The following guide on how to use natural progesterone cream is based on 28 days, but please bear in mind that if your cycle is longer or shorter, follow your cycle.
Men- how to use natural progesterone cream
Using progesterone is very easy for a man as he has no cycle. Therefore it can be applied daily. It’s best to apply it twice a day, more frequently if symptoms are severe.
Use between 10-100mg/day progesterone, more if severe symptoms are experienced.
Women- how to use natural progesterone cream
The number of instructions given, the apparent complications of using it, and the misinformation, has caused many hundreds of women confusion about how to use natural progesterone cream
For general use and to reverse mild symptoms 100-200mg/day progesterone is needed. If severe problems are experienced 400-500mg/day are needed.
Once symptoms have passed the amount should be reduced very slowly, until the optimum is found.
It should be used a minimum of twice a day as levels begin dropping after about 13 hours. But in severe cases, application can be hourly.
When first starting progesterone it can disrupt the menstrual cycle. Periods can be either earlier or later than normal. This is nothing to be concerned about, the normal cycle length will assert itself within a few cycles.
If spotting only occurs, continue using the progesterone until bleeding starts.
If a full period occurs stop using the progesterone, and begin it again 12-14 days before the next period. For further explanation on this see under Normal Cycle Lengths below.
Bleeding can be heavier in the first few cycles, also nothing to be concerned about. This is old lining which has not been shed previously.
How to use natural progesterone cream in normal cycle lengths
Everyone, including the medical profession, assumes a normal cycle length is always 28 days in all women. This is simply not the case.
There is a fundamental error in advising all women to start using progesterone on day 15. This is only appropriate for women with a 28 day cycle.
Progesterone can be used while on drug based contraceptives. It should be used when taking the second half of the packet.
Progesterone is safe to use with any drug, there are no contraindications.
More Information
Adverse symptoms
If symptoms are severe, it’s advisable to use progesterone daily for the entire month, using it through any bleeding. Follow this procedure for 2-3 months or until stable.
This ensures progesterone becomes the dominant hormone. Each time a break is taken for the follicular phase, ie from bleeding to ovulation, oestrogen rises again, and adverse symptoms return.
Once stable the cycle can be followed again. ie when the next period occurs, stop using the progesterone for the follicular phase, and resume again at ovulation. If this is not known, start again 12-14 days before bleeding.
Pregnancy
For general use it’s not necessary to know when ovulation occurs, beginning 12-14 days before bleeding is sufficient. But if pregnancy is the aim, it is necessary to know when ovulation occurs.
Contraception
With extreme caution. There is no guarantee that usage of progesterone will prevent ovulation occurring. It has none of the adverse side effects the drug based contraceptives can have. It is also not as reliable as other methods.
Stress
Stress drops progesterone levels sharply, so adverse symptoms can return. The reason for this is cortisol, the stress hormone, is made from progesterone. The stress response is a survival instinct, so the body will use any available progesterone to convert it into cortisol to overcome the stress, be it acute or chronic, good or bad. Progesterone should be increased over any stressful time.
Oestrogen Dominance
This is a term coined to describe adverse symptoms which occur when first using progesterone. It generally occurs if 20-40mg/day progesterone is used. Dr Dalton’s patients never experienced it as she gave them amounts varying between 400-800mg/day.
It can also occur when first using progesterone, or when increasing it, or when decreasing it or stopping it. Or when changing brands of progesterone without taking into account the amount of progesterone in the product.
Many blame progesterone and reduce the amount they’re using, ironically this does help. It’s now no longer stimulating oestrogen, but defeats the purpose. Which is to suppress the excess oestrogen causing the adverse symptoms in the first place.
To prevent it happening progesterone should be increased. Ideally, high amounts should be used initially to prevent it occurring.
How to Gauge Ovulation
To give you some idea, all women, irrespective of the length of their cycle, should start ovulating fourteen days before they start bleeding again.
This means that you should start using the cream either at ovulation, if you know when it happens, or fourteen days before your next period is due. The cream should only be used from ovulation,for the last 14 days of the cycle i.e. from day 15.
