Dr Tami Meraglia, MD, is the author of The Hormone Secret. I had an advance review copy and read it on the plane coming back from San Diego and it’s fabulous!
Read on below for a wonderful sample snippet from the book:
Did you know that you have a natural anti-anxiety hormone?
Women have a hormone that is produced in the ovaries and the adrenal glands that is like Valium bathing the female mind. It helps reduce anxiety and is known as the peaceful hormone. It also helps us sleep soundly through the entire night.
What is this amazing hormone? Progesterone.
Progesterone acts on the gamma amino butyric (GABA) receptors in the brain (the same receptors sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medication and even alcohols act upon), producing a calming effect. GABA is the primary inhibitory transmitter in the brain. If you wake between 2am and 4 am wide awake, you likely have a progesterone deficiency.
Progesterone also affects the elasticity of our skin, memory, is anti-inflammatory, is a natural diuretic and helps normalize blood sugar. It also stimulates that cells that make new bone called osteoblasts.
Unfortunately progesterone leaves our bodies first and leaves us quickly. You can have a low progesterone level as early as your late 20’s! Many women think that their increased irritability, loss of enjoyment of life and trouble sleeping if from their 24/7 lifestyle but it is likely more often due to a progesterone deficiency
Here are 7 common symptoms associated with low progesterone:
- Anxiety
- Waking at night
- Fibrocystic breasts
- PMS
- Bone loss
- Low libido
- Infertility or irregular periods.
Here are 3 simple and natural things you can do to help your own body produce more progesterone:
- Vitamin C. A dose of 750-1000 mg has been shown in studies to raise progesterone in women.
- Selenium. 200-400 mcg/day was shown to boost production of progesterone in an Italian study.
- The spices turmeric, thyme and oregano are also useful for raising progesterone. Use in cooking whenever you can.
Topical progesterone is also available over-the-counter.
If you find that it takes a bit more energy to keep your cool or that you are no longer sleeping through the night I encourage you to look to progesterone as a way to help.
I love Dr. Tami’s famous quote: “Remember, fine is a four-letter word. You deserve to feel FABULOUS!” I could not agree more – we all deserve to feel our absolute best all the time!
I do want to mention that we do differ in our food recommendations. I’m a Paleo eater myself and am recommending this more and more to my clients. But I absolutely LOVE the hormone information in this book! Just wait until you read about testosterone too – yes! And natural ways to boost your own production! And/or how to use small amounts for women! It’s very different from what you typically hear.
Great post Trudy! thanks for sharing! It sounds really interesting. I had no idea about what a deficiency of progesterone could cause. I’ll have to check it out!
You’re welcome Patricia and you’re not alone – many people don’t know how important progesterone is! Something not listed here that low progesterone can also lead to miscarriage (assuming you’re able to get pregnant in the first place).
Wow I had no idea! This is very helpful information. I will definitely be taking my Vitamin C in the morning and thankfully I cooked with thyme this evening!
Good for you Mary Ellen! Vitamin C is also great for the adrenals so you get that too
Hi
When you say vit C do you mean actual vitamin C as difficult to get 1000mg
Or do you mean Ascorbic acid
Am I right That Ascorbic acid although marketed as vitamin C doesn’t actually have any vitamin C in it just Ascorbic acid which is only one part of vitamin C
I heard that people who take Ascorbic Acid can end up vitamin C deficiency
Thanks Debbie
Progesterone deficiency is epidemic in our society as far as I’m concerned. It’s so vital to feeling well, and so many women are estrogen dominant. Great information here.
Yes Sue – as you say, very common! and the estrogen dominance often just makes things worse. I love that Dr Tami is getting this information into the hands of more women. There is no need to feel anxious and have sleepless nights!
This is super useful Trudy! Thank you! I’m looking forward to checking out this book.
Enjoy Sonya – it’s an excellent read with great practical advice! Things you can do at home and information you can take to your doctor too.
Can we get the book off kobo
Rosanna – I do see the book on kobo – for pre-order. Enjoy!
Very interesting! She mentions the 3 natural ways to boost but what about a GABA supplement? Is that helpful? And if so how often?
Jessica – yes, GABA does help raise progesterone and is what I like to do to support my clients, while we are working on everything else Dr Tami writes about. The starting dose I like to use is 125mg three to four times a day between meals. I find Source Naturals GABA-Calm to be very effective because it’s sublingual
“Remember, fine is a four-letter word. You deserve to feel FABULOUS!” I LOVE this. I look forward to checking out her book, Trudy. Thanks for always sharing quality information with us. I’ve been thinking about taking a progesterone cream myself and after reading your article, I’m going to place my order right now.
