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Feel better when I miss a dose

by Karen
(Uk )

Hi there I’ve been on progesterone cream for about 15 years using 200mg twice a day but what I don’t understand is that I feel depressed most of the time but if I do happen to miss a dose I perk up feel better joint pains go and I have more interest in things why is this? I am 8 years menopausal thankyou

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Jul 26, 2021
 Feel better when I miss a dose
by: Joy

Hi Karen

What is the progesterone percentage that you are using? Or what cream are you using? Many are using a 10 or 20% which could be the cause. Natpro is a 3% and advice given here is based on that.

Try reducing the amount of cream that you are using and see how you get on.

Are you taking Vitamin D3 and the co-factors? If not, please consider taking them as they help greatly.
Jul 26, 2021
 Feel better when miss a dose
by: Karen

Yes I use a 10 percent cream but prior to that I used natpro but it doesn’t make a difference what ever cream I use I measure the dosage to 200mg twice a day if I reduce it my hot flashes are a lot worse. Thank you and yes I do use a transdermal vit d and magnesium.
Jul 27, 2021
 Feel better when I miss a dose
by: Joy

Hi Karen

Actually it does matter what cream is used. 200mg 3% cream is not the same as 200mg 10% cream. If your hot flushes return when you try to reduce that's because progesterone is not the dominant hormone which it must be. Please read the Hot Flushes and How to use Progesterone Cream pages on this website.
Jul 28, 2021
 Me too
by: Ryan

I was using progesterone a few years ago and felt fine. I decided to take a break from everything but then menopause really came after me. I was at 100mg of natpro a day. My monthly migraines have been replaced by daily or weekly whenever I use any amount of natpro. I have no hot flashes but I’m running out of triptans (and energy) to push through this. My hormone levels indicated ok on estrogen but low on progesterone. My naturopath said don’t take dhea or estrogen just progesterone at 40 mg total per day which I thought was too low.

Anyone advice aside from push through migraines and nausea? I take a multi a few times per week and 5000 of D 3x per week. I do have MTHFR, so I am sensitive to a lot of things.
Jul 29, 2021
 Me too
by: Joy

Hi Ryan

I also took a break from progesterone for various reasons, the worst decision ever!  I am now back using it again and feeling so much better.  It was a good exercise for me though.

A woman really does need help once they hit Peri-Menopause and Menopause, the worst time in a woman's life IMHO.  If you read this website carefully you will pick up that usually between 100-200mg per day is needed, more if symptoms are severe.  I find personally that once progesterone became dominant I was able to reduce to 150mg per day, I feel stable on that amount. The amount to use would be based on how severe your symptoms are, one really does need to experiment with progesterone.  

Tests are important to help determine the ratio between progesterone and estrogen.  To say one is high or low really means nothing.  You can read up on this on the Hormone Testing page.

I agree totally with your naturopath.  Taking extra estrogen puts one permanently in a state of Estrogen Dominance.  DHEA is a totally different animal and should be avoided as well as it comes with a cancer warning see here and here.   I do not agree with the 40mg per day amount as discussed many times on this website.

I suggest that you increase to 200mg per day and see how you get on with that.  You may need to increase to get you over this time, then once you feel stable you can slowly start to reduce the amount of cream to no less than 100mg per day.

Vitamin D3 should be taken daily, no less than 5 000iu's per day.  It is always a good idea to have a D3 test done.  

Also address any gut issues that you may have.  So often all our issues start with our gut.  Fermented veg is excellent for this.  

Hope this helps. 
Aug 21, 2023
 10% vs 3% cream
by: Anonymous

Joy,

Can you please explain why exactly 200mg of. 10% cream doesn’t equal 200mg of a 3% cream? Is it absorption?
Aug 22, 2023
 10% vs 3% cream
by: Joy

Hi Anonymous

The % is the amount or progesterone concentration in the cream. Some creams even go up as much as 20%. So when we say that between 100-200mg is needed, we refer to a 3% cream. Many are getting confused as they then use 200mg of a 10% or 20% cream when only a 3% cream does the job in most cases.

As mentioned on this thread. Natpro is a 3% cream and advice given is based on that. Any other % cream would need to be adjusted either up or down to equate to that of a 3% if one wants to use a 3% cream.

Enjoy your day.
Aug 20, 2024
 3% cream
by: Anonymous

Joy, I am still confused by how 200mg of progesterone is different based on the percentage of progesterone in the cream. Obviously you would need to adjust the amount of cream meaning you would need a much smaller amount of a 10% cream to reach 200mg of progesterone vs a 3%cream to reach 200mg of progesterone. But either way it is 200mg of progesterone. Are you saying to use 200mg of the cream itself? Or are you speaking about the mg of progesterone in the cream?
Aug 21, 2024
 3% Cream
by: Joy

Hi Anonymous

It's about the percentage of progesterone in the cream. 200mg using a 3% cream is different to 200mg using a 10% or 20% cream.
Aug 21, 2024
 10% vs 3% cream
by: Justine

I am just going to jump in here and clarify that yes, 200mg of progesterone is 200mg of progesterone and yes, depending on the % strength of the cream being used you would either use less or more cream.

For example Natpro is a 3.33% cream which means it contains 33.33 milligrams of progesterone per gram. One full pump action from a Natpro dispenser dispenses 1.5g of cream which contains 50mg of progesterone. So to get 200mg of progesterone you would need 6g of cream which is 4 pumps of a Natpro dispenser.

A 10% cream would have 100 milligrams of progesterone per gram, so to get 200mg of a 10% cream you would need to use 2grams.

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