hormone therapy articles • Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary

Guide to Using Progesterone for Women’s Health

January 22, 2021January 20, 2021 by Lara Briden

As I describe on this blog and in my books Period Repair Manual and Hormone Repair Manual, bioidentical progesterone is a viable treatment for women’s health conditions such as PCOS, PMDD, migraines, endometriosis, adenomyosis, and perimenopause.

Progesterone is available as “oral micronized progesterone,” and requires a doctor’s prescription. Brand names include Prometrium^Ⓡ, Utrogestan^Ⓡ, Teva^Ⓡ, and Famenita^Ⓡ, