& another progesterone cream ?

[Sheri]

Okay...so what is the correct usage for the cream. I have found SO many different opinions on the web and I am still looking but I am getting more and more confused.

This is what I "THINK" (based on what most websites say) since I would be "peri-menopausal": Start cream at ovulation (around day 14) for 2 weeks (until cycle is due).


Is that correct? I know, call my Dr., I thought I'd just get some advice here also.

What if you are a few days past ovulation? Can you start using it at that point or do you have to wait until next month?

[WendyW]

I expect that like may things, every info source is going to give different recommendations.

I bought one that came in a pump can with pre-measured doses. The book I read said to use it as you would BCP: all the time with a week off for your period.

[Negin in Grenada]

Sheri, when I went to a very good and trusted place for my bre@st thermogram, they gave me very specific instructions and told me to use the progesterone cream throughout - not to worry about ovulation, etc. - of course, I don't use a Rx one or anything. Mine is all-natural, non-synthetic, etc. I do go for days where I'm too lazy. I also don't use it on weekends. I take very few supplements, if at all, on weekends also. The body needs a break every now and then, a challenge so to speak ...

Here's the info I have. Hopefully, it will be of help.

Oftentimes, estrogen dominance is due to a lack of progesterone. Balancing out estrogen with progesterone is important. Progesterone is the brake pedal for estrogen.
Not all progesterone creams are alike. Make sure to get one that is natural, organic, bio-identical and not synthetic. Emerita is a very good one. I got mine from amazon. Ann Louise Gittleman also has one called ProgestaKey. I don’t know much about it.
Please keep in mind natural does not imply organic. Many of these creams have not only the main ingredients based on phytoestrogens, but also have the toxic xenohormones, parabens and mineral oil too. They are far from organic. So be aware and ask questions about your creams!
Apply ¼ to ½ teaspoon of the progesterone cream directly to your br@asts morning and evening. More progesterone is absorbed into br@ast tissues when it’s applied to them directly, and that’s ultimately where you want most of the progesterone to go. Do not apply it to other areas, even if the instructions tell you to do so. Progesterone receptors are only found in the bre@sts (and ovaries), so apply directly to the br@asts to decrease vascularity. Repeated thermograms prove this is the only correct application method to reduce vascularity and risk. Or to explain this easier, if you cut your thumb and you apply Neosporin to your elbow how effective is that? Apply the cream directly to area that it is needed. It can reduce some signs of menopause when applied indirectly, but when you move it to the br@asts you will see a greater decrease in menopause issues and more importantly you are reducing the vascularity in the br@asts.
For those who turn up their nose at progesterone creams, do know that that Prempro is very different from progesterone. The former is a synthetic, the latter natural. The effects on the body therefore are much different. Also, many women who took Prempro also took Premarin, which aggravated everything. Beware of synthetic progesterone (progestin), which won’t work the way natural or bio-identical progesterone does. Your body has difficulty breaking down the synthetic form, used in birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy, so this altered form creates a potential for toxic effects. In fact, after progestin was added to HRT, women’s cancer risk increased!
Many do not feel comfortable taking even bio-identical progesterone indefinitely. They may use it for, a year or two, and then find that it is no longer as helpful as it was initially. Progesterone creams can be helpful for a short period of time, but over time the progesterone may build up in the fat layers of the body and is continually released over time from these cells. So, it’s possible that it loses its efficacy over time. I think that many things lose efficacy over time. It's often good to take a break from supplements and such for this very reason. And then to re-start again.

[Sheri]

Thanks Negin.

[Carol S]

The doc that I used the first time (a kind of holistic GP) used days 12-24 as the time frame. The doc that prescribed it for me again asked what I did before and said that would be just fine.

In my case, my cycles are considerably longer than 28 days, so I don't ovulate until generally day 18 at the earliest. Of course the progesterone cream shortened them and regulated them. I enjoyed the predictability. I'm definitely going to get some for next cycle. For the remainder of this cycle, I'll just cry a lot.

[Melissa Crabtree]

I'm peri-menopausal as well. I start any day after ovulation that I remember and continue until my cycle starts. Works for me! I wait until I know my ovulation symptoms are gone as I want to be sur I'm still ovulating. I read somewhere once that if you use it before ovulation your body will think you have ovulated (b/c a released egg is what prompts the rise in progesterone) and then not do so.

[Sheri]

Thanks Melissa and Carol! Appreciate it.

I finally decided that even though I was a few days past ovulation I'd start using it anyway figuring it wouldn't kill me and just might save me (or someone else in the line of fire LOL).