…that is found in much higher concentrations in women than men. In women, it operates harmoniously with estrogen and other steroid hormones involved in physiological functions such as the menstrual cycle and preparing the uterine lining for implantation by a fertilized egg. Other essential roles of progesterone include building new bone tissue and countering the tendency of estrogen to cause excess growth in the lining of the uterus, which can lead to endometriosis.

Progesterone is also a key precursor to other steroid hormones, including cortisol, testosterone and certain estrogens (estriol, estradiol, and estrone). While a woman’s estrogen may eventually drop 40–60 percent below her baseline level by menopause, her progesterone level can drop even more dramatically. Although the adrenal glands still produce some progesterone, the decline in progesterone upsets the body’s natural hormone balance.

The many roles progesterone plays in the body:

• maintains the uterine lining and prevents excess tissue buildup
• inhibits breast tissue overgrowth
• improvers fertility
• balances blood sugar
• boosts metabolism
• regulates menstrual cycle
• acts as a natural diuretic
• normalizes blood clotting
• promotes normal sleep patterns
• stimulates the production of new bone
• improves the action of thyroid hormones
• reduces anxiety and depression
• improves libido

There are many factors that can contribute to infertility, or the inability to get pregnant, in women. Infertility causes may include poor nutrition, emotional stress, sexually transmitted diseases, thyroid disorders, candida, medical conditions, eating disorders, excessive exercise, obesity, PCOS and hormonal problems.

By applying progesterone cream externally, a woman can naturally balance her estrogen and progesterone levels to achieve an ideal ratio for conception — thus it acts as a natural infertility treatment. Progesterone cream can also be very useful at preventing miscarriage.

Progesterone is absolutely essential to establishing pregnancy and sustaining a pregnancy because it ensures a healthy environment in the womb by maintaining the uterine lining. Low progesterone levels during pregnancy can be one cause of recurrent miscarriages. Progesterone also reduces the chances of blood clots and the immune system responding to the fetus as if it was a foreign substance.

Fibroids are abnormal growths that occur in a woman’s uterus. It is estimated that about three-quarters of American women of childbearing age have fibroid tumors in their uteruses. These benign tumors can cause not only pain, anemia, excessive menstrual bleeding and infertility, but they are also responsible for a third of the 200,000 hysterectomies in the U.S. each year.

Fibroids are often caused by high levels of estrogen and low levels of progesterone due to obesity, hypothyroidism, perimenopause or low-fiber diets.

Progesterone cream may act as a natural fibroid treatment and offer pain relief by curbing the influence of estrogen enough to shrink the fibroids and ease symptoms. However, there have been reported cases where uterine fibroids have not responded ideally to progesterone therapy.

According to Dr. John Lee, an expert in natural hormone balance, explains the double results in the following way: “Fibroids tend to grow during the years before menopause and then atrophy after menopause. This suggests that estrogen stimulates fibroid growth, but we also know that once they get larger, progesterone, too, can contribute to their growth.” When treating fibroids, it’s important to work with a doctor who has tested your hormone levels so you can be best advised if natural progesterone cream is the right option for your body.

Endometriosis is an often painful, chronic disorder in which tissue that normally lines the inside of a woman’s uterus (the endometrium) grows outside the uterus in the ovaries, bowel, pelvis or in rare cases, beyond the pelvic region. Endometriosis affects at least 6.3 million women and girls in the U.S., 1 million in Canada and millions more worldwide.

No one is sure of the exact cause of endometriosis, but some contributing factors include genetics, hormonal imbalances or a disorder of the uterine tissue that starts at birth. The contributing hormonal imbalance often involves low progesterone levels, which can be improved by the application of progesterone cream, which thus acts as one of the natural remedies for endometriosis. By restoring proper progesterone levels, you can restore normal growth and shedding of the endometrium.

Common premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms include fatigue, bloating, skin issues, emotional changes, breast tenderness, and cramps. These unwanted symptoms of PMS are primarily caused each month by hormonal imbalance. For women who need PMS natural remedies, please know that treatment with progesterone may restore a deficiency, balance menstrual hormone levels or reduce the effects of falling progesterone levels on the brain or on electrolytes in the blood.

The most common treatable reasons why YOU might not be getting pregnant are progesterone deficiency and estrogen dominance which are both sides of the same coin in 98.5% of all cases.

You can not have one without the other.

Are You Estrogen Dominant?
One of the main reasons women are estrogen dominant is because they lack enough progesterone in the body. Estrogen dominance can happen for many reasons. As simple as it sounds eating commercially raised meats and dairy contain large amounts of estrogens and consuming them can cause hormonal imbalances making it quite difficult to conceive.

Pollution and stress mimic estrogen at the estrogen receptor sites. Eating a large number of processed soy products can also mimic estrogen, both of which trick the body into thinking there is too much estrogen to conceive. PCOS and endometriosis can also have an estrogen dominate action.

There are many signs that may show up in the body that you are deficient in progesterone, especially if you do not have enough progesterone in your system during the correct times of your cycle.

