age 51. It's normal to wait a year before judging menopause has begun. Many women think their problems will be over once in menopause, but this is often not the case. Ovulation has now ceased, ovarian production of progesterone and oestrogen has stopped. But fat cells continue secreting oestrone, the menopause oestrogen, until death. Unfortunately there is no compensatory secretion of progesterone.
Many women have their oestrogen levels tested and are told it is low. But it's oestradiol which is tested for, the pre-menopause oestrogen, never oestrone, the oestrogen secreted from menopause onwards.
Oestradiol should be low, it varies from 0-30pg/ml (0 - 110.13 pmol/L), see our page on hormone testing for more information.
100-200mg/day progesterone should be used, more if symptoms are severe.
As there is no cycle to follow, use progesterone daily. Many women are
advised to take a break, but it's not necessary. For more information see progesterone misconceptions.
Ironically no caution is given to women who take HRT continually.
Women who begin using progesterone for the first time once in menopause can experience one period, rarely two. This is nothing to be alarmed about. Over the course of the proceeding months or years the small amount of oestrogen being secreted by fat cells is enough to build or thicken the lining. The progesterone is effectively cleaning out the uterus. The bleeding more often than not occurs within the first year of menopause, but it has been known for women 12 years into menopause to have a period when first using progesterone.
•Men
Using progesterone is easy as men have no cycle to follow therefore it can be applied daily.
It is best to apply it twice a day, more frequently if symptoms are severe.
Use between 10-100mg/day progesterone, more if severe symptoms are experienced.
Levels over 1200mg/day are given to men who have suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Men secrete <3.18 nmol/L (<1 ng/ml) progesterone daily.