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I just can't tolerate progesterone!!

Posted , 11 users are following.

AJacynM
AJacynM

Hi all, 

I feel so awful right now, I want to cry and could do with a punch bag as I think I'm having another bad reaction to progesterone... 

I'm fine on oestrogen and feel it helps me with concentration, tiredness, mood etc... but as soon as I add in the progesterone in for the last two weeks of my cycle, my body goes crazy and this time I'm so tired I can hardly carry on, I'm really emotional and just can't think straight either, I'm really not with it! 

Currently I'm using utrogestran tabs, 2 at night... and it's just awful. I've tried other progesterones in Evorel and Femseven patches but they had adverse affects too... 

I'm currently using Evorel oestrogen patches and they've helping but just want to find a progesterone that suits me. 

I feel as if I'm losing the plot and really want to cry but have got two children to look after so desperately need to hold it together... 

Does anyone know of a progesterone that I could possibly try that maybe you've had success with??? Please help if you can - I know you're all going through this too but I really hope you're having a better day than me today. 

Thank you. 

AJ. 

0 likes, 23 replies

23 Replies

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  • gailannie
    gailannie AJacynM

    Posted

    I'm assuming you're in Europe by the prescriptions you mentioned.  What I can offer is that progesterone is often OVERLY prescribed.  What I found is that a vaginal progesterone often works better than orals.  it can be compounded in smaller amounts and still give you the desired effect.  There is a big pharma progesterone products available for vaginal use.  It was called Crinone, and I believe it's new name is Prochieve.  

    I'm also assuming you are in perimenopause (still having periods)  I loved a compounded vaginal suppository of 25 mg progesterone back when I was at that phase.  

    Hope this helps.  

  • Guest
    Guest AJacynM

    Posted

    Hi J

    like you I have been on all the progesterone after lots test all ok my consultant and myself are try a new combination so far so good I do crinone progesterone gel for 15 days every 12_14 weeks and supposed to be little side affects, I start Thursday and been on oestrogen 75 only patch’s and daily testogel feel great , I am intolerant to all progesterone I have tried but this one I have to try as I have a uterus I need to have some but my uterus’s messaged 4.7 within the range and biopsy scans ok , we will try this and scan to see if any build up some ppl can do this combination . I will let you know how I get on I have chosen Thursday as have holidays in sept and also been away so will be 10 weeks . Hope this helps 

    • AJacynM
      AJacynM Guest

      Posted

      Hi Joanne, 

      Are you in the US as my doctors won't test me at all and say they go off symptoms as hormones can go up and down during any one day do no point in tests... So frustrating as I have no idea what my levels are at all and I just feel sooooo awful that I know something  is not right and, like you, I know that the progesterone is the major issue.

      Thank you for replying and yes please let me know how you get on as if you find relief then I will look into this and maybe go private if I can't get help through my GP... 

      Thanks again. 

      AJ. x

    • Guest
      Guest AJacynM

      Posted

      Hi AJ

      i am in uk I lean tests scan on uterus to see all is ok so you can take the progesterone every 3 months xx

    • sn21848
      sn21848 AJacynM

      Posted

      AJx I live in Texas and I get blood tests for hormones and I have taken the saliva hormone test which does not require a prescription from the doctor. You can pick up the saliva test from a compounding pharmacy or order online. For some people the blood tests don't always correlate with the saliva but for me pretty close.

      I have had two uterus scans in the last 7 months because I have a fibroid tumor in my uterus and I haven't really been taking the progesterone regularly. My uterus lining is thin and my last scan showed no growth in the fibroid where as the scan prior showed growth it did but the time before that was a year or two back. I had my first scan in 2012 when I was having issues. That is when they found the small fibroid but my gall bladder was the real problem

      Doctors can do a biopsy to see if any cancer cells are going in the uterus after using HRT. I don't go by the wait three years for a pap smear. About 10 years ago I tested for positive precancer cells but no HPV. I had it lasered off and no return so far. My pap smears have been good since. I, also, had a good mammogram several months ago.

      Doctors will do tests if you push or if you have a good working relationship. You can get one of the mail in hormone tests if you can't get the doctor but that is more expensive than if you happen to have health insurance and you can get a blood test.

      I personally go by how I feel when it comes to HRT but many times without blood tests hormones can get too high. That is why it is a good idea to get tested periodically just for safety sake. Doctors can give dosages that are too high for you. That is why for some people compounding is better since the dosage can be tailored made for you. Some people need something between the 2 available dosages. 

    • AJacynM
      AJacynM sn21848

      Posted

      At this point in my life I kind of wish I live in the US!! There seems to be so much more help regarding the menopause... my doctors just point blank refuse to do blood tests... I will defo look into the saliva mail through test though if I can do it as I would love to know what my hormone levels are right now... I just don't know whether to take another utrogestran tablet tonight or not to be honest... I felt sooooo bad today I just don't want to! 😬 It scared me how I felt total exhaustion and dizzy.. so much so I couldn't drive. 😕

      xx

  • sn21848
    sn21848 AJacynM

    Posted

    I can't tolerate progesterone orally or topically. I get more depressed and angry. I first realized what was going on by watching my daughter on her new birth control. Over the months she seemed to be getting angrier. When I checked the dosage she was getting a lot of progestin with a low dose of synthetic estrogen. I convinced her to change to pills with less progestin and more synthetic estrogen. Right away she was much calmer.