Yes Tandy, I love this quote of Dr Tami’s too! Her book is excellent! Just to be clear the message is that you can make food changes and add nutrients to support your own hormone production. I like this approach and then may refer a client to a NP or doctor like Dr Tami if they need bio-identical hormones like progesterone
Always learn new topics whenever I read your posts.
Even better than that is how you state the problem
so clearly and then offer the natural remedies.
Thanks Mitch! glad you learn new info!
Thank you for sharing with the world, may you receive more wisdom from the Creator. KUDOS
You are so welcome Brenda
Trudy,
Appreciate your EZ breezy communication style & interesting info on all things relative 🙂
Ditto ~ Fine is a 4 letter word FAB is my goal too!
Hopefully us Canadian Gals can get Tami’s new book soon ~
In gratitude ~
Thank you Trudy for this information/inspiration you have gives me to take charge of my health NOW! I am a fan of your informative and interesting newsletters but just started to really explore your whole site today and I am truely grateful of how passionate you are about women and health in general. I am amazed at the amount of good info you offer on such a wide range of topics! So, thank you for helping me and so many others and for being a great person who cares about people above all else. 😉 thank you Trudy
*no, I am not a paid spokesperson, I just needed to say thanks.
Katie
How wonderful! I’m so pleased you’re finding useful information here – that’s the plan. Thank you for this lovely message. I feel like I just got a HUGE hug! You have made my day!
Trudy
Thanks Trudy for all the great information. What’s the best way to get progesterone if you have had a complete hysterectomy?
Hi Kimberly
I would suggest working with a integrative doctor and talking to them about bioidentical progesterone and other bioidentical hormones
Trudy
How much prog is good to start taking if low
Thank you for your information, very helpful and nice to know hormone imbalance is “normal” especially during perimenopause. I am 47 years old started suffering 6 months ago out of the blue from waking up between 2-4 a.m. with random nighttime anxiety, night sweats… leaving me feeling blue and extremely tired the next morning. I am working with a functional medicine doctor on balancing my hormones, determined I have low progesterone, low testosterone with elevated estrogen. I also have one of the MTHFR genes C677T (CT,heterozygous)so I am on a methylation protocol with liposomal glutathione, folate, B12, B6… it is all very confusing and overwhelming. And after listening to your podcast on Diane Sanfilippo’s website addressing The Anti-Anxiety Food Solution I am also wondering if I need to look at my amino acids. With taking bio-identical progesterone & applying testosterone cream my sleep/nighttime anxiety is better, but I am not sure how to know if the methylation supplementation is working, it’s a lot to ingest. Or to know if I am feeling my best. Would you suggest addressing amino acids or will that add confusion?
Hi Lara
I’m so pleased you hear me on Diane Sanfilippo’s podcast! I like to look at neurotransmitter imbalances while doing all that you mention since they can give you relief right away (if you need them)
You can read more here https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/anxiety-targeted-individual-amino-acid-supplement/
Trudy
Hello!
Can low progesterone cause anxiety, right eye twitching, and tight voice/ spasms?? Since I’ve been taking progesterone my
Eye stopped twitching all together and my voice has started to improve !
I started to take progesterone and after taking it 5 times developed terrible anxiety especially in the morning. I take vitamin C 500 mg, gaba 500 mg, magnesium glycinate 500 mg twice a day and was just fine until I added progesterone to the mix. I am also on estrogen and testosterone and have been for 2 years. The only thing that is new is the progesterone.
Kathy
This can happen if you don’t need progesterone or if you use too much. I would talk to your doctor about possibly adjusting the amount and starting really low
When I started bio identicle progesterone I got a little anxiety in the beginning, something about the hormones and the receptors for them I don’t remember what it was but I kept using it and it went away. My anxiety is so low now. It really does work.
hi Trudy,
me again. I just saw this blog on progesterone. I had recent bloodwork done and hope you remember me from the cbd blog but I had the DUTCH test done and have high cortisol and anxiety and they say pcos. The bloodwork showed .5 progesterone which means I practically have none. But with high cortisol and no female organs, does progesterone increase cortisol?
Kaye
Of course I remember you! Not quite …when you have stress (life stress, parasites, gluten, toxins etc) all your raw materials go to make cortisol and there are none left to make progesterone – high cortisol and low progesterone. It’s often referred to as the pregnenalone steal.
