I've been taking Prometrium 100 mgs. nightly since October with no real breaks.
I'm beginning to feel like it might be too much. Sludgy feeling, difficulty getting up in the morning (maybe because I'm not sleeping as well as I did when I started on it), some weight gain (which is really pissing me off) and some slight breast tenderness and some weird achy joints that have just popped up.
Also, have a few very small breakouts and I don't usually suffer from that.
Everything I read points to excess P.
Not quite sure what to do. I stopped once just for a week and felt great during that time. Boundless energy too.
Any suggestions?
I'm a bit nervous about being without it, but it seems to be taking away from the good things that I get from the E.
Man, I wish this was easier.....:-(

You could try using the Prometrium vaginally....

Or you could take a week off every month, and see how that goes. I don't know if you can cut them in half, I haven't tried it myself. How much E are you taking in relation to the P? Maybe your E dose is actually too low to offset the P?

Hi Floater,

I have tried cutting them in 1/2. You have to freeze them first so they don't squish out all over the place and that makes it kind of dangerous to do (you need a very sharp knife). That did not work very well.
I take 1.5 of estradiol. This seems to work very well for me.
When I did take a week off of the P, I felt great but I had trouble getting back on to it. Like my body was very happy to be without it and not happy that I was reintroducing back.
I have read that some just use it for 10 - 14 days every couple or three months but this concept makes me nervous.

Sorry Floater.....
I didn't see your suggestion to use it vaginally.
Would 100 mgs. not be too high to use it that way??


c

Apparently, from what I have read, when you use the P vaginally it doesn't get into your system the way it does orally. It is supposed to give you endometrial protection, but not the bone protection you get taking it orally. However, Prometrium was not "made" to be used this way, although I gather many do.

You could ask your doctor if you could try Procheive, which I understand is made to be used vaginally. I don't believe that transdermal progesterone creams offer enough protection if you are supplementing E - although some may argue with me!! I, personally, would not be comfortable using it.

I am like you, not sure how safe it is to only use the P every three months. Perhaps you should see about the procheive....it may just be the answer for you.

Ask for either Prochieve or Crinone. Both are intravaginal progesterone and I think the same product but not sure. I just started on the Prochieve (too soon to tell you how it's going though) and I guess my Dr had a problem at first because it's actual use is for menorhea but she has started me on it.

Are you Post? I ask because she has told me to use it only every other month and then only for a 10 day period. With the prochieve I beleive I only use the one tube every other month but haven't picked up the rx yet so not sure. It could be a tube every other day for 10-12 days making it 6 tubes every other month. With my insurance this was about $10 cheaper than the prometrium she originally prescribed.

I would say with your slugginess it is because you are taking too much. Even if you just wanted to stop your Prometrium till you feel anxious and in need of it.

Best of luck, it's horrible feeling out of sorts.

Thanks for the suggestions guys.
Just had another night of fractured sleep. Ugh. It's not as bad as it was before I started using HT because that was really horrible, but it's not good.
Remember what it was like with a newborn at home? This is what I feel like!
I'm also having a few hot flashes again, but only here and there. So, yeah I think the P is over riding the E.
I am not post. Last period was May 08, and when I took a break from the P to see if I'd get a period I did not. Not exactly sure what that means.
In the meantime, we're leaving for a week at the beach on Friday and I'm feeling like a bloated, crabby, pimpley grump.....:-) Just in time for vacation.
I wonder, though. If I stop the P (which I probably will for the time being), there is the possibility that I might get a period. That would ****.

Here I go again....
Sorry, I meant to comment on the vaginal P.
Does anyone know where I can get some good information on the Crinone/Prochieve?
I'd like to read up on it before I present my idea to my doctor. I'm going to make an appointment to see him when I get back.
And my doc will not RX P cream while I'm taking E either. Flat out says it's not going to give me the necessary protection.

Hi,

Yes, sounds like your P is overriding your E, hence the fractured sleep.

I would start cycling the P, not taking it every day. The body is not meant to have that much P every day.

I, too, am looking into the Prochieve/Crinone 4% or a compounded progesterone for intravaginal use, I read the right dose is 40 mg every other day for 12 days in the luteal phase.