    I started wondering about me because I had a bad reaction to one birth control I used after I had my child. I looked it up and it was a high progestin only pill. Long story short I can't tolerate the progesterone now. I keep trying a small dose here and there and I mean really low dose and I start getting mad again. I think it is converting to testosterone because I start getting these man hairs on my body when I use to for too long.

    My mom only used estrogen but she lost her uterus to a big fibroid tumor. I still have my uterus but I have a fibroid tumor that decided to start growing again. Some people go on very low estrogen without the progesterone but of course that may increase the chance of cancer but studies are conflicted on that now. The doctor checked my uterus lining and it is still thin. I think now I'm not even doing that great on the tiny amount of estrogen and I mean really tiny amount.

    I do have small benign nodules on my thyroid and I am not sure if that is affecting me. My mom had thyroid issues but mine never gets bad enough to get treated My uncle her brother had a parathyroid benign tumor. If you haven't had a scan you might do that.

    So for me no success with progesterone. Sorry.

    • AJacynM
      AJacynM sn21848

      Posted

      Hi SN,

      Thanks for the info... I wonder if I will be the same... I haven't tried topical yet and I wish I didn't have to at all to be honest as I feel exactly like you say - angry, down, exhausted... but I have a uterus so I need to take it  as long as I use oestrogen. I'm using Evorel 50 oestrogen patches and feel pretty good on them until I add in the progesterone - trouble is I know that each month the side effects will increase until I feel crap most of the time as that's exactly what's happened with previous progesterones I've tried... 

      Think I'll have to go back to my surgery  on Monday and chat with someone 😞.

      Thanks again. Hope you can feel better soon too. Hang in there. 

      AJ. xx

  • sn21848
    sn21848 AJacynM

    Posted

    I would say the cream was slightly better than the progesterone cream and I always worry about the possibility of transferring the cream to others. There is a estrogen/progestin patch combo. I found topical hormones speed me up a bit too much sometimes.
  • jilllieberman
    jilllieberman AJacynM

    Edited

    I was on prometrium then I had blood from nipple biopsy showed cells called lcis not precancer or cancer but now I am higher risk for breast cancer !  My breast surgeon is top on Country he said taking progesterone can have been the cause for the cells 
    • sn21848
      sn21848 jilllieberman

      Posted

      Yes more and more is coming out about progesterone. I fear that women who buy the creams in the health food stores and smear them on could have real problems. I ran out of progesterone cream one time and I used some of the over the counter cream being careful to take the right dose and yes it does affect the body. Progesterone is thought to be linked to cancer, blood clots and fibroid tumor growth. It makes me feel so sluggish. So we are pretty much damned if we do and damned if we don't. Each person is different and each person reacts differently to different hormones. It is not an one size fits all.

    • mary27278
      mary27278 sn21848

      Edited

      Hi Sn21848 I also had a problem with progesterone but later found out it was an underlying problem that was causing the adverse reaction from progesterone. I've used otc progesterone years before peri hit with no issues whatsoever but helped me alot. Now, since peri It just would not agree with me because the problem was elsewhere. Also, have you tried biodentical progesterone vs. syntheic? There is a difference, biodentical are safer than syntheic. I think you may be confusing the difference when it comes to being linked to cancer. You may want to consider doing other testing such as cortisol and adrenals. Hope it gets better for you..

    • AJacynM
      AJacynM jilllieberman

      Posted

      Oh gosh poor you... isn't so awful for us and I really hope you're ok. Did he say if you stop taking the progesterone, will your risk factor go back to normal?

       xxx

    • AJacynM
      AJacynM mary27278

      Posted

      That's why they put me on  utrogestran as they told me it is bio identical so less side effects... 😞

      xxx

  • sn21848
    sn21848 AJacynM

    Posted

    I just got tired of trying to find the balance between the progesterone and the estrogen. When my  mom alive couldn't understand what I was going through because she only took estrogen. My obgyn has asked me do I want to remove my uterus so I can take only estrogen and I told him no. There is a raw root I was eating for a while called a Chinese yam . There is a japanese name for it too. People in Asia use to stir fry and cook in soups. You can get it in the Asian grocery stores. It is pretty benign and some scientist from the Chinese Medicine University in Shanghai I think that is right,  extracted the ingredient from the root that is the phytoestrogen and it did boost estrogen in rats. They were hoping to export the ingredient to the U.S. to use as a more safe HRT replacement but with the situation with tariffs from China that probably won't happen any time soon.

    • sn21848
      sn21848

      Posted

      the root is a bit slimy when eaten raw. the scientists actually heated it a bit. It also helps other things like cholesterol and it has a truck load of nutrients including biotin. I think it helps with collagen too. I think I am going to go back to the root and see if I feel better. Right now I am trying to get through the withdraws again. To make it even more difficult I also have osteopenia which comes before the osteoarthritis and usually the treatment is estrogen.
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