Adding progesterone - good or bad

I had my hysterectomy (ovaries removed too) in March 2004. I am 48 years young. I was immediately put on Vivelle Dot .01 and must say I feel pretty good. Prior to the surgery I had been on birth control pills for 25+ years and only took a break when I had my 2 children. A good friend of mine has suggested that I really should be adding progesterone cream and that I am too estrogen dominant and possibly setting myself up for breast cancer and a host of other health problems. When I ran this by my Dr., I was told if you feel OK then there is no need to change things and the old thing that with no uterus, I really don't need progesterone. Would there be any harm in adding progesterone cream? I have been trying to research this and I'm becoming more confused. Some research seems to indicate that we really don't need the additional estrogen, that progesterone is the key.....M.D.'s think differently. Any opinions would be appreciated. You gals are the best. Thanks.

Hi!

Well, we are all different when it comes to our hormones. If you feel well without it, you may not want to add it and risk upsetting a good thing. However, if you have any symptoms it could help, it may be something you want to consider.

Here's a link to symptoms common for too much/too little estrogen, progesterone and testosterone which can help you decide if you have any symptoms which would be helped by using progesterone.

There are three articles in this link to the Hormone Article List (#s 30, 31 and 47) which can help you understand more about progesterone. If you want to research more, check out the links in the Hormone Jungle - Jungle Resources category of the Resource Database.

I hope this helps you decide if progesterone is something you want to try!

s

	Quote:
Originally Posted by texasprincess Some research seems to indicate that we really don't need the additional estrogen, that progesterone is the key.....M.D.'s think differently.

I understand how confusing things can get with all the different opinions on hormones. Some doctors think they are good for us, some don't. I know when I was researching hormones things got very confussing.

I just wanted to mention that what I discovered is that much of the research is on women in natural menopause, which is very different than those of us in surgical menopause that have lost our main hormone supply.......our ovaries.

In natural menopause your body is barely producing any progesterone after the age of 45. Women still produce small amounts of estrogen for many years after they enter menopause. Therefore they may not need to supplement with estrogen. Adding progesterone (instead of estrogen) to balance the estrogen they are producing may very well help alot of women in natural menopause.

In surgical menopause it would be very hard to control our menopause symptoms with progesterone alone. We are not producing estrogen so therefore we need to get the additional estrogen from hormones. Adding in progesterone along with estrogen works well for some women in surgical menopause.

My former doctor believed the No uterus, no progesterone theory also. I wanted to try adding in progesterone because there were still some symptoms that estrogen alone did not help. Progesterone has helped me alot with some of my symptoms, but it definently is not right for every woman.

(((April Dawn))) gave you some great links that may be helpful to further your research. If you do decide that progesterone is something you would like to try, hopefully it works well for you.

Hi texasprincess!
We have the same surgical menopause date!
I am 44 yrs. old and have recently ( just about a month ) incorporated progesterone into my routine. I had been on estradiol (oral) only until that time and notice a significant change for the better!!!! I am able to focus more and think more clearly!!! I also sleep better and my water retention is not as much of an issue!!! I am SO thankful for the heartfelt experiences shared on this website!!! I honestly felt as if I was estrogen dominant, then when I tried the progesterone I felt like I had keys to open a locked door!!!! Good luck to you in your decision making process!!!
Vicky

Hi Texasprincess,
I feel the same way Vicky feels about Progesterone, I don't think I ever want to be without it.
Linda