Will progesterone help me with heavy bleeding?
Will progesterone help me with heavy bleeding?
From our experience and observation, progesterone will often help with heavy bleeding because it balances the effect of estrogen upon uterus (and breast) thus reducing the amount of menstrual bleeding … but it is not a quick fix.
Heavy bleeding comes as a result of many aspects within the body, and often it requires many other treatments such as your vitamins, minerals, iron & B12 supplements, diet and stress management, and specific herbs.
We have found selenium combined with vitamin E of great value. These two work synergistically – each one improves the function of the other. Vitamin E will help to reduce and prevent uterine scarring. Selenium offers powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Phytoestrogens have a balancing/regulatory effect on estrogen levels.
There might be underlying anaemia which can aggravate further heavy bleeding or the possible presence of fibroids, not forgetting one of the bigger players here – estrogen dominance, whether due to estrogen replacement therapy, progesterone deficiency, obesity, incorrect foods, exposure to toxins or stress. It’s advisable to get blood work done and an ultrasound, and other appropriate tests to eliminate all such possibilities.
Progesterone will help over a period of time but usually it requires high doses and then a gradual reduction. It takes some time for the body to settle down. We have known women to take between 8-18 months to combat heavy bleeding problems before they’ve actually found a position of comfort and success with progesterone usage.
Often the doctors will encourage women to undergo progestogen therapy, advise them to have a curette, or go down the path of a hysterectomy to stop bleeding.
Anaemia causes heavy bleeding, and heavy bleed causes anaemia. So get your iron levels checked to break this vicious cycle. Use your progesterone in conjunction with a good diet, exercise and stress management. There are so many aspect of heavy bleeding. You need to work out exactly what is the cause, whether it is life threatening, and whether it interferes with your lifestyle to warrant clinical procedures (drug therapy & surgery).
If heavy bleeding is actually caused by estrogen dominance alone, you should realise relief from a premium progesterone cream, along with other estrogen dominance reduction measures. Some women suffering estrogen dominance find that just by reducing their weight they were able to reduce their bleeding significantly.
Progesterone use varies here from the normal standard procedures. For instance, where there is a sudden appearance of a heavy bleed, a stat dose (once off) of high levels of progesterone (10%) has worked dramatically for some women to reduce and control bleeding. This approach is adopted in circumstances where heavy bleeding may have started.
Adopting this ‘left field’ approach has actually brought bleeding under control for some. Worth a try to see if you respond to this approach. This application is administered at the ONSET of a bleed. This approach is adopted purely to see if high doses of progesterone will help control heavy bleeding. Nonetheless, this is a one-off approach, as this cream is actually being applied during a time when you should be breaking from cream if the bleed represents your normal cycle.
If the heavy bleed falls in between cycles, drop the dosage to about 6% and continue application until your next scheduled!
to break from cream.
Note, intra-vaginal application appears to have significant impact in helping to reducing heavy bleeding problems where topical application at physiological doses has been marginally successful, or they have been successful in controlling their condition and then suddenly find they are facing out of control bleeding.
A couple of months of intra-vaginal application equivalent to 10% level has been enough to restore normal bleeding patterns (based on easing of bleed, type of bleed, presence or absence of clots), and often she returns to topical application of physiological doses of 4% (as experienced by women associated with our Network with heavy bleeding problems). Please refer to our section on intra-vaginal application for more details (refer to our section on ‘Creams Used Vaginally’ section).
You won’t see the true results of progesterone therapy until the period following the one you are currently treating. At that point, if all is satisfactory, you can determine a gradual reduction of dosage, then assess again at the next bleed. Between these two consecutive periods, you will determine what your baseline dose is.
On observation, heavy bleeders range in the vicinity of 4-6% maintenance dose. The reduction program has taken place over a 12 month period, once they have stablised.
Every women is individual. Rules vary here. Some women also fluctuate with low doses for months needing to increase for a 3-4 month period then dropping back. Stress and worry are huge players in heavy bleeding concerns.
Our observation is that many of these women tend to be deep-seated worriers but often give the impression of being outwardly calm and collected. They also strive to please others, sacrificing their own personal wellbeing. Relationships and personal conflict appear to correlate with heaving bleeding issues.
Of course, if it is heavy bleeding, haemorrhaging, or you feel concerned for any reason, please seek medical attention.
