Hi, I am a 16 year old female and I struggle with what I believe is PMDD and/or a severe hormonal imbalance/estrogen dominance. I was prescribed Yaz & Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo before for this, but both made me violently ill and I went off Yaz within 2 weeks and OTCL after one day. I didn't feel comfortable being on a BC Pill in the first place, and I've always wanted to try bio-identical hormones. My endocrinologist prescribed me with Prometrium last week, and I am supposed to start taking it today. Because I am prone to anxiety, I've been getting really worried about this for some reason. I've read bad things about Prometrium online, and it seems like it just makes things worse for people in my situation. I certainly don't need that. I'd much rather stay as I am than get worse. But my Dr. said that since Prometrium is natural, it should be fine, but I just REALLY cannot afford to make things worse right now. Can anyone shed some light on this for me?? It would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I am not sure what you have read about Prometrium side effects but I am someone who had difficulty taking any form of progesterone. However, my situation is probably much different than yours. I feel the biggest problem for me was that my estrogen level was not high enough to counteract the effects of progesterone. Once my estrogen level was up to a better level I did not have near the difficulty. I also switched to using the Prometrium vaginally and that greatly reduced the side effects.
Many women have no problems at all with using progesterone and if you have a normal level of estrogen you'll likely find that the Prometrium does not bother you in the least. It probably has much less side effects than the more powerful synthetic progestins so it is certainly worth a try!

Thanks for the info, NiteOwl. I will keep this in mind!

Here is a list of my symptoms, in case you were wondering...

- extremely swollen, tender, painful breasts
- severe anxiety, irritability, depression, moodiness
- increased appetite
- headaches sometimes
- horrible, very painful cramps in low belly/pelvis and low back... aching in hips
- general aching all over body
- irregular flow. sometimes very heavy flow.
- hot flashes sometimes
- fatigue, not too bad though, just need some extra sleep
- sensitivity and feeling like I can cry much easier than usual
- difficulty communicating and expressing things through speaking

And there may be other symptoms, but I can't think of any more for now. These can start 2 weeks before my period comes. They get to be the worst about a week before my period. They last into about the 2nd day that I have my period.

If anybody else has had these same symptoms and then taken Prometrium, I'd love to hear your experience and advice! Thank you!

Are you really only 16?

If you are one would think your estrogen levels would be plenty high.

I take prometrium daily at 100mgs and feel just fine, I also supplement with Estrogel. But I don't cycle anymore. I am afraid to say much else until I know if you really are 16.

No, I'm uh, really 16 lol. I don't know why I would make that up. But thanks.

I did not think you were making it up, I thought maybe it was a typo! We do not see a whole lot of 16 year olds on this website. And understandably so, as it is about menopause....kinda the opposite end of the spectrum from where you are.

Prometrium is possibly an ok choice for you, as it is identical to what your body produces. The progestins in BCPs are synthetic progestins and lots of women can not tolerate them. I never did well on BCPs and neither did my mother. You can not have an allergy to peanuts though...as prometrium is based in peanut oil.

Usually the doses of these type of hormones are not as powerful as BCPs as the goal is not to prevent pregnancy, merely to supplement natural hormones in order to acheive balance. Remember that the list of side effects are in fact only possible side effects, and many women do not suffer from them.

Good luck!! Let us know how it goes for you.

Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to sound angry in my last post. I guess I didn't realize what you were implying!

Thanks a lot for the info & advice. I will definitely let you know how it goes! I'm not going to start taking it just yet because I have a few big events coming up soon (I know, not a good excuse to forgo medication...) but I can't have anything making me worse for these dates, so I'm going to start when they're over.

Thanks again!

bombshell

you should be checked by the doctor for polycystic ovary syndrom, or endometriosis or fybriods just to make sure these things aren't causing your troubles. I am 38 and started menopause early, they put me on progestin birth control pills. They made me so sick and depressed, I couldn't last a week. This happened twice, i finally investigated online to figure out what was going on with the pills. Finally my new doctor gave me a pill with higher estrogen and lower progerterin and so far so good. I guess my estrogen was very very low. I am having excessive body hair and acne and when I had my hormones tested it said high testosterone. If your doctor ignores you get another and another until you get help.

Oh one more thing, when I was on the progesterone pills, I could not think straight or find the right words when speaking, I had such anxiety I could not drive either. Glad that is over...if something makes you feel that bad call the doctor. You should not feel worse.

bombshellex, you might want to investigate using progesterone cream instead of taking it in pill form so you can better tailor your dose.

Floater, now that I'm going to be using Prometrium I re-read this thread and I see that you use 100mg Prometrium and Estrogel, which is what I'll be using, probably starting tomorrow night. It's my understanding from your posts that this combo is working well for you.

I hope because I tolerated Pro-Gest cream so well that I will tolerate 100mg Prometrium too. I'll find out !

Sandra,

I can honestly say that I have no negative side effects from the bio hormones. My biggest complaint is weight gain, but I also take an anti depressant, so I don't know which is causing this. I cut back the anti depressant a while back....BIG MISTAKE. I still need it. I started having anxiety again, and just not feeling right!!

I need them all still. Oh well, fat and happy is better than skinny and miserable. Not that I am grossly overweight or anything....just rounder than I want to be.

I always take my prometrium at night, and I sleep very well. I rarely even get up in the night to tinkle. Before the hormones, I had insomnia pretty bad. I also think that the hormones are why I don't need those middle of the night trips to the bathroom. My bladder feels better....normal....before the hormones I had that sudden urgency problem, now it is gone.

Good luck Sandra!! I hope you tolerate the hormones well and you feel great.

I'm nervous to start my new treatment, but I am also excited. What if I actually feel better ??? :-) I'll be so happy. I've been researching hormone treatment for almost 2 years, I started in Jan 2007. I decided almost immediately that I would supplement estradiol when it was appropriate. I don't think I could be better prepared.

Btw, I so agree about fat & happy being better than skinny & miserable. But I do hope I don't put on weight because of the hormones, because I'm still trying to get rid of the rest of the 55 pounds I gained in my early peri years, pushing me from mildly overweight into the obese category. :-/ I'm down 30, I have another 25 to go ...

I just can't tell you how much I appreciate your advice and comments.