Natural Progesterone Anyone?

I've taken natural progesterone for years with my doctor's blessing. I've used creams and oils, have had saliva testing at ZRT Labs. Dosage has varied. As I get older I need less. Everybody is different.

My approach is different than your doctor's, tho. A lot of docs are butt-covering by opposing hormones.

Good luck!

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Knowledge about how progesterone works is a litmus test to see if your doctor is informed. If he or she thinks progesterone makes cancer grow, then they fail the test. At all the integrative cancer conferences I've gone to there have been presentations on how progesterone is "antiproliferative."  It balances estrogen in the cells.

Progesterone is one of the first line integrative therapies.

We need to read a lot more than our doctors. They are not well-read on everything. If your doctor makes a recommendation you must ask, WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE FOR THAT RECOMMENDATION?

I'm a 'user' and have had my progesterone checked by saliva (ZRT Labs).  I used 1/8 tsp daily for 3 weeks on and 1 week off.  My naturopath believes in the smallest dose to produce the desired effect and I TOTALLY agree! 

 Question for post menopausall women::  Do you use progesterone cream every day or do you take a one week break??? 

But are your cancer cells PR receptor positive? That is crucial.

If yes, even natural progesterone cream will feed those cells. The gynecologist I referred to has used bioidentical hormones for many years, following Dr. Lee's work. He teaches other drs and gynecologists on the use of bioidenticals. He understands thoroughly the difference between progestins & bioidentical progesterone. He was the first person I called after my path report, hoping I could in some way use natural progesterone cream, as I had done during menopause, for its anti-proliferative effects. But it all depended on the pathology report. I sense that if I'd been PR- we could have done something. But PR+, even my tiny 10%, no way. It all depends on whether you are PR+ or PR-. If I could have, I would have used it, and it would also have kept my bones strong. Instead, I'm on arimidex and doing weight-bearing exercise & taking calcium etc.

Hoping you find a good dr. who has used bioidentical hormones extensively, for the right answer for YOU. Maybe, if you are PR-, you just might be able to use  and benefit from it.

Souad: I understand your concerns because frankly many doc's feel the same way as you.. I had ER+ and PR+ lesion - when I asked the oncologists if the PR+ meant that it (progesterone) fed the cancer in the same way as ER+ I was told no.. that they only knew that the tumor had a "reaction" to progesteron.. There are many theories about it many say that the reaction is one of counteractive to estrogen - or a balance to the estrogen.. There was even an article I read where radiologists wanted to remove the progesterone testing because they said that science doesn't really know what this means - in the same way that the HER2+ testing is not done for DCIS (routinely)..  It only means that the tumor is reactive to progesteron not that progesteron feds the cancer..  That being said that same oncologist said that until they understand it better I should no longer take my topical progesteron...  It's an ongoing discussion that really no one knows the answers to..  I have taken Dr. Lee's recommended mix and dose - he even suggested that this event (the contraversy over estrogen and progesteron (natural)) would occur.. So it is a matter not truly defined today..

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There is ZERO evidence that progesterone feeds cancer. That is a rumor that got circulated and it has been hard to stop. Just because there is a pathology test for progesterone receptors does not mean that they work to grow cancer.

Again, please ask your doctor for written proof for everything he says. It drives some of us crazy when we see the same inaccurate gossip about hormones circulated as a fact again and again.

Dr. Zava, the co-author of What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer, has been researching progesterone for more than 30 years. I have followed his work for twelve years. It is completely science-based.

anom

Decided to see what I could find on my gynie's website. Here it is, please take a look: www.drpettle.com. There is a wealth of  information here. Check out the Bioidentical hormones button, FAQs # 3, which is specifically about the use of progesterone and bc. I guess he decided from my path report that it was not in my best interests -  but still could be in yours. But please, given his cautious approach, try to find out, using your path report, if it is in fact right for you. I hope so!

I'm like a dog with a bone. found this on his site, getting to the nitty-gritty  The other major issue regarding the use of natural progesterone is whether it is safe to use in patients with previous histories of breast cancer. I now have patients who are taking natural progesterone and have had tremendous relief of the symptoms of menopause, such as dry vagina, dyspareunia and insomnia, and these patients are extremely thankful for the use of natural progesterone. I do follow their blood levels of estradiol and estrone to make certain that these levels are not increasing with the use of natural progesterone. Natural progesterone is a 21 carbon steroid and, theoretically, could be transformed into natural estrogen within the body cascade of hormones. This is a very new field of endeavor. To say the patient is fully aware of the pros and cons of the use of the hormonal substance, I have found that the decision that is made between patient and physician is usually a well thought out decision and that both the physician and the patient should feel comfortable with the final decision.

yes, he's a sweetheart and his patients love him & I wish we could clone him, too. Too bad he wouldn't let ME use the danged stuff!

anomdenet - I'm trying to understand your point of view - could you please give me an example of what you mean by evidence in this context? for instance, would it be something I could find in the published results of a study? Mightn't one of the problems here be that there are (I am assuming, perhaps wrongly - no conclusive double-blind etc. studies?)  I hope there are!  But if there aren't, how could the dr. do other than give his professional opinion based on his experience with his bc patients?

