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I am five-foot, three-inches tall and 220 pounds. I went off the pill a year ago and had extremely irregular periods with 9- to 12-week cycles. Before I went on the pill I weighed 200 pounds and had normal periods. My doctor found nothing wrong except for obesity. I was introduced to natural progesterone cream by a friend's mother who was taking it for menopause. I began using it and my last cycle was a normal 29 days! Could this help me to achieve pregnancy?
I have no personal nor professional exposure to the use of progesterone cream, but I did find some information on it.
It is now in limited use for the treatment of breast pain, symptom relief in menopause and for some gynecological conditions where progesterone is the recommended treatment.
One comparative, randomized study of three types of different progesterone support of the luteal phase following a IVF/ET program in a sample of infertile women was reported in the "Journal of Endocrinological Investigation" 18(1):51-6, 1995 Jan.
Progesterone has been used to support the luteal phase in women with inadequate luteal phase or luteal phase defects and in those undergoing in vitro fertilization.
Progesterone vaginal cream (100 mg/day) was used as well as other types of progesterone. They found that all of the treatments were able to significantly increase the luteal values (add extra support to the ruptured follicle which helps sustain the pregnancy). Serum progesterone levels were more steady with the vaginal cream than in the injection form. Vaginal cream gave better bioavailability values and acceptance was high among the users.
So, it could be that enough progesterone is absorbed to help those who are infertile due to a defect late in the cycle.
Obesity does affect fertility (see other letters on this) and it is important to see an endocrinologist to make certain that the adrenal glands are working properly and that you don't suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome, which results in production of too much male hormone.
Before you use this to achieve a pregnancy, it would be a good idea to discuss this with your provider. I wish you luck and hope this has helped.