Low progesterone increases anxiety and affects sleep so until we figure out the cause of high cortisol we would address low progesterone with bioidenticals and/or herbs
Oops, I guess I should have answered on this blog!! LOL Please go to the cannabis blog and I think I anwered in LOTS of detail!! 🙂
Hi Trudy!
I haven’t been on your blogs lately. So, today I thought I would blog on this thread cuz its about progesterone. I have seen a tremendous difference in last month with anxiety! YEAH! It happened to me as a fluke. In the past years I have tried troches, injections, creams, and ended with oral Prometrium (I have used up to 300mg. of oral) and still had anxiety. So assumed that wasn’t the problem I had with anxiety. WELL, with my new functional med doc. she wanted me to try compounded cream vaginally (which I hadn’t tried previously). She started me on low dose last spring, no affect. In August ran out of cream and had some 100mg. Prometrium left, so started back on that till I received my cream. When cream arrived I just decided to use up the Prometrium and use the cream at the same time. Low and behold the anxiety started to diminish noticeably!! (I still have times of hyperness and tension but tolerable)NOTHING like it was. I called my compounding pharmacist and she explained that oral and cream cover different receptors and that could be why its working. Thought I would mention this cuz someone out there might be helped. My progesterone levels in blood went from .9 to 7.9 in a month. But, also, in the past I used levothyroxine compounded with T3 with mixed results. I had been diagnosed with having hashimotos. After running more test, new doc said I don’t have (Thank God!). New doc put me on Westhroid and for the first time my levels are normal. We are talking about being in misery since 2004 and trying everything on the market as I have posted on your other blogs. The cbd didn’t work, gaba quit working, valerian quit working, kava kava didn’t work, ltheonine quit working, passionflower quit working, trytphan did help with sleep, no herbs worked with my problem. You should see my pharmacy!! Also, I did 23 and me and new doc had me on b12 and folic acid before the test, after the test and after a new conference on the brain she went to, she took me off all supplements (except minerals mag and potassiym)cuz of results. She then tested zinc (high normal)homocysteine and mma, all normal. She found I overmethylate and under detox. So have to be careful with supplements. Also, instead of renewing DUTCH test Ive just submitted a adrenal saliva test to recheck level of cortisol. I also tried magnolia in the past with no help, but thought I would give it another shot. New doc recommended Swansons Relora at one a night. Well that was NOT enough. So, I decided to follow what the bottle said and am doing 3 a day. Another big help for right now. Makes me wonder if when at my high anxiety I just couldn’t feel it??? Now, it really helps with calming the tension and hyperness. In this experience, I don’t think it works that well for someone with high anxiety. Just not strong enough. Also, and I’m sure you will be happy to know I have not used lorazepam for over a month!! Never used much tho. .25mg couple times a week. I never got addicted cuz I know all the side effects. But it gave me a rest from the mess and I’m actually grateful for it. I had a Specht test done that tests nutrition in the body, and of course and is rare, I had no deficiencies. Thru this all, its been horrifying at best! But with people like you and my new doc, I’m finding my way out of the mess. New doc wants me to buy a portable infrared sauna to help with detox. I had never heard of portable ones and found they are fairly reasonable. Anything I try orally for detox, I get bad side affects like herxheimers. Even a cup of yogi detox tea sent me to the bathroom and flu like symptoms. I’m weary of feeling bad, so am waiting until I do more research on detoxing. Any info you have would be great. I missed your summit on it. Anything I do has to be really gentle. I have no toxic metals, no parasites (done gentle cleanses for that). I already knew that I could not do any Sulphur supplements. Also, new doc has me trying, which I haven’t gotten yet, oxytocin. Dr. Wright has a great article on it and how it works in the body. He is using it as a bio-identical hormone. You can order test kit from Meridian Valley Lab at I think $120, which is cheaper than others out there.(24 hr. urine) Apparently, people that have stress of any kind depletes the body of this calming hormone. Its not just for cuddling, they have found receptors in the heart, muscles etc. So will be trying it soon and will let you know. It is not covered by insurance however and is compounded in the US. Not sure about other countries. You cannot buy it over the counter here. Anything out there that’s says it oxytocin, is more than likely a precursor. So, Trudy, I know this is long and hope you bore with me thru it. I felt that I needed to write in case someone else could be helped. (Aside…yes wish other practitioners used the Heidelberg test too. not sure why, simple test really.)