TWA - I came in from raking for a rest & to see if there was anything posted in this interesting debate. You cracked me up!

But just to get things straight, I'm all for complementary & integrative medicine - and natural progesterone cream -  & love the natural threads post & doing whatever I can to prevent a reoccurence. I just like trying to find the best in all systems of health care. And I trust Dr. Pettle, who has already put in many dedicated years of helping women by thinking and acting outside the HRT box. 

TWA....gee, what does that stand for?  I noticed you like to post negative comments in the alternative and natural threads.  Dejavu!

It was ME who said progesterone feeds cancer, not my doctor. As I clicked to post it, I realized that was an dumb extrapolation on my part, and I was wrong, but it was gone.

On the other hand, I did leave a message with him today hoping for more elucidation and to my surprise found a message from him when I just came in, but again he just said no, in my case, because of my ER/PR +, and my strong family history of bc, it is not right for me. and didn't give a more detailed explanation. Too bad!

But if you check into Dr. Pettle's site, you'll see it might be right for some people.Still, how does one decide?

www.drpettle.com. under bioidentical hormones FAQ. 

Hi Ladies,

I have been confused on the natural progesterone cream.....

10 years ago my friend told me about natural progesterone cream.....I researched and read Dr. Lee's book.....and began the journey of using the wonderful cream....around that same time my sister age 32 at the time developed breast cancer....

I encouraged her to use it because of what I had studied.....she is in remission now some 9-10 years later....

I used the cream too, encouraged that it would offer protectiveness for me. then last year I found a lump......and as you see from my diagnosis date the receptors were positive.....

I had never thought there were different types of BC until I got cancer myself....then when my sister and I compared path reports.....I saw that her hormone receptors were almost the same as mine.....we were both at least 90% ER and 90% PR.......IDC and HER -.

Needless to say, I was left confused.....I can't really figure out if progesterone helped or hurt me......but it did help with pms and breast tenderness and I never had a mentstrual cramp while using it. It kept me from gaining weight until the last 2 years I was using it.

One thing for sure is that I do not trust if the ingredients are what they say they are in natural progesterone creams. For the last years I used the cream I was using progesnsa 20,,,thought it was reputable even researched it. A few month before I found my BC, I searched the Progensa again....and found that the FDA had cited them with not keeping accurate books on mixing the cream....then I went to the company website and found that they were dealing only with medical professionals.....you could still order the cream from other websites.....I still have an unopened container of the stuff.....and if I could afford it I would have the ingredients analyzed.

My sister feels like the cream has kept her in remission....I have stopped using it since diagnosis.....since I got BC anyway whle using it for 9 years.

I don't discourage anyone from using the cream.....it seems to have kept my sister in remission....her cancer was aggressive grade 3 and in her lymph....she had chemo and rads....attempted tamoxifen and other hormonals etc (to many problems with the hormonal drugs so she quit those).....she uses coq10 too....flaxoil and several other viitamins.

I had radiation....attempted tamoxifen and suffered many of the same problems as she had....now I am using some of the same supplements as she is. though I take 400mg of the coq10 daily.....I am just scared of progesterone cream for me.....

My sister and I have brain stormed as to factors that could have contributed to us getting BC.....our mom and grandmothers never had cancer....we don't really eat alike.....she took the birth control pill for a long time and I took it for a year....she is thin I am overweight....i like fruit she doesn't, we aren't big meat eaters.....we both love chocolate though....

also Dr. Lee did great things with progesterone research, Virginia Hopkins did as well. I emailed her this story is simpler form....she told me that progesterone probably had no effect on my getting BC...and encouraged me to order one of her books. You can email her and she will respond. I think too that as some have suggested in this thread that monitoring your hormone levels is a good idea.....one doctor I read about suggest that progesterone can build up in fat cells just like estrogen.

It would be interesting to see how many of us were using natrural progesterone cream before cancer hit us.

thanks vivre

amber