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Progesterone: The "Feel Good" Hormone Hope everyone is enjoying summer and the weather. This newsletter is a little late in its arrival but we feel it is one of the most important topics in regards to hormonal challenges. The topic is “Progesterone” and the goal is to provide you with information in regards to the importance of this hormone. Please read on... |
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Progesterone is made in the ovaries of menstruating women and by the placenta during pregnancy. About 20-25 mg of progesterone are produced per day during a woman’s monthly cycle and up to 300-400 mg are produced daily during pregnancy. If an egg is not fertilized, progesterone production (as well as that of estrogen) falls quickly and this initiates the menstrual flow. Progesterone is necessary for the survival of a fertilized egg, the resulting embryo, and the fetus throughout gestation. It is also the precursor of other steroid hormones including cortisol, aldosterone, estrogen, and testosterone and performs a myriad of different functions.
Progesterone, while primarily made by the ovaries, is also manufactured by the adrenal glands. It can be converted by the adrenals into cortisol, the stress response hormone. Since stress is a survival mechanism, it has a higher priority in the body than sex. What this means in practical terms is that when you are stressed, your body will use your supply of progesterone to create cortisol rather than using it to do progesterone work. Dr Lee, in his publication 'What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause' maintained that women, by the time they reached their mid-to late 30s or early 40s had so stressed their adrenal glands that they had nothing left to give. He argued that when Western women stop making progesterone in their ovaries and their adrenal cortex and brain need to pick up 100 percent of that function to produce corticosteroids, there isn't much progesterone left over for other functions, such as balancing estrogen levels. The adrenals of many women in Western cultures are so depleted they can't even make enough progesterone to make the corticosteroids. This may be an important factor in chronic fatigue syndrome, which is so common in women in their mid-30s and early 40s. |
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Progesterone is known as the “Feel-Good” hormone and has many beneficial actions throughout the body. Progesterone protects against the undesirable side effects of unopposed estrogen, a condition termed “estrogen dominance”. Remember, estrogen dominance can occur as a consequence of taking birth control pills at sometime in your life, synthetic hormone replacement, stress and exposure to xenoestrogens (substances in our environment that mimic estrogen). It is important to note that when a woman enters menopause estrogen levels drop only about 35% whereas progesterone levels can plummet 95% or more! So why do we need progesterone?
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What is the difference? Progesterone is natural. While still man-made, it is extracted from wild yam or soybeans in a laboratory. The resulting molecule is identical to that which is found in the human body. Progestins are synthetic – a substance that is not found in nature. These drugs are created not because they work better than natural hormones but rather because they can be patented and patented drugs have a much higher price tag than natural supplements. Progestins are made from the same substances that natural progesterone is made from but the molecular configuration of it is changed in the laboratory so that it is not identical to anything found in nature. By changing the molecular structure only slightly can create major ill effects on the body. Many physicians still believe that the synthetic progestins such as Provera (medroxyprogesterone acetate) are the same as natural progesterone. When women take Progestins in birth control pills (BCP) or synthetic hormone replacement, it blocks receptor sites in cells from natural progesterone. Women who take the BCP are stopping ovulation therefore stopping the natural production of progesterone! Take a look at the following table which has been extracted from Dr. John Lee’s book... “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause”: |
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Supplementing with Natural Progesterone |
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It is very helpful to know the ratio of estrogen to progesterone prior to supplementing with bioidentical progesterone. This is why we suggest saliva hormone testing. Saliva testing reflects tissue levels of sex hormones. Most women are finding that progesterone levels are extremely low in comparison to estrogen levels (estrogen dominance) however women all differ in their physiology. This is why it is so important to use the guidelines provided by a knowledgeable medical professional in regards to dosing with progesterone supplementation. More is not better! Although progesterone is deemed to be very safe, too much can cause untoward symptoms such as feeling tired, water retention, candida, bloating, mild depression, and symptoms of estrogen deficiency. Remember, once you have started on a progesterone program, it is recommended to re-check your saliva hormone test in 6 months. The cost of testing estradiol and progesterone (with the ratio provided) is still only $55.00. Feel free to update us with your progress. We always like to hear your comments and or questions. A quick email or phone call is always welcome. Have a great summer! |
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Joke Of The Month: Q. How many women with PMS does it take to screw in a light bulb? A. One. ONE!! And do you know WHY it only takes ONE? Because no one else in this house knows HOW to change a light bulb. They don't even know the bulb is BURNED OUT. They would sit in this house in the dark for THREE DAYS before they figured it OUT. And once they figured it out they wouldn't be able to find the light bulbs despite the fact that they've been in the SAME CUPBOARD for the past SEVENTEEN YEARS. But if they did, by some miracle, find the light bulbs, TWO DAYS LATER the chair that they dragged from two rooms over to stand on to change the STUPID light bulb would STILL BE IN THE SAME SPOT!!!!!!! AND UNDERNEATH IT WOULD BE THE CRUMPLED WRAPPER THE STUPID LIGHT BULBS CAME IN. WHY??? BECAUSE NO ONE IN THIS HOUSE EVER CARRIES OUT THE GARBAGE!!!! IT'S A WONDER WE HAVEN'T ALL SUFFOCATED FROM THE PILES OF GARBAGE THAT ARE 12 FEET DEEP THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE HOUSE. THE HOUSE!! THE HOUSE!!! IT WOULD TAKE AN ARMY TO CLEAN THIS........ |
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Contact Us |
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WEST VANCOUVER CLINIC Suite #9 -636 Clyde Ave, West Vancouver, B.C. Phone: 604-922-3997 Fax: 604-926-3727
E-mail: info@alternativehormonesolutions.ca We’re on the Web... www.alternativehormonesolutions.ca |
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