The following symptoms and diseases respond to progesterone therapy, if they are hormone related. It is important to remember that progesterone is not a drug, it is a hormone vital to our well being.

Please click a letter to show symptoms and diseases begining with that letter (if you cannot click a letter, it means that section is empty):

Incontinence

At the junction of the urethra and the bladder is an internal and external sphincter which controls the emptying of the bladder. If this sphincter is damaged or swollen with water it cannot operate efficiently and incontinence will result. A few women as they approach menopause suffer from this problem. One of the reasons being that progesterone receptor sites have been found in the urethra, so an excess of oestrogen causing water retention would swell the sphincters. (see also water retention)

Prevention : Avoid all forms of oestrogen. 20mg/day of progesterone is usually enough, but if water retention is severe 100 to 200mg/day should be used until symptoms subside, then reduce the progesterone until the level needed.

Infertility

There are many factors that affect fertility. Some of them are: venereal diseases causing scarring of the reproductive tract; genetic abnormalities caused increasingly by environmental poisons whilst the child is still a foetus; a diet deficient in the necessary vitamins and minerals; stress; low sperm counts or abnormal sperm and hormonal imbalances to name a few. The Pill can cause a temporary infertility after stopping it. It is vital for a woman to keep her body fat above 20% of her weight, otherwise she will stop menstruating, as happens with anorexics, ballet dancers and marathon runners. One of the least known but commonest causes is a lack of progesterone during the second half of the month, known as a defective luteal phase. For pregnancy to be successful oestrogen first builds the lining of the uterus, then after ovulation the role of progesterone is to thicken that lining ready for the fertilized egg. Recent research has shown how often conception occurs in a fertile woman to be followed by failure of the egg to embed itself in the lining. Progesterone is vital for pregnancy, hence it's name, but if the interval between ovulation and menstruation is too short (less than 12 days) it means there has not been enough progesterone produced which could result in a miscarriage as early as the next menstruation. The only sign would possibly be a heavier period and/or pain. The reason for this is that the egg takes about 14 days to reach the uterus, and unless the ovaries maintain a high level of progesterone during this time menstruation will occur before the egg is embedded. Another reason for infertility is the anovulatory cycle, in which a woman does not ovulate. This has always been common in women from their mid-thirties, but research has found that increasingly younger women are also suffering from them. Too much oestrogen during the luteal phase, particularly the xeno-oestrogens such as DDT, can cause miscarriages.

Prevention : Optimum health is essential. Avoid all environmental poisons, particularly if oestrogenic. Vit C increases sperm counts and mobility; a lack of Vit E, Omega 3 and 6 causes damage to the reproductive tract; some vaginal secretions act as spermicides, this has been linked to a lack of Omega 3 and 6; Vit A is essential for the development of the male sex hormones; Omega 3 and zinc are vital to the development of the sperm; a zinc deficiency causes infertility, small sex organs and late sexual maturation in men. A high level of zinc is found in the male sex organs and the sperm itself. Omega 3 is known to increase libido as is progesterone. To overcome a defective luteal phase extra progesterone is needed. Progesterone can often stimulate ovulation or correct irregular cycles. 200mg/day of progesterone must be used from ovulation or if this is not known from not more than 14 days before the next menstruation. It must be continued until pregnancy is assured and up until the fourth month, when the placenta will have taken over the manufacture of progesterone. On no account must the progesterone be stopped suddenly as a miscarriage might occur. A normal cycle can be from 21 to 36 days, varying up to 4 days each month, with ovulation coming approx. 14 days before the start of menstruation in each case.

Inflammatory diseases

There are about 100 diseases that produce either inflammation in the connective tissues, particularly the joints or degeneration of these tissues. These include Alzheimer's, arthritis, asthma, atherosclerosis, Crohn's disease, colitis, dermatitis, diverticulitis, hepatitis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), lupus erythematous, nephritis, Parkinson's and ulcerative colitis. Inflammation is the end result of long term stress. The stress can be caused by emotional or physical trauma, and nutritional or environmental pollutants. In most cases it is something of everything. It can be caused by a deficiency of the essential fatty acid Omega three; a diet high in acid foods, particularly animal proteins; a lack of cortisone in the blood, a high level of oestrogen, which accelerates the aging of collagen. Rheumatoid arthritis is predominantly a disease of women in the 20 to 60 age group. It usually starts at around 35 with typical oestrogen dominant symptoms: general aches and stiffness, particularly in the morning, pain in the joints, fatigue and difficulty sleeping. Many of them find their symptoms increase before menstruation.

Prevention: It is imperative to keep the blood sugar stable and the liver, which is the main detoxifying organ, healthy. It has been found that people with inflammatory diseases can have a saliva pH of as low as 5, almost 1000 times lower than normal. Concentrate particularly on the alkaline foods only, to bring the pH up, and the anti-oxidants, vitamins A, C and E, selenium, zinc and particularly Omega 3. Check there is no food allergy. The following natural anti-inflammatories should be considered: arnica, gingko biloba and ginger to improve circulation and healing; the citrus bioflavonoids to prevent vascular disease and bruising; quercitin, glutamine and progesterone to inhibit inflammation; silymarin to detoxify the liver. Progesterone is an excellent anti-inflammatory, being the precursor to cortisone, so rubbing the cream also on to the painful joints has helped many people. 20 to 200mg/day should be used until the symptoms are under control and then the amount used adjusted. Avoid all forms of oestrogen.

Irregular menstrual flow

Stress of any kind can upset the cycle, whether its good stress such as Christmas, birthdays, a wedding etc or bad stress as in a death, loss of a job, an exam or an accident. Most of the progesterone we make, being the precursor to our stress hormones, will be consumed in making them, leaving little over to keep the menstrual cycle regular. Irregular cycles also occur during the years before menopause when it is caused by anovulation (see infertility) and during the pubertal years when ovulation can take 2 years to begin.

Prevention : 20 to 200mg/day of progesterone can help to regulate the cycle. It must therefore be used from ovulation to menstruation. Sometimes starting progesterone can upset the cycle by reducing the days between menstruations, but this is no cause for concern. When the period starts stop the progesterone, wait until ovulation or 14 days before the next period and start the progesterone again. This could take at least 3 months to correct itself.