Hot flashes, dry vagina, mood fluctuations, and weight gain are some of the annoying symptoms that women going through menopause or postmenopause may encounter. Some postmenopausal women may experience these symptoms for a few years, but you could be among the ladies who endure them for ten years or more.
You may benefit from progesterone hormone replacement treatment if you have tested your hormone levels with a perimenopause test and are now seeking relief. Is this Progesterone Cream effective, though? What are the positive effects? Find out by reading on.
What Are Progesterone’s Health Advantages for Women?
Your ovaries create progesterone, just like they do estrogen. In particular, elevated progesterone and estrogen levels are crucial for priming the body for a potential pregnancy. These hormones cooperate to control sexual health and reproductive function.
Estrogen is a necessary component of a woman’s life. It promotes breast development and initiates the menstrual cycle during adolescence. Throughout your reproductive years, estrogen promotes pregnancy and helps regulate the menstrual cycle. This hormone also plays a role in regulating mood, managing cholesterol levels, and promoting heart and bone health.
Additionally, this hormone prevents the uterus from contracting, which may lead to the body rejecting a fertilized egg. Progesterone during pregnancy stimulates the body to sustain the endometrium, which provides nourishment for the developing fetus.
What is a progesterone cream?
The hormone is applied directly to the skin as progesterone creams and gels, sometimes referred to as topical or transdermal progesterone, where it is readily absorbed. It is still accessible without a prescription even though the FDA has not authorized it.
A substance known as diosgenin is extracted from foods like soy and wild yams to make progesterone creams. This type of production gets referred to as natural progesterone cream and bioidentical progesterone cream.
Progesterone Cream Benefits
Menopause
A woman’s progesterone levels typically range from 5 to 20 nanograms per milliliter during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, when the body is ready to deliver an egg. After menopause, they drastically drop to fewer than 0.5 nanograms per milliliter. When low progesterone levels cause menopausal or perimenopause symptoms, progesterone creams, Menopause Cream Solution, which usually also include estrogen, can be used as a hormone replacement therapy (HRT) treatment. These symptoms include:
- Warm flashes
- Sleep problems
- Insufficient libido
- Changes in mood
- Skin and hair changes
- Dryness in the vagina
- gaining weight
However, the data is contradictory, and there hasn’t been much current study on progesterone cream in particular. In contrast to the group that received a placebo, an earlier 2009 research published in Menopause International did not find any statistically significant improvement in symptoms when progesterone cream was used.
However, when it comes to HRT, there is some evidence that progesterone cream may be better than oral progesterone for some people, particularly those who are more likely to suffer from liver damage, deep vein thrombosis, and other cardiometabolic problems.
Skin Well-being
Progesterone cream may alleviate menopausal skin problems by:
- Growing elasticity
- Reduced wrinkles
- Increasing the stiffness of the skin
Compared to the group that received a placebo, perimenopausal and menopausal women who used a 2% progesterone cream for 16 weeks reported firmer, more elastic skin and fewer creases around their lips and eyes. To support these results, research is necessary as the study was limited.
Bone Density
Progesterone cream can occasionally get used to strengthen bones and lower the risk of osteoporosis, but there isn’t enough data to determine how effective progesterone treatments are for this.
Premenopausal and perimenopausal women’s bone density got impacted by progesterone medication. The effects of progesterone cream on women’s bone mineral density require more investigation.
Fertility
Progesterone cream is a component of an ART procedure, such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF) (keep in mind that the hormone helps control sperm production in males).
Research indicates that by boosting the chance of implantation, progesterone gel or cream used during ART increases the possibility of pregnancy.
Balancing Progesterone
Effective symptom management throughout menopause depends on knowing when progesterone may be appropriate and how progesterone levels change. The use of hormone replacement medication is still generally advised, particularly for people who are exhibiting signs of low progesterone and estrogen throughout the menopausal transition.
When started early in menopause, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can help ease typical problems associated with hormonal changes. From perimenopause to the end of menopause, progesterone levels might fluctuate, and tailored care is necessary to meet each patient’s needs. To choose the appropriate course of action, it is essential to see a healthcare practitioner if there are factors to consider, such as age, the length from the onset of menopause, and medical history.
When Should I Take Progesterone for Perimenopause?
Ideally, progesterone and estrogen medication should begin at the onset of the menopausal transition. Progesterone and estrogen are recommended for women who have uteruses to stop the lining from growing too much. Despite being a crucial component of hormone balance, progesterone is utilized.
Before, during, and after menopause, there may be different advantages to mixing progesterone and estrogen. However, most women report feeling better shortly after beginning hormone replacement therapy. It is best to discuss the benefits and drawbacks with a healthcare professional because progesterone treatment might not be appropriate for women over 60 or who have been menopausal for more than ten years.
Natural methods for boosting progesterone
Other methods exist for attempting to raise your body’s progesterone levels:
Sustain a healthy weight:
Your body may create more estrogen if you are overweight, which might result in a hormonal imbalance. One way to address hormone problems is to maintain a healthy weight for your height and age.
Moderate exercise:
Overexercising causes your body to create more cortisol, a stress hormone that paradoxically inhibits the creation of progesterone. It is advised to exercise moderately in these situations.
Lessen the tension:
Progesterone levels can be maintained by learning stress management techniques. Reading, meditating, engaging in hobbies, and spending time with friends and family may all be beneficial stress-reduction techniques.
Eat foods high in zinc:
A mineral called zinc regulates the pituitary gland, which produces important hormones for reproduction. Progesterone is among the hormones whose synthesis might be slowed by a zinc deficit.
Consume foods high in vitamin B6:
According to studies, consuming more B6 can help the body produce more progesterone and less estrogen, therefore re-establishing hormonal equilibrium. Eat more seafood, healthy grains, and chickpeas to increase your intake of B6.
The hormone progesterone is essential for maintaining reproductive health. Despite being heavily promoted as a remedy for menopausal symptoms and low progesterone levels, progesterone creams have received no scientific backing for their efficacy.
