If you still have your uterus: Progesterone is used along with estrogen. Taking estrogen without progesterone increases your risk for cancer of the endometrium (the lining of the uterus).
Of course, in some cases you might take progesterone on its own without estrogen. For instance, some women use progesterone therapy during menopause when they cannot use estrogen. Bioidentical progesterone comes from plants like soy and wild yams. It's then made into a medication your body can metabolize.
The bottom line is that progesterone-alone may be a useful treatment for relieving hot flash and night sweat symptoms of menopause, although more investigation is needed. Many of the benefit and harms of hormone therapy may turn out to depend on the type of hormone, who's using it, in what form, when and for how long.
Is estrogen or progesterone better? Estrogen and progesterone are both equally important for the healthy functions of the body. If they're at proper levels, these two hormones can support your optimal health and wellbeing. The only time this question may be relevant is in regards to hormonal contraception.
Some methods of contraception may actually help you to manage symptoms – for example, progesterone-only contraception can help manage heavy and irregular bleeding of the perimenopause, and the combined oral contraceptive pill contains an oestrogen that may help manage hot flushes and other symptoms.
Progesterone is in a class of medications called progestins (female hormones). It works as part of hormone replacement therapy by decreasing the amount of estrogen in the uterus.
Downsides
Common side effects include breakthrough bleeding, weight changes (increase or decrease), abdominal cramps, breast tenderness and galactorrhea (milk production), dizziness, headache, and mood changes. Anxiety, bloating, cough, diarrhea, fluid retention, muscle pain, nausea, and tiredness may also occur.
While progesterone doesn't directly cause weight gain, it does increase your hunger levels which may make you feel like you're eating more and therefore gaining weight. But progesterone is just a small player in hormone balance and weight management. There are other hormone imbalances that may cause weight gain.
One of the most striking examples of this dynamic is found in women whose estrogen and progesterone balance is off kilter. The wide range of resulting symptoms can be debilitating, and women can find themselves battling heavy periods, disruptive PMS, fatigue, and many more symptoms.
Mood Swings
Studies show that a sharp decrease in progesterone can lead to premenstrual symptoms such as mood changes or postpartum depression. If you start experiencing mood swings, this could be a sign of estrogen being higher than progesterone when it shouldn't be.
Answer by OB-GYN Kelsie Cabrera, DO:
Estrogen can reduce menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness. If you have a uterus, you'll likely need to take progesterone along with the estrogen. Estrogen without progesterone increases the risk of uterine cancer.
Progesterone is used to help prevent changes in the uterus (womb) in women who are taking conjugated estrogens after menopause. It is also used to properly regulate the menstrual cycle and treat unusual stopping of menstrual periods (amenorrhea) in women who are still menstruating.
If you haven't had your uterus removed, your doctor will typically prescribe estrogen along with progesterone or progestin (progesterone-like medication). This is because estrogen alone, when not balanced by progesterone, can stimulate growth of the lining of the uterus, increasing the risk of endometrial cancer.
Symptoms of low estrogen can include: Hot flashes, flushes, and night sweats are the most common symptoms of low estrogen. At times, blood rushes to your skin's surface. This can give you a feeling of warmth (hot flash).
Breast cancer, known, suspected, or a history of or. Heart attack, active or history of or. Liver disease or. Stroke, active or history of—Should not be used in patients with these conditions.
The administration of 200 mg/day progesterone over 12 days of a menstrual cycle or a daily administration of 100 mg combined with an estrogen are a safe and well-tolerated option to treat menopausal symptoms, with a better benefit risk profile compared to synthetic gestagens.
Risks of taking the progestogen-only pill
The progestogen-only pill is very safe to take. However, as with the combined contraceptive pill, there are certain risks. These risks are small. For most women, benefits of the progestogen-only pill outweigh the risks.
Several products are sold in health shops for treating menopausal symptoms, including herbal remedies such as evening primrose oil, black cohosh, angelica, ginseng and St John's wort.
In all these effects note that progesterone does not directly cause weight loss. Instead it reduces the effect of other hormones in the body which are causing the weight gain. Think of it as allowing rather than causing the body to lose weight.
In other words, bioidentical progesterone triggers a metabolic response allowing weight loss to occur. When progesterone is added back into the body via bioidentical progesterone cream, it acts as a natural diuretic, thereby reducing the bloating.
During peri-menopause, the first hormone that decreases is usually progesterone. This can lead to estrogen dominance, a common symptom of which is weight gain, causing you to store more fat around your stomach area.