If you don’t ovulate or have a period, stick to the 28 day cycle, choosing any day to start.
A twenty one day cycle – Ovulation should occur on day seven
A twenty eight day cycle – Ovulation should occur on day fourteen
A thirty six day cycle – Ovulation should occur on day twenty two
This is the key to understanding how to use natural progesterone cream effectively. If used earlier than ovulation, it will prevent ovulation. In other words it will prevent a woman from making her own progesterone.
The idea behind the cream is to supplement the low level of endogenous progesterone i.e. what your body makes during the luteal phase.
The first day of the cycle is the first day of bleeding. There are some women who have what is known as a defective luteal phase, which means that they start bleeding again before the fourteen days are up.
A defective luteal phase is often the cause of a failed conception or miscarriage. If this is the case, using progesterone can help to lengthen it.
How to Apply Natural Progesterone Cream
A skin cream is the most user friendly of all the ways progesterone can be taken. Oral is wasteful and costly as 80-90% is destroyed as it passes through the gut and the liver and the dose has to be high which causes drowsiness. Injections are painful, buccal drops or pills are very bitter and suppositories are not much fun!
One of the key benefits of understanding how to use natural progesterone cream effectively is that applying progesterone is very easy.
It can be used in the vagina or nose for dryness, on piles, painful or achy areas, burns (its amazing on burns), wonderful on the face and so on.
Please note: do not use the cream on only one small patch of skin. The continual rubbing on one spot can lead to irritation. The cream will not absorb well either. Although many people believe the thin skinned areas absorb best, a study has shown progesterone is absorbed well by the hair follicles, so it can be used anywhere. It’s best to rotate the area daily.
NB: Progesterone cream is best applied twice a day to keep levels up, so split whatever daily dose is chosen. Some women prefer to use more at night, less in the morning, but it’s up to the individual.
All the successful studies done on progesterone indicate between 100mg to 200mg should be used each day. This equates to 3ml to 6ml of a 3.33% concentration cream per day. Each press of the pump gives a 50mg dose of progesterone.
In answering the question how to use natural progesterone cream effectively it must be made clear that there is actually no right or wrong way as it depends on the problem or symptoms one is trying to resolve.
The correct dosage will invariably depend on your symptoms, the type of hormone imbalance you suffer from-whether it is a peri-or post-menopausal, as well as many other health factors.
However, there is a standard recommended dosage per day, which in most cases will be sufficient to see some improvement within a few weeks. It is best to start with this and then after a couple of months, depending upon symptoms reduce or increase the dose.
Another great tip when using the natural progesterone cream is to rotate the different areas where you apply it. Choosing 2 to 3 three different spots on your body will prevent saturating a particular area of your skin. I rotate between each leg, each arm and torso which gives me 5 spots on the body to use.
Now you know the basics of how to use natural progesterone cream it is up to you to fine tune the details if you want to. Some women find that the recommended starting dosage is not the right amount for them. Feel free to experiment with the amount you use to tune it to your own needs. Listening to what your body is telling you is the best way.
Supplemental progesterone usually stops the food and alcohol cravings, depression, painful breasts, cramps, tiredness and anger that occur just prior to bleeding.
Please be aware that bleeding could be heavier for the first one to two months when first starting the cream. Don’t be alarmed, as its the progesterone cleaning out the lining that has built up in the uterus.
The cycle can also be disrupted. If spotting should occur continue using the cream. If a full period should occur early, discontinue the cream counting the first day of bleeding as day 1. Bleeding may also be delayed for a few days. When this occurs, count the first day of bleeding as day 1. Start using the cream again at ovulation or for the last fourteen days of the cycle.
Oestrogen dominance symptoms can also be experienced. These will disappear after around 7-10 days.
People have also find that dividing the dose into 2 and applying twice daily works best for them so feel free to try this and see if it is right for you.
Above all else remember there is no right or wrong way of how to use natural progesterone cream. Experiment until you are getting the best for your body and your needs.
If you are not sure about using hormone products long term you should seek medical advice.
Some detailed advice can be found on the Progesterone Therapy website