Progesterone is vital to conceive. Progesterone deficiency is quite easy and safe to correct using natural progesterone cream.

Symptoms of estrogen dominance

Progesterone deficiency

There are many signs that may show up in the body if you do not have enough progesterone during the correct times of your cycle.This is commonly called progesterone deficiency.

Symptoms of progesterone deficiency

Before explaining how you can use natural progesterone cream when trying to conceive, it’s best to have a brief understanding of the two major hormones driving your reproductive system, estrogen and progesterone.

There are two major hormones driving your reproductive system, estrogen and progesterone.

Estrogen Explained

Healthy levels of estrogen are vital for a balanced menstrual cycle and good overall health. Estrogen is primarily made in the ovaries, and in lesser amounts by the adrenal glands (which lie just above the kidneys) and by your body’s fat cells.

During pregnancy, your placenta starts producing estrogen as well to ensure a healthy pregnancy. It is the hormone that is responsible for giving your body the signals to build the uterine lining during the follicular phase of your cycle, and that maturates the follicle in your ovaries. Both of which are vital for a healthy cycle especially if you are trying to conceive.

In essence, estrogen is the hormone that stimulates cell growth, excess estrogen stimulates dangerous cell growth. When there is excess estrogen cell growth can increase the chances of you developing Fibrocystic breasts, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, and ovarian cysts.

Progesterone Explained

Progesterone is the other hormone driving your reproductive system. One of its most important roles in the body is to balance or oppose the effects of estrogen. When you have balanced and healthy levels of progesterone in comparison to your estrogen levels, then it counteracts the growth effects of estrogen meaning you are less likely to have PMS symptoms and develop cysts, fibroids, endometriosis, and cancer.

Progesterone is primarily produced by the corpus luteum (the follicle that contained your egg) after you ovulate but is also produced in smaller quantities by the adrenal gland.

After ovulation your estrogen levels start to decline rapidly, so the thick, healthy endometrial lining that your body built up in preparation for a possible pregnancy would start to shred causing your period.

It is the job of progesterone to maintain the endometrial lining of your uterus for about 14 days to give the fertilized egg (if there is one) a chance to travel down your fallopian tube and embed itself in your endometrial lining.

After 14 days your body will recognize whether or not you are pregnant and if you are your placenta will start producing the progesterone needed to sustain your pregnancy. This will prevent the shedding of your endometrial lining, preserving the developing embryo.

Why Progesterone Cream?

There are numerous ways to increase your progesterone levels but increasing your progesterone levels using natural progesterone cream is by far the easiest for YOU to control and safest.

Progesterone is usually prescribed in pill (or capsule) form or as a cream. Oral progesterone is an inefficient way of increasing your progesterone levels as up to 95 percent is filtered and lost by the liver.

Oral progesterone is prescribed in very high doses as high as 200mg per day in order to get achieve the desired results to get the amount your body needs to make real hormonal changes.

Taking these large doses is bad for your liver long term. This is why skin application (transdermal) is such an effective way to get progesterone into your system.

Using progesterone skin cream bypasses the internal organs and is easier on the body, not to mention simpler and easier to use.

Progesterone cream can be applied twice a day to the skin which then gets absorbed into the underlying fat where it is slowly released into the bloodstream.

This mimics the body’s natural use of the hormone and helps the body create its own “time-release” feature, only releasing progesterone when it is necessary.

Use Natural Progesterone Cream

Natural progesterone cream called bio-identical is the same progesterone that is produced by the ovaries when you ovulate.

Bio-identical progesterone cream can help to supplement your body’s own progesterone levels and lead you back to a state of natural balance.

Natural progesterone cream comes from plant fats and oils called diosgenin which is extracted either from Mexican Wild Yams or Soybeans. In the laboratory, diosgenin is chemically synthesized into a molecular structure that is identical to real human progesterone.

The United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) denotes a recognized standard of purity and strength. It is sometimes referred to as “human-identical” or “bio-identical” progesterone, which differentiates it from synthetic progestins or progestogens.

You have complete control of your life. Long gone are the days when a medical professional’s word meant everything. More and more people are taking their health into their own hands by educating themselves.

Loading Dose

Loading does are useful for women who have had many months or years of anovulatory (no ovulation) cycles, which can create extreme progesterone deficiency. Each cycle that passes without ovulation can increase estrogen dominance as progesterone stores become depleted.

Very thin women who have little body fat can become estrogen dominant very easily as there is no fat to store extra progesterone.

In either of these situations, Dr. John Lee recommends a higher dose of progesterone the first one to two months of progesterone cream use. This helps to replenish the progesterone stored in the fat of the body.

Inducing ovulation using progesterone

Dr. Lee had some patients in his practice that had been unable to conceive because they were not ovulating.

Using progesterone cream prior to ovulation effectively suppressed ovulation. After a few months of this, he had them stop progesterone use.

If you still have follicles left, they seem to respond to a few months of suppression with enthusiasm — the successful maturation and release of an egg.

