Natural Progesterone
Natural progesterone is a term used to describe bio-identical progesterone (the same as what is found in your body) given as a medicine. The term 'natural progesterone' is preferred over plain 'progesterone' because it can be confused with 'progestins', progesterone-like synthetic hormones.
Progesterone is a very important hormone found in both women and men. In women, it is responsible for telling the breast and uterine tissue to stop growing and mature. Uncontrolled breast and uterine tissue growth can lead to cancer; progesterone is the body's hormonal version of a brake. In both men and women, progesterone encourages the building of new bone and helps prevent bone loss. Progesterone acts in the brain to lower anxiety and decrease excitation. Progesterone also serves as a counterweight to estrogen. The two hormones have opposite actions and work together, balancing the other hormone's effects on the body.
Natural progesterone is used most often in women who have too much estrogen in their body, or who have normal estrogen levels but not enough progesterone to balance the estrogen's actions. This can include premenopausal women in their late twenties and thirties, and peri- or postmenopausal women in their forties and fifties. Symptoms of too much or unopposed estrogen include water retention, weight gain, insomnia, mood swings, hot flashes, vaginal dryness and discomfort, and short-term memory loss. Natural progesterone is a better alternative than commercially available progestins because it is a natural substance normally found in the body. It's chemical structure fits with the body's systems like a hand in a glove, while the synthetic progestins are like trying to put a square peg in a round hole; it can be made to fit, but not well, and often not without side effects. For this reason, progesterone is safer than progestins and has very few side effects unless taken in excess.
Natural progesterone is usually prescribed by a physician after a lab test (a blood or saliva measurement of hormone levels) shows a deficiency. Progesterone is available in a topical cream or oral lozenge from a compounding pharmacy. Your doctor will decide how much you need based on your levels of progesterone and the amount made by a normal ovulating women (about 20mg per day). The amount of progesterone needed varies from woman to woman. While hormone level tests are used to gauge whether the prescribed dose is correct, it is important to take into account whether you are taking any hormone replacement therapies, or, if you are still cycling, where you are in your menstrual cycle.
Topical creams are currently the preferred method of giving natural progesterone, because it is absorbed more slowly across the skin than it is in the mouth or stomach. The slow absorbtion of a topical cream mimics your body's natural release of hormones better than a lozenge or pill. The progesterone cream should be measured as accurately as possible to ensure the right amount of progesterone is absorbed. The cream should be applied to thin skin; a good rule of thumb is anywhere your skin blushes: your face, neck, chest, or your palms (if they are not callused), wrists, and inner arms. For constant blood levels, it is recommended to apply the cream twice a day, with a larger portion of the total daily dose applied before bedtime. If this is too difficult to do, then natural progesterone cream can be applied once a day at bedtime.
