What is Bioidentical Progesterone?

Bioidentical progesterone (USP) is the name for non-synthetic progesterone. USP stands for United States Pharmacopeia – the official group that sets standards for prescription and over-the-counter medicines, dietary supplements and other health care products made and sold in the US. If the label on your product says USP progesterone, that means it meets those standards.

Synthetic, “Natural”, Bioidentical – What do these terms really mean?

Synthetic progesterone, referred to as progestin, is entirely man-made. The body recognizes it and utilizes it, but not in the same way as bioidentical progesterone. Provera is a synthetic progestin (medroxyprogesterone acetate), and can have many side effects.

“Natural”, at least in this case, means formulated from a from a plant compound (diosgenin) in a laboratory.

This is often confused by marketers of wild yam products or even diosgenin products. Wild yam is one of the plants that contains diosgenin. Your body cannot make progesterone from diosgenin, or any plant that contains it. So you can use all the wild yam or diosgenin you want; but it will not create the same effect as bioidentical progesterone.

Bioidentical means it is identical to the molecule found in the human body. This is used by the body differently than the synthetic hormone, and side effects are rare.

Benefits of Bioidentical Progesterone Cream

The thinking behind using bioidentical progesterone cream is to help balance the hormones in your body. Progesterone has many functions, and it is the relative dominance of estrogen, due to environmental factors, as well as the fact that your progesterone levels drop much more in menopause than your estrogen levels do, that cause the problems.

Some signs of estrogen dominance are: depression with anxiety or agitation, dry eyes, fatigue, headaches, foggy thinking, fat gain, especially around abdomen, hips and thighs, irritability, insomnia and memory loss.

Use of progesterone cream may help with mood swings, headaches, bloating, fatigue, insomnia, hot flashes, and low thyroid.

Side Effects of Progesterone Cream

The only side effects mentioned by doctors using this therapy are sleepiness if you use too much, and incidences of having elevated levels of the hormone after using the cream for awhile. This can be avoided by having your levels tested and going off the cream as necessary to restore normal levels or possibly by using lower dose creams.

When I first starting using the cream, it felt so good I couldn't believe I'd waited so long to try it – it was just right for my body at that time. Later on (after a couple of years), I just naturally wanted to taper off – it didn't feel good anymore.

How to use bioidentical progesterone cream

Make sure to use cream that contains at least 400 milligrams of USP progesterone per ounce. It will state this on the container. Also make sure it does not contain any mineral oil. The cream can be applied to the face, neck, inside of arms, breasts, back of knees. Rotate where you use the cream from day to day to assure maximum absorption.

Premenopausal women can use the cream on days 12 through 26. Menopausal women can use the cream for 14 to 21 days each month.

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