If you have a direction to look for info on treating a detox problem please let me know. Might save me searching forever!!!
I hope this is encouraging for someone out there. As I know all the emotions and pain anxiety can wreak on a person. At one point I wanted to give up, and your blogs helped me out of difficult spots and became my highlight in the morning. I would run to my emails to see if there was an answer! Even if there wasn’t, I was able to share dwith others which helped cuz at times family and friends even tho sympathetic still do not understand esp. if they haven’t gone thru it.
My heart goes out to Drew Todd specifically. What hell he must be going thru. What would be your thoughts on progesterone for him? Its no longer just a “female” hormone and what about oxytocin? Just wondering? LOL
Hope you are enjoying summer over there! We have snow!:)
Kaye
Thanks for sharing your progesterone success – that is wonderful! I don’t want to be negative but be aware that Promentrium is progestin, a synthetic hormone that has side-effects. I’d work with your doctor on finding a good oral bioidentical progesterone. I learned from Dr Mache Seibel that this is the best way to use progesterone – his book “The Estrogen Window” is excellent http://amzn.to/2gFO9qs
And yes men can be low in progesterone too (thanks for thinking of Drew)
For detox I’m going to refer you to the recent Dextox Summit I spoke on – so many experts and so much info
For a gentle ongoing detox I love the Designs for Health detox products, doing a sauna and dry-skin brushing.
Thanks Kaye for your kind words and thoughts. Great that your journey is providing good results – well done! Onwards and upwards. I’ll investigate the progesterone angle too, thanks for the enlightenment! 🙂
Trudy! WHAT? That is not what they told me. Dr. Martin Milner of Portland Oregon, had me on it and said it was natural and not progestin!!! Wow will research it more. Thank you for the info on detox. My father passed away on Sat. He was 90 and is now with his beautiful wife of 70 years! So will check all this out after our celebrations this Saturday.
You are so welcome Drew. Keep us posted. Your story tore my heart apart. But be assured there is an answer for you! DO NOT give up! Healing is just around the corner for you. AND Trudy is the best. You are in good hands.
Kaye
My mistake…it is bioidentical – sorry about that
And so sorry to hear about your father – best wishes to you and your family
Thanks Kaye and so sorry to hear of your loss. Thoughts are with you. Yes Trudy is a starlet **, such a blessing to have ‘discovered’ her almost 3 years ago now in Feb 2014 whilst listening to her on the Dr Lo Radio Show at a villa in Spain overlooking the ocean whilst I was on vacation! 🙂 And she originates from Durban, SA where I am from too!
I had forgotten it was from DR Lo Drew! love starlet! thanks
🙂 x
Been dealing with health anxiety. Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, high cholesterol and high triglycerides in June 2016. Since I have lost 50 lbs and gotten my cholesterol and triglycerides under control. Still struggling with A1C of 6.2 and high fasting sugar. My anxiety is awful. Tried lexapro and citralopram had to stop they made me worse. Now GYN says I am in menopause 52 years old and I need estradiol patch and progesterone. I am now taking Tranxene 7.5 1per day at night. I take 2 metformin 500 mg I in am 1 in pm. I am hoping the main problem is my hormones. Any advise is greatly appreciated.
Amy
Good for you on the weightloss! Sorry to hear about the anxiety. I have my clients do the amino acid questionnaire and trial of the respective amino acids – more here https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/anxiety-amino-acids-overview/
GABA has been shown to help with anxiety and possibly diabetes too https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/gaba-benefits-for-anxiety-diabetes/
The expert I refer to for diabetes is Dr. Brian Mowll, The Diabetes Coach™, created The Diabetes World Summit to share the expertise of the world’s leaders in natural diabetes care to help you regain blood sugar control, live the highest quality life and even reverse type 2 and pre-diabetes. The 40 powerful, expert sessions at The Diabetes World Summit will benefit anyone with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes, metabolic syndrome, as well as those who want to avoid blood sugar problems and achieve optimal health. https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/diabetes-world-summit/ You can get access to some of the prior interviews
I would talk to your doctor about the Tranxene as it’s a benzodiazepine and intended for max of 2 weeks. Please check out my site for more information on the harmful effects of these medications.
Amy, Did your doctor do bloodwork so you know your hormone levels? My guess would be your progesterone levels might need a tad bit of help. It really helped me with my anxiety. Trudy I’m sure has many resources for otc progesterone. And as Trudy said, there are many helps with natural products for anxiety, til you figure out why its happening. You should see my “pharmacy”. I was desperate!
