progesterone question

I was wondering if a woman (before hysterectomy/removal of ovaries) produces progesterone in the first half of her menstrual cycle? I know we do in the second half after ovulation, but not sure about the first half. The reason I am asking is because I was wondering if estrogen is always balanced by progesterone. If anyone has any answers it would be greatly appreciated. Again, thank you everyone for being there and helping me not to feel so alone going through this jungle.

Hi Nancy This link has information and a chart of hormone levels during the menstrual cycle:

http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ult...xHormones.html

You can see on the chart that there is always some progesterone, but the ratio of progesterone to estrogen changes quite a lot over the course of the month, so the estrogen is not always balanced by progesterone.

I hope this helps!
s,
-Linda

Surferbabe,
Thank you for the quick response and the link to the hormone chart. This has answered my question. Boy, by looking at the fluctuations in hormones it's no wonder anyone can ever feel balanced! So am I right in thinking that we do need all three hormones to replace the ones that our ovaries were producing, and that they all work together? And also, If our bodies produce hormones elsewhere (other than the ovaries) does that quit once we start hormone therapy or do we have to work around that? (I hope I'm making sense).
Thanks again to everyone for your help.

I think we do need all three hormones, but we can make progesterone from dietary cholesterol, so many of us make enough of it without having to supplement. Everyone is different, so some ladies do well on just estrogen, while others may have to add testosterone or progesterone or both to feel "right".

We all produce varying amounts of hormones after the ovaries are removed, so it's impossible to predict whether the amount we produce is anything we'll need to work around in finding our balance with HRT's. To complicate things even further, our needs change with time, and with weight gain or loss, increased or decreased stress or activity level, and illness. Our ovaries, when we had them, automatically compensated for all those factors, but now we have to do that job ourselves. When you think about it, it's a wonder we ever can get balanced at all!

s,
-Linda

Linda,
I totally agree that its amazing any of us can find balance with our hrt (which I know can be done with work and patience) It seems like there's such a fine line between balance and unbalance. I pray for everyone trying to find this perfect balance because I know how hard it is as I have been searching for nearly 15 years.
Again, you have been very helpful and it is very much appreciated.
Thanks!