Menopause & perimenopause

Will progesterone cream solve your menopause symptoms?

by Dixie Mills, MD

Many of our patients with menopause symptoms have asked us about over-the-counter progesterone cream. They want to know what type to buy, how to use it, and — most of all — whether it will effectively relieve their menopause symptoms.

In over 25 years of medical practice, we’ve seen a lot of women get relief from menopause symptoms with progesterone cream — we’ve even offered our own product to patients and Members of our Personal Program. But we’ve also seen that for some women, progesterone just isn’t the answer.

So let me share with you what we’ve learned over the years, and help you find the approach that will work for you.

When progesterone cream helps

As you enter perimenopause the rhythm of your hormones begins to change. Your body is winding down ovulation, and no longer requires the high levels of estrogen and progesterone that help make reproduction possible.

Unfortunately, for most women this is a tumultuous transition. At the same time our bodies are trying to cope with major hormonal changes, we are dealing with chronic stress, insufficient nutrition, over-rushed schedules, and other lifestyle factors. With too many demands and not enough support, our hormones go into a tailspin, and symptoms of hormonal imbalance arise: mood swings, hot flashes, fatigue, cravings, loss of libido and more.

Hormonal imbalance is different for every woman. For women whose hormonal imbalance is mostly a deficiency of progesterone, over-the-counter bioidentical progesterone cream can gently boost progesterone levels and quiet those symptoms. We’ve used it very effectively with many women with symptoms like irritability, anxiety and insomnia. But for the majority of women, hormonal imbalance isn’t as simple as a low progesterone level.

Why progesterone cream doesn’t work for everyone

Your body requires a delicate balance among all its hormones to feel truly healthy. Estrogen, progesterone and testosterone levels work together to create balance and wellness. It’s uncommon for a woman’s hormonal imbalance to manifest itself as a deficiency in just one of these hormones, which is why progesterone cream isn’t always enough.

If you’re using progesterone cream and getting good results, great! It probably means your progesterone level really was the problem. But if you’ve tried progesterone without success, or you’re wondering what your best hope for relief might be, we recommend an approach that supports all three of the sex hormones that become imbalanced during perimenopause.

Progesterone cream alternatives: know your options for natural menopause relief

Phytotherapy is the use of plants and herbs to heal and restore wellness. Certain herbs can communicate in your brain in a way similar to hormones. Some quiet your body’s need for a hormone; others encourage your body to produce more of the hormone it needs. They do this by the way they bind to hormone receptors.

The advantage of phytotherapy is that it is adaptogenic, meaning your body uses what it needs, and leaves the rest behind. Rather than forcing a certain dose of hormones on your body, phytotherapy allows your body to respond to the herb molecules in an individualized way, depending on how much and in what proportions we have of our own hormones already, and how smoothly we are metabolizing and regulating them.

Prescription bioidentical hormone replacement is another great option for many women. We recommend working with a practitioner who specializes in bioidentical hormones and who will give you a complete hormone panel and customize your prescription to your individual hormone levels. In my experience hormone therapy is much more effective when it is customized to the patient’s own hormonal needs. Regular follow-ups should be done to tweak your dosages.

If you decide to try an over-the-counter progesterone cream, make sure it is bioidentical and made to pharmaceutical-grade standards (USP). Start with the smallest recommended dose and measure carefully to avoid excess. You can slowly increase the dose depending on your response, but do not exceed the upper limit of the recommended dose. If this doesn’t relieve your symptoms, they are probably caused by more than simply low progesterone levels.

Why we don’t sell progesterone cream

For several years we offered our own bioidentical progesterone cream as part of our Personal Program. Many women had great success with our cream, but over time it became apparent that there is a wide spectrum in how women respond to progesterone cream. For some women our cream was a life saver; for others there was minimal symptom relief.

At Women to Women we’ve always believed that each woman is unique, and her path to wellness is unique, too. In this spirit, we wanted to provide a program that would honor each woman’s individual biochemistry while providing maximum symptom relief. This led us to develop our Herbal Equilibrium, an adaptogentic blend of seven herbs proven to relieve symptoms of hormonal imbalance. The ingredients in Herbal Equilibrium help women with imbalances in all three of the major sex hormones: estrogen, testosterone and progesterone.

What’s best is what’s best for you

Whether you try over-the-counter progesterone cream, bioidentical hormone replacement or phytotherapy, the most important test is in how you feel. Listen to your body and don’t be discouraged if you try something and it doesn’t help. It may take a little work and a little experimentation, but you will get the relief you’re looking for, and feel like yourself again!

Do you want to: Learn how our products work? Read our 100% guarantee? Place your order? Need to know more before you order? Assess Your Hormonal Health Read more about your symptoms Women to Women — why choose us?