Menorrhagia Menorrhagia Treatment

Sources of Progesterone for Menorrhagia

by Elizabeth Smith, MD

Buying your Natural Progesterone for Menorrhagia

Virtually all Natural Progesterone is made from yams or soy. Soy and Yams contain a diosgenin which is a molecule that has the base molecule of progesterone. The progesterone cream should not contain any mineral oil, as mineral oil blocks the absorption of progesterone. It should contain vegetable oil instead. The correct dosage should be 500 mg/oz - 1000 mg/oz of progesterone taken so that you initially receive 60-70 mg/day of progesterone. The progesterone cream should NOT contain Methyl Paraben, Propyl Paraben, Butyl Paraben or any of the related Parabens as those are estrogenic. It should not contain certain estrogenic herbs. It should not contain stearal konium chloride since that is toxic.

What Do I Look for in a Therapeutic Progesterone for Menorrhagia?

Many of the companies tout that their progesterone is made from yams or soy. However, that is the most economical way to make progesterone. All Natural Progesterone is made from yams and/or soy. These plants contain a disogenin which has the base molecule for progesterone. In processing, some parts of the diosgenin are cleaved off and progesterone is the result.

Yam extract, a diosgenin, is not Natural Progesterone. Thus, some skin creams say that they contain a yam extract. According to Dr. Lee, these creams do NOT work for menorrhagias. Disogenin from yam extract does seem to give patients an increase in energy. However, the human body does NOT have the enzymes available to convert diosgenin to progesterone. Thus, the Yam Extract or diosgenin will NOT get gid of menorrhagias.

A skin cream containing Mineral Oil will not work. The Mineral Oil will block the absorption of the Natural Progesterone. The skin cream should contain a vegetable oil instead.

Be careful of toxic compounds in the skin cream. Much to my horror, one compound that we were recommending to my patients had Stearal Konium Chloride, an emulsifier. According to the 1998 University of Texas database ingestion of 3 cc of Stearal Konium Chloride is enough to cause fatal convulsions in an adult human.

Be careful of herbs used in the skin cream. Once again we used a skin cream on some of our post menopausal patients that caused their uterus to get bigger. We found that the company had used some herbs that were estrogenic in nature (sage and rosemary).

Recently, Professor Sumpter in the U.K. discovered that Methyl Paraben, Propyl Paraben, and Butyl Paraben are estrogen mimics and stimulate the estrogen receptor. His research was so disturbing that the European Union inquired of the European Cosmetics and Toiletry Association whether these common preservatives would increase the rate of breast cancer. The vast majority of hand lotions and gels contain this preservative. We found that many Natural Progesterone creams contain this preservative as well. The parabens seem to be associated with cramping and worsening of endometriosis. Frequently cutting out all parabens makes menstrual cramping disappear.

The correct dose of progesterone in the skin cream is 500 mg/oz -1000 mg/oz. Initially, you can load your body with 40-60 mg/day for menorrhagias for the first 2-3 months from days 12-26 (where day 1 is the first day of your period. Then, usually 20 mg/day is enough to maintain healthy cyst free breasts. In general, the ovary produces 20 mg/day of progesterone, and the placenta produces 400 mg/day of progesterone at the height of pregnancy. Thus, the therapeutic range of progesterone is quite large. Progesterone is quite safe. Safer than aspirin.

If the dose of progesterone is too low there is no clinical effect. If the dose is too high then the patients experience shortness of breath. If the dose is too high, the patients will also experience an emotional depression when the progesterone is stopped. If the dose is too high the patient may also experience sleepiness. If sleepiness or being too happy is the case, then simply cut back the dose. In extreme cases, when the progesterone was 2,800 mg/oz, we have heard of some patients becoming mentally confused. The mental confusion was reversed when the patients stopped taking the cream for several months.

Here is one vendor that we like:

Women's Therapeutic Institute

Summary

• Avoid parabens.
• Get the correct concentration 500 mg/oz -1000 mg/oz. Some creams have less than 20 mg/oz!
• Avoid estrogenic herbs.
• Avoid mineral oil.
• Avoid Stearal Konium Chloride.
• Use Natural Progesterone, Not Yam Extract.

There is a list of progesterone creams found in What Your Doctor May Not Tell Your About Menopause by John Lee, M.D. by concentration. There may be other ingredients to avoid, the above may only be a partial list. You will have to screen them further to avoid the above ingredients. Choose your Progesterone Cream Carefully!