As a reminder of how conventional gyno's look at this, mine had a fit when I was using OTC progesterone cream way back when I started all this. He said, it causes breast changes and etc. So, although conventional medicine sometimes looks at estrogen as the big bad wolf, and then at progesterone as the big bad wolf (remember the bad news about progestin from the WHI), the truth is... hopefully ... that balance is optimal. And although we want to protect ourselves from endometrial cancer, this is quite rare, whereas low estrogen leads to all sorts of problems that hasten death, most commonly, weight gain, hence diabetes, hence heart disease.

Good luck at the appt. I am keen for progesterone info because I haven't perfected my usage yet either!

Hi wordsmith,

Regarding cycling the P.
I wouldn't know where to start with that because I don't have a cycle anymore. Do I just pick a day that would be my day 1?
Is it best to cycle monthly 10 to 12 days on, the rest off the P?

Thanks

Yes, I am not getting too many periods myself these days, so to make it easy I just figure the first day of a month is day 1. So, March 1-15, I take estrogen and testosterone. March 16-27, I add progesterone twice a day and wait for a period on Day 28, if one comes, good. If not, April 1, I restart E and T till April 15...

If you get a period, work with that. First day of bleeding is day 1, stop all progesterone, etc. Resume P on day 16. (Some do P day 18-28... I am still experimenting.)

My doc told me P is still protective whether or not you get a period. He said this very definitively, but I would love to see it in a published study somewhere....

Sounds like you are doing well with E, so that's a great start!

So you stop E, T (and P) at that time???
Do you not revert back to having the nasty symptoms that E alleviates like night sweats etc. while you're off?? Oh my, that's a scary thought for me.
Not having E on board.

No, sorry for the misunderstanding. I take E and T every day of the month.
I take P just for the luteal phase.

OK, got it. Thanks wordsmith.
I may give that a try while I wait to see the doctor. I will speak to him about the vaginal progesterone as well. Will let you know what he has to say about it.
I'm also wondering if anyone has used it every other day with success. I asked my doc about it a while ago and his comment was that using this way may cause more problems with the hormone fluctuating up and down too much. Any comment on that?

Haven't used intravaginal progesterone yet, but that is what Dr. Vliet wrote that the dosage was and I also read it on the web . I guess most women don't use them because they are messy, so they are trying to make it more convenient, i.e. only six doses a month. Reading the particulars, it is called "sustained release," so I guess it is formulated to last for 48 hours.

Cr*p. I just realized that I did not mention that I was asking whether anyone had tried using Prometrium every other day!!!
So sorry wordsmith. See? I'm totally wasted now by 4 pm, by bedtime I'm a zombie.
I have done some reading on the vaginal progesterone and what I've read says that these formulations are SR so every other day use is how they recommend you use it.
You've made a good point; is that because they're so messy to use?
I don't know what is worse. The fog and sleepiness I'm feeling from too much Prometrium or having to deal with that.

Absolutely do not use the prometrium every other day continuously. You are already suffering some side effects from it. Read my other response to your post regarding the Crinone. I've stated there how my drs. are keeping my uterus protected from build up. You do not have to take it every day nor do you have to have a bleed inorder to be protected. However, you must have an ultrasound inorder that you get the minimal amount of progesterone on board to protect and establish a baseline to figure out a cycle schedule. In my case I can go 2 to 3 months without a period then I will have to use progesterone for 10 - 14 days. Once I am fully meno then I will probably have to cycle it in every month. However, we've had discussions that since I'm sensitive to progesterone we might be able to go every other month. I'm currently supplementing with an estrogen patch continuously.

When I tried prometrium I also had breakouts, hair loss, fever blisters inside my mouth, joint pains, insomnia, road rage, no energy, weight gain, yeast infection, etc. The list goes on but I will stop with those highlights. Not trying it again because there are pleanty of other options. However, some women seem to do great on the stuff.

Although Crinone is messy I plan on trying that one because I'm not thrilled with some of the side effects of the combination patches. sighhhhhh Progesterone is not my friend..