The steroid hormone found in the women’s body is known as progesterone. It is made by the corpus luteum of the ovary at ovulation. This hormone is also made in smaller amounts by the adrenal glands. Progesterone is manufactured in the body from a steroid hormone that is called pregnenolene. It is also known as a precursor to most of the other steroid hormones. These other steroid hormones include cortisol, androstenedione, the estrogens and testosterone. The corpus luteum produces at about 20 to 30 mg of progesterone in a normal cycling female during luteal phase of menstrual cycle.
Why do women need progesterone in the first place? The direct answer to that is that it is needed in hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women for many reasons. Progesterone’s most important role is to balance or oppose the effects of estrogen. Put in mind that unopposed estrogen may create a strong risk for breast cancer and reproductive cancers.
Both women suffering from PMS and menopausal symptoms will be able to recognize the hallmark symptoms of estrogen dominance. This can make them gain weight, have the feeling of bloating, mood swings, irritability, tender breasts, headaches, depression, fatigue and uterine fibroids. Estrogen dominance can cause women cancer of the ovary, breast and uterus.
Why do women suffering menopausal symptoms need progesterone cream? In ten to fifteen years, women regularly have anovulatory cycles that enable them to make enough estrogen to create menstruation. They don’t make any progesterone and this starts the setting stage for estrogen dominance. The use of progesterone cream during anovulatory months can help women prevent the symptoms of PMS. PMS as we all know occur despite normal progesterone levels when there is the presence of stress. This causes the increase of cortisol and these cortisol blockades progesterone receptors. There is a need of additional progesterone to overcome this blockade and of course, it is important to have stress management.
People have the same question of where should they put the progesterone cream. Since progesterone is a very fat soluble, it can be easily absorbed by the skin. From subcutaneous fat, it can be absorbed into the capillary blood. The absorption is best at the skin sites where people usually blush like the face, chest, neck, breast, inner arms and palms of the hands.
Some doctors recommend the progesterone cream containing 450-500 mg of progesterone per ounce which is 1.6% by weight or 3% by volume. This means that the progesterone cream must be used ¼ teaspoon a day that would provide about 20 mg/day.