Im perimenopausal. My DR. Prescribed progesterone pills are they safe? Im 47 years old. How do you recommend that I take them? I work all day. Do I take them at bedtime? Suggestions anyone? I took one pill and I work up so gassy and with diarreah and cramping.
Thank you everyone.
Nora
It’s best for you to work with your prescribing doctor for timing and dosage. And be sure to tell your doctor about your digestive reactions – it may be a filler that is causing a problem for you.
I have found that progesterone at night helps many of my clients sleep better and feel calmer. It goes without saying that testing should always be done before using bioidentical hormones and then frequent on-going testing for monitoring.
I’m just reading this article now. My anxiety tends to worsen during and after my period. I realize that this corresponds with the lowest levels of progesterone during my cycle.
I stopped taking progesterone only pill three weeks ago and since then I’ve had really bad anxiety and was fine before. I understand hormones have got to balance out but it there anything I can do to help myself
Beth
Low progesterone is one of many factors in anxiety. I suggest talking to your doctor about low progesterone testing and look at natural ways to boost it (GABA is one way to do this for quick relief while figuring all this out) and possibly consider bioidentical hormone support.
My colleague Jolene Brighten writes about post BCP syndrome https://drbrighten.com/birth-control-what-your-doctor-didnt-tell-you/
Hello Trudy, so glad to have your blogs to refer to! Have a few questions and would love your guidance:
1. What test do you believe is best for assessing progesterone and other hormone levels- salivary or blood?
2. What are your thoughts on progesterone cream versus bioidentical pill?
3. One practitioner suggests oral progesterone and an estradiol cream. Are there safety concerns with using estradiol? Is estriol a safer choice?
Thanks so much!
E
Glad you enjoy the blogs. Many functional medicine practitioners prefer saliva and timing is key especially before menopause. Progesterone cream is often preferred and with both progesterone and estrogen, testing levels determines what someone should use. Working with a good functional medicine practitioner who is well-versed in bio-identical hormones is best.
I am 75 and last Fall, I decided to try Progesterone cream at a very low dose, to see if I could feel better, sorry I can’t remember the dosage.
I had used it when much younger, and had great results for years.
I thought 3 weeks out of the month would be good but by that time I reached the end of the month, I had anxiety.
I can’t figure that out. At the same time, I had been taking DHEA cream but only at 1/10 of a mg.
What did I do wrong?
Bonnie
Too high a dose of progesterone can increase anxiety and so can DHEA. It’s best to use one at a time to be sure and always get hormone testing done first.
Hi, I’ve really no idea what yo write but I’ve had anxiety rotten life since my periods stopped at age 50./no hot flushes thought I had sailed through it but bad anxiety, sleep problems so bad couldn’t think straight, was told rewoesatedly that I had mental illnesses and needed psych medication………. And I am so sick of it all. I pulled out the progesterone and oestrogen creams I had purchased three years ago and smearednit all over my hands and feet and five hours later no anxiety fear or thinking that I am losing my mind.
Myblife has turned to hell from this. Is feeling anxious just a form of hot flush ????? I had no hot flushes but sleeplessness with no end. Fear, thinking god was talking to me telling me through the anxiety that I had done something wrong g and evil that I couldn’t work out. I don’t have a adtrong network of women friends thanks to my mother and step sister and my stupidity that I allowed them to manipulate me. A sister who plays mind games and a fellownwho chucked fits of rage she. He didn’t get what he wanted……. And i blamed myself.
55 and life is hell. I don’t know who I am anymore. I’m don’t have a mental illness I don’t have scizOphrenia , I’m not bipolar. I was taunted by my sister and send mad by my 90 year old mother thinking u had a responsibility to cope with her and the step sister. My father was mu soul mate. Why don’t they teach or oeerhps it would helpnif they would teach about menopause in school. We don’t all get decent info from mother’s or sisters and conventional doctors terrify me. Three told me to have a hysterectomy within the week she I had cervical cancer diagnosis and luckily someone else spoke to me and I declined….. No cancer since 2003/and no hysterectomy.
Hi
I’m sorry to hear you’re not doing great and are not getting the support you need. Your experiment with the bioidentical hormone creams is your clue that your anxiety, sleep issues and not being able to think straight are very likely related to hormone imbalances. With the emotional trauma, cortisol levels may also have been affected. There may be other factors too but I would suggest finding a naturopath or functional medicine doctor to do testing and start there.
