Hi Everyone- Just some advice from what I am going thru. I am 54 and have all the symptoms of estrogen dominance. So- I figured I would get some progesterone cream to help. I've been using it for about a year now, taking some months off. Its only 20 mg. per dose. Well I finally had my hormone levels tested via a saliva test with a lab. BOTH estrogen and progesterone are extremely high. The latter is about 10 times the maximum accepted level.
Obvously the progesterone has been building up in my system. They said I also might have slow clearance thru the liver. Anyway, my advice is to test before you start, or at least don't wait a full year. Ellen

Never heard before that progesterone could "build up" like this. Has anyone else?


Jacquie

While I haven't actually read of a "build up" to that extent (or even know if they call it that), I did get too much progesterone (the OTC cream) by using it every day for several months. My breasts became very tender, but when I went off of the cream for a couple of weeks it went away.

To be 10 times over AND have high estrogen (without estrogen use?), I would think that is what the body itself is actually doing, since the cream is such a low dose and most of the studies done on it showed only the slightest increase of progesterone on blood tests.

Plus, I would certainly think that at those levels, one would have quite a few symptoms and wouldn't need a test to tell them that? Just a question, really, because it is puzzling.

Other than that one time, I never experienced symptoms of overload in the over 5 years I used it.

Hi Aimee,
Yes it is puzzling. The lab said they did the test twice and they seem on the level. I am going to wait a few mnths then find a doctor who will give me a blood test. Maybe the saliva tests aren't too reliable? Ellen

Ellen, it's funny you mention it, but so many alternative doctors seem to endorse the saliva tests, yet they were not accurate for me AT ALL.

My blood tests for estradiol, etc. were right on the money with my symptoms.

Another one of those paradoxes or something like that, I guess

Aimee, thank you for telling me that! Glad to hear I'm not alone. I'm going to try to get a blood test. Ellen

If I can add my 2 cents here. First of all from what I have read, the saliva tests are more accurate. Even Dr. Randloph "from Hormone Hell to Hormone Well" (who is a MD) says the saliva test is more accurate.

I did the same thing by self diagnosing myself with estrogen dominance/progesterone shortage and went and bought OTC progesterone cream. I had stopped using it and then I had the saliva test and my readings were off the charts.

I have found out that our bodies store the progesterone in our fat cells and it takes months to clear it out. That is why the cream is not a good idea since we can't control how our bodies release it into our bodies.

So the lab wasn't even able to do 3/4 of the tests since my progesterone level was so out of whack. Now I have to wait at least 3 cycles to re-test. I wasted $280 on that set of tests and it was my fault since I had used the OTC progesterone prior.

Hope this helps.

Jenny

Guess it all depends on which ones you read. If I'm not mistaken, Dr. Vliet recommends the blood testing as the best. And Dr. Reiss. And if I recall, Suzanne Somer's doctors' used the blood tests.

Whatever works best for you is what matters. The saliva was so totally off with me, it wasn't funny. I used had a medium-sized dose of Progest cream for years, yet the saliva results said I had none (and I used it the days prior to and on the day of the test, too).

Nothing ever seems to be agreed on by doctors, does it? It's maddening.

My personal, recent experience with measuring progesterone levels is that the blood test worked better at diagnosing a problem. My blood results indicated that my progesterone levels were high relative to estrogen. A saliva test follow up indicated a very low level of progesterone. I have a very skilled NP that concurred with the blood test based on my symptoms. Early on in my Meno journey, I was taking a high dose of progesterone and only felt good when on the "P". This has changed and now I can only tolerate a very small dose of the stuff. So, it is good to check it out if you start to feel poorly after gaining some relief. Unfortunately, Meno is not a static thing. Once you have down a formula that works, your body changes. It really helps to have an advocate. Good doctors are out there.