Natural Progesterone Therapy

Symptoms of Hormone Imbalance:

Symptoms of hormone imbalance are most often associated with menopause but the medical reality is that they can occur – for both men and women – at any age.

Who Does Natural Progesterone Help?  (see above)

If you have PMS: this is any single or group of unpleasant symptoms occurring during the 7 to 14 day premenstrual phase before a period begins. PMS symptoms typically improve during or after a period.
If you have estrogen dominance, low progesterone or pre-menopausal symptoms: The most common symptoms are water retention, breast swelling, breast tenderness, hot flashes, headaches, reduced sex drive, mood swings, depression, cravings for sweets, and weight gain, fat deposits at hips and thighs. Estrogen dominance can also increase risks for more serious conditions, such as breast disease, endometriosis, fibroids and uterine cancer.
If you have menopausal symptoms:  Hot flashes, night sweats and vaginally dryness are the most prominent symptoms of menopause. Many also complain about mental fogginess, mood swings, irritable bladder and heart palpitations
Bone Loss/Osteoporosis: means significantly worse than average bone density compared to similar age individuals. This significant loss of bone mass can result in increased fractures, loss of height, pain in the hips and back and spinal curvature. Affects can be crippling and debilitating if preventive measures are not taken early in a woman’s life. Good nutrition, exercise and avoiding risk factors are important in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Hormonal therapy can also be very beneficial, including natural progesterone

What are the benefits of progesterone use?
Improved brain function, diminished muscular aches and pains, improvement of skin problems including acne, seborrhea, rosacea, psoriasis and kaurosis, improved sleep pattern and improved libido have all been suggested in research on added progesterone therapy.

Can I use progesterone if there is a family history of breast or uterine cancer?
Absolutely — and it may even be strongly recommended.  Many experts and women’s health professionals feel that progesterone can have a beneficial effect on certain cancer risks, including cancer of the ovary, breast and definitely uterus. Progesterone therapy has been documented in numerous studies to decrease the incidence of uterine cancer.
The ovaries serve important functions in female reproduction, such as egg development and cycle control.  The ovaries also produce the sex hormones, e.g. estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.  The interaction of these hormones plays a vital role in maintaining the body’s optimum health and functions.  Hormonal production will decrease with age and the ratios of all three of these hormones will change over time. Progesterone levels commonly begin to decline first. This often starts in the mid to late 30’s in women. Hormone supplementation and balancing can be done to maintain the optimum levels and ratio of all sex hormones. Everyone has different needs; therefore some women require more progesterone cream to help alleviate symptoms, while others may use less. Your dosage will be recommended for you by your practitioner.
Human-identical progesterone can be dispensed in capsules, tablets, gel caps, suppositories (vaginal or rectal), sublingual drops and creams.  Topical creams have been shown to be the most effective mode of administration.  When human-identical progesterone is applied topically, it is absorbed transdermally (through the skin) immediately into the bloodstream and then distributed and utilized in progesterone target tissues. It then has an internal effect that is essentially the same as the progesterone that is produced naturally within the body.
In contrast, progesterone taken orally is often much less effective.  When progesterone comes into the body in oral form, it must be digested, then pass through the liver to be metabolized, where some of the progesterone is lost. Some people cannot metabolize progesterone effectively at all. That is why high-quality topical or cream formulations of real progesterone are much more effective than oral forms.
You can purchase various forms of “natural” Progesterone cream over-the-counter in most health food stores.   The fact is that you don’t always know what you are getting.  Most of the product labels do not specify whether or not they meet the following criteria for product excellence.
• Is the progesterone truly human-identical?
• Is the concentration appropriate for you?
• Do the hormones used in the formulation meet the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) gold standards for quality and purity?
• Was the progesterone product actually compounded under the strict guidelines approved by the National Association of Compounding Pharmacists?
• Is the concentration of oil in the cream formulation one that will allow proper absorption through the skin?
At Swor Women’s Care, we always suggest using nutritional and medical products that are made to acceptable quality standards. For hormones that are “formulated” by a pharmacist, there has to be trust in the individuals and facilities that supply the products. There are only a few such makers of compounded or formulated hormones that we rely on. The compounded hormones that we offer through our own office dispensary are formulated with the highest quality ingredients and manufactured in accordance with FDA standards. We use formulas that include the concentrations of human identical hormone that have been found to be most effective and that have a unique cream base that promotes maximum absorption and metabolism.  While over-the-counter progesterone cream can be helpful to many women, these products are only one element in a comprehensive approach for hormone balancing and gynecological health.  Any form of hormone replacement therapy should be monitored by a trained Gyn clinician.