You don’t mention diet but this is always a key aspect for all healing – gluten free, real food, quality animal protein, eating to balance blood sugar, no sugar, no caffeine + addressing the gut and any nutritional deficiencies.
I’m sorry but you DO sound as if mental health is an issue for you. I would suggest weekly counseling and a support group. Your issues and emotions can make your anxiety and depression and work against any outer substance you are trying to take to cope with things.
Hi Trudy
Thank you.
I’m even saner today but the pieces are hard to put together. I didn’t think now that john was abusive ….. He was distressed and I saw his rage as domestic and animal violence… Which it was and could be seen that way too. Juatbliatening to my mother this morning her …… My fault. I came to visit her and she took it as I was their to escape john. …. No I came to visit. I am really confused now. I wish i had escspd her. …. I had I lived away from her.
Can the progesterone work so quickly. Just now inate a piecenof chocolate and bang mybanxierty came back up after she scoffed at a picture of a converted building with only two bedrooms. I can’t handle the scoffing because she hadbdone it to me so many times that in the end I just felt like a scoffed at useless entity. …. I lived with her now because she had convinced me that I had no place on my own farm that john was abusive thatbi was bad for having stayed with him because she didn’t like him and everything f he did was bad. …. So I was bad for staying.
I am now confused more than ever.
Hi there
Diet can impact a person very quickly – both in a good way and bad way. And so can bioidentical hormones. Something else to consider is the harmful effects of living in a verbally abusive environment so if you can stay with a friend in the short-term that may help. Once a person is balanced nutritionally and hormones are addressed, the verbal abuse may not seem so bad because they are in a better psychological state themselves.
I am not psychotic but I can’t make sense of the past and my feelings
Hi Trudy,
I’ve been taking 100mg of Prometrium at bedtime for the last week. I wake-up very early in the morning with terrible anxiety (jittery, buzzing sensation, racing thoughts). Since Progesterone is a precursor to Cortisol on the hormonal pathway, could it be that the Prometrium is being “stolen” to produce more Cortisol?
Joyce
Too much Prometrium can do this – I’d discuss with the doctor.
I have struggled with anxiety for years and it wasn’t until I began getting hot flashes and was prescribed progesterone that I got some relief. The anxiety all but stopped! I have only had one period in the past 9 months. I was told to take the progesterone for 12 days and then go off for the remainder of the month to start a period. I did this and my period never came. I waited a month and then decided to try over the counter progesterone cream. Again, I notice the debilitating anxiety was practically non-existent. I’ve been taking it for 3 weeks and figured I should try to stop again to force a period, but when I stop the anxiety is so bad I can hardly stand it. Would it be dangerous to keep taking low dose progesterone cream for the sake of controlling the anxiety?
Lavinia
You are best served discussing your progesterone use with the practitioner who prescribed it.
I can share that GABA and progesterone are very much connected and GABA offers quick relief for physical anxiety. The best way to determine if someone may have low GABA is to look at the low GABA symptoms, rate them on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being worst, do a trial of GABA and rate the symptoms again right afterwards (in the next 2 to 30 minutes). Here are the symptoms https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/amino-acids-mood-questionnaire-from-the-antianxiety-food-solution/
Hi Trudy,
I am suffering from severe insomnia. I have recently seen a Naturopath and he has put me on topical progesterone. 10mg first week, 20 mg, second up to 30 mgs in the third due to my sensitivity issues. He says that I will have to have mammograms regularly after I start progesterone. I’m sure Dr. Mercola warned against radiating breasts. I am 54. This concerns me, if by starting this hormones I am opening myself up to breast cancer… can this be the answer?
Pat
I have not heard of any naturopath making a recommendation like this. I’d discuss the options of thermograms with him.
Hi Trudy,
Thank you for your reply. When I objected to mammogram he said I could ask my GP for ultrasound instead but that it would be hard to get him to agree. I’m glad to hear you say this as I thought it out of character for an ND. Do you agree though that taking progesterone would indeed increase my chances of breast cancer? I thought that there were other options to increase progesterone like selenium or diet. My progesterone as a menopausal woman is flat-lined. How much of a concern is a lack of progesterone? I don’t want to start down a path here that leads to worse health concerns.
Pat
Risk of breast cancer with HRT depends on therapy type and duration https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o485/rr-0