Am I Progesterone Deficient??
How would you know you are Progesterone deficient?
This can be easily determined in two ways.
Firstly, the symptoms you’re experiencing are quite easy to spot, if you have a good knowledge of the effects of low progesterone on the physiology.
A reproductive history filled with any of the below conditions would indicate a potential progesterone deficiency.
Endometriosis, adenomysosis, Post Natal Depression (PND), or anxiety (PNA), PMS, PMDD, PCOS, Anxiety issues, Fibroids, very tender/sore breasts throughout the menstrual cycle, Fibrocystic Breast Disease, Heavy Periods, Mood Swings, Crying all the time, Insomnia, Cystic Acne, a Quick Temper/ Rages, Insomnia, Heart Palpitations, Headaches, Migraines, Water Retention/ Bloating, Miscarriage (often recurrent)…. by no means is this all of the symptoms… the list is truly exhaustive.
Chronic use of synthetic hormonal medicated birth control is another clue that you may be progesterone deficient. The progestin medication in these drugs prevent any significant progesterone production, via the cessation of ovulation. These drugs also prevent progesterone from accessing the progesterone receptor, because they lock into it instead. This leads to a state where the body is depleted of real progesterone that supports the function of your metabolism/ menstrual health amongst other systems that rely on progesterone throughout the body. It is also very important to be aware that any birth control, be that a pill, dud or an implant or patch does not contain ‘progesterone’ at all.there is no such thing as ‘progesterone only’ birth control. It should be called its proper name by doctors and consultants alike, PROGESTIN.
And even more important to recognsie that progestins and progesterone have very different physiological effects in our bodies. Many progestins mimic the actions of oestrogen, or androgens.
Progestins may increase risk of blood clotting, cause weight gain, increase the risk of breast or cervical cancers, cause cramping, exacerbate anxiety or depression cause breast tenderness, impair stress response and impair immune function.whilst this doesn’t happen for everyone taking progestins, they certainly are seen as endocrine disrupters by many.
In contrast, natural Progesterone improves blood vessel tone and protects the cardiovascular system, improves metabolic health, decreases the risk of breast and other hormonal cancers, helps to sustain pregnancy, is anti oestrogen, promotes sleep and is anti-anxiety, alleviates cramping/bleeding, prevents breast tenderness and supports immune function.
A simple way to check if you have low progesterone levels is to have them tested via a blood lab. This can be problematic, because most health systems/ doctors don’t have progesterone listed in their standard hormonal testing protocols - it has to be ordered separately - and it needs to be done on a specific day (mid luteal phase) alongside oestrogen, and put into a ratio calculator like the one at Omni.com
https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/pg-e2-ratio
These sorts of measurements will give you an idea of ‘balance’, which is a very important concept to understand, instead of looking at hormones in their own wide, individual parameters without context.
If you feel you need more help with this aspect of your health, please feel free to book a discovery call with me to see how we can help you get the bottom of any health issues you may be facing.