Dr. Lee’s patients, some of whom had been trying to conceive for years, had excellent results conceiving with this method.

To learn more about this type of application, you can also, read Dr. Lee’s book “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause.”

How to use progesterone for PCOS

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder common among women of reproductive age. Women with PCOS may have infrequent or prolonged menstrual periods or excess male hormone (androgen) levels. The ovaries may develop numerous small collections of fluid (follicles) and fail to release eggs regularly.

There are two ways to use progesterone cream for PCOS. The first is the Suppression Cycle.

Suppressing the cycle allows the body to rest by stopping the cycle of eggs not being released and estrogen/androgen dominance.

Establish a cycle with progesterone cream

To help your body create a cycle including menstruation and ovulation, Dr. Lee recommends using progesterone cream at specific intervals.

It is best to use a calendar so you can keep track of everything. After 3 or so months it is suggested to take a break for one month so you can see if your cycle has jump-started itself.

Progesterone Cream & Endometriosis

Endometriosis (en-doe-me-tree-O-sis) is an often painful disorder in which tissue that normally lines the inside of your uterus — the endometrium — grows outside your uterus.

Endometriosis most commonly involves your ovaries, fallopian tubes and the tissue lining your pelvis. Rarely, endometrial tissue may spread beyond pelvic organs

If you have endometriosis, Dr. John Lee recommends using progesterone to reduce the effects of estrogen on the body (estrogen stimulates endometrial growth). Take a short week off to refresh your receptor sites.

How to Use Progesterone Cream for Fertility

Natural progesterone cream can be easily and quickly absorbed into the body through the skin within seconds. You can apply it essentially anywhere as long as you rotate locations of application.

General suggested dosage is 40mg daily, divided into one 20mg application in the am and one 20mg application in the pm, during the two weeks before your period.

Where to Apply Progesterone Cream?

The best places to apply natural progesterone creams on your body are places that get lots of blood flow via your capillaries. This includes your:

• Palms of hands and feet
• Inner arms
• Chest above breast
• Neck
• Face

You can tell which areas have capillaries by paying attention to where you tend to blush, such as your cheeks. Avoid putting progesterone cream on fatty parts of your body. Remember, fat stores progesterone, rather than letting it into the bloodstream so more fatty areas will store more progesterone rather than using it properly.

With prolonged use of progesterone in one area can cause that area of skin to saturate, reducing the absorption of progesterone.

To help the absorption of the progesterone, you should spread it on a large area of skin like the forearms, back of legs and rotate the areas where you apply the cream each time you use it, so one area doesn’t become saturated. You will find more information under the tab

More about Progesterone and how to apply it – Click Here

Place your health and the future health of your child in your own hands.
You have the power to enhance fertilization without a lot of expensive office visits and prescription hormones. There are hormone tests that are easy to get that can assist you in conceiving your loving baby.

Hormone Testing

Hormone testing can be performed by a medical doctor, naturopathic doctor or by an at-home testing service.

Testing options range from charting your menstrual cycle to determine the length of your luteal phase to testing on the Maybe Mom Saliva ovulation Microscope and tracking during your luteal phase, to taking saliva or blood tests to find out your progesterone levels.

Maybe Mom Saliva Ovulation Microscope

Testing ovulation and charting while using the saliva ovulation microscope can help to determine the availability of progesterone in the luteal phase or any luteal phase deficiency.

Length ofthe luteal phase

If the date of ovulation is fewer than 11 days before your period, this could suggest luteal phase defects. You can detect ovulation using your Maybe Mom saliva ovulation microscope

Saliva Hormonal Testing

Dr. John Lee was very adamant that the best testing for hormones and progesterone through saliva testing, not blood testing (almost all doctors will test the blood).

You can order an “at home” saliva test that you will take at, certain times during your cycle, and then send it to a lab for analysis. They will then mail back your results so you can find out if you have any hormonal imbalances.

Blood Hormonal Testing

While Dr. Lee was adamant about getting progesterone testing through saliva, it may be more helpful to work with your doctor to get your progesterone tested so they can explain the test results to you, even if it is a blood test. You most likely will also have other hormones tested at the same time which can give you insights to your entire hormonal profile.

When to Get Your Progesterone Levels Tested

The most appropriate time to measure serum progesterone is mid-luteal phase (either seven days after ovulation, or 7 days prior to expected menses). This is when you’re most likely to catch the peak progesterone level. This day will vary according to a woman’s cycle length, however (for example, for a 28-day cycle, day 21 progesterone testing is appropriate; but for a 35-day cycle, progesterone would ideally be measured around day 28).

Summary

Obviously, you are serious about getting pregnant, or you wouldn’t be reading this guide. Use these five steps as your go-to reference in-order-to conceive using progesterone cream.Always consult your medical provider before beginning any hormone therapy treatment.

References:

1. Lee, John, M.D. (2006) Hormone Balance Made Simple. Werner Books: New York, New York.

2. Lee, John, M.D. (1999). What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause. Grand Central Life & Style – Hachette Book Group: New York, New York.