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Sarah

I have been suffering with almost every symptom on these pages, it seems. PCOS, anxiety, high blood pressure, bad cholesterol, among others. How wonderful it is to know that all of these problems may have one simple solution. It really makes a person wonder why some in the medical community who claim to have a genuine concern for their patients wouldn't want to use this therapy to assist those patients in achieving the well being that they so deserve.
That said, I am grateful that there is a place like this to offer much needed advice and instruction to those who cannot find it elsewhere, as quite frankly I am tired of prescription drugs.

My question now is, how much progesterone and at what frequency is recommended to achieve well being in the areas I have described above(high blood pressure, cholesterol and anxiety)?

Comments for Sarah

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Feb 23, 2013
 Sarah
by: Wray

Hi Sarah Thanks for the kind words about the site. You have rather a lot of problems, so would need more progesterone than the amount I normally recommend which is 100-200mg/day. I suggest you start on no less than 200mg/day, although I feel you will need more. Progesterone alone will have an uphill battle, unless you use exceptionally high amounts, so please consider taking some of the nutrients listed on our Anxiety page. We also have a page on PCOS in case you haven't seen it. High BP can be caused by a number of things, oedema being one. Luckily progesterone is an excellent diuretic, for more info please see our page on Traumatic Brain Injury. Another is a lack of vitamin D. This causes the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system to kick in. The kidneys secrete renin. Renin stimulates the production of angiotensin. Angiotensin causes blood vessels to constrict resulting in increased blood pressure. Angiotensin also stimulates the secretion of the hormone aldosterone from the adrenal cortex. Aldosterone causes the tubules of the kidneys to increase the reabsorption of sodium and water. This increases the volume of fluid in the body, which also increases blood pressure. If the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system is too active, blood pressure will be too high. Angiotensin is a potent vasoconstrictor of arterioles. If aldosterone is too high, progesterone inhibits it by attaching to the same receptor sites. Ironically a lack of salt can be the cause of high BP. This not only puts a strain on the adrenals which need sodium to function, but causes the kidneys to slow down on urine production to prevent more sodium loss, see here. And 'bad' cholesterol is oxidised cholesterol, because un-oxidised cholesterol is vital to our health. It's an antioxidant, it's needed by every cell membrane to keep it firm, it's needed to make all our steroid hormones, and it's needed by the brain, see here and here. This last paper is about the importance of cholesterol in the CNS, particularly it's involvement in the myelin sheath. Progesterone regenerates the myelin sheath, but without cholesterol the body is unable to produce progesterone. There's mounting evidence that cholesterol levels rise above the norm with increasing latitude. i.e. a lack of sun causing a lack of vitamin D. Continued below
Feb 23, 2013
 Sarah Part 2
by: Wray

Hi Sarah But vitamin D cannot work alone, it needs the co-factors too. Magnesium, vitamin K2 (which prevents 'bone' being deposited in blood vessels), boron and zinc. Progesterone does help heart disease.... cholesterol see here, here, here, here and here. Atherosclerosis see here, here, here and here. Clots, see here and here. Triglycerides, see here. I find this paper rather amusing, if it wasn't so misleading. "The loss of estrogen with menopause is associated with an increase in abdominal adiposity and the development of features reminiscent of the metabolic syndrome. Triglyceride levels increase during the menopausal transition." So the loss of oestrogen causes triglycerides to increase. The next para says "Triglyceride levels increase during oral hormone therapy. This triglyceride increase tends to be more pronounced with higher estrogen doses. Concomitant progestin therapy attenuates this triglyceride increase." So which is it to be? One thing they all forget is the loss of progesterone too. And if the synthetic progestins reduce triglyceride levels, what could progesterone do? One has to wonder at the use of drugs. Please have a vitamin D test done. A lack of this vital nutrient affects every cell. Plus a lack reduces the benefits of progesterone. Continued below
Feb 23, 2013
 Sarah Part 3
by: Wray

Hi Sarah You might like to see some comments from users of high amounts of progesterone, who found getting their vitamin D levels up, many persistent symptoms were resolved, see here, here and here, scroll to 'Having a Hard Time' or 'Information on Hidden Copper Toxicity'. For more info on vitamin D levels, test kits etc see the Vitamin D Council, GrassrootsHealth and Birmingham Hospital. Blood levels should be 70-100ng/ml (175-250nmol/L) and not the 30ng/ml (75nmol/L) most labs and doctors regard as adequate. The minimum daily dose should be 5000iu's per day, although recent research indicates it should be 10,000iu's per day, see here. One final nutrient you might consider taking is taurine, about 2000mg/day. It's one of the most calming of neurotransmitters, see here, here and here. Continued below
Feb 23, 2013
 Sarah Part 4
by: Wray

Hi Sarah It's vital for the heart, and for bile production. Without sufficient bile the liver cannot excrete toxins and the by-products of metabolism, including cholesterol, see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. Not knowing your age, please would you look through the following pages to find when you should use progesterone..... How to use progesterone cream, Peri-menopause and Menopause. Take care Wray
Feb 25, 2013
 Apprehensive
by: Sarah

Thank you very much for all of the helpful information. Just so you know, I am 41 years old and menstruate regularly. Should I start therapy post-ovulation or right away? Even though I read that I can take more than 200mg of progesterone daily, I still feel apprehensive about high dosages. I also fear the thought of getting worse before getting better. I just don't know how much more I can take of feeling bad. Any comforting thoughts would be welcome. Thanks
Feb 26, 2013
 Apprehensive
by: Wray

Hi Sarah If you have a regular cycle, I suggest you follow it. If you find your symptoms don't resolve, or get worse when you stop the progesterone, you might consider using it daily for 2-3 months. I've found this ensures progesterone becomes the dominant hormone, suppressing the excess oestrogen. The reason for the high amounts is to prevent feeling worse before getter better. Each small increment of progesterone is enough to stimulate oestrogen, keeping a person in permanent Oestrogen Dominance. But I have found the worse the symptoms the more is needed to prevent this. If you do decide to try it, why not start on the 200mg/day and see how you feel. Please bear in mind that progesterone alone won't be sufficient to help you. It will be essential to take the antioxidants to reverse PCOS, and have your vitamin D levels checked and take enough to bring your level up. You could try taking the antioxidants plus vitamin D first, then when feeling better, start the progesterone. And comforting words? One thing I have learnt over the years is everyone reacts to progesterone differently. So I cannot tell you how you will respond, I can only give guidelines. Based on the countless women I've advised and the various studies done on it. When I first started using it, my hot flushes went in 10 days, others I know it's taken months, in one case a full year before they went. If it hadn't been for this quick reaction, I doubt I would have continued with it, as I didn't notice any change until I'd been using it for 3 months. It took another 3 before all my symptoms had gone. It's not a quick fix and in your case it would be essential to reverse the oxidative stress you have. Take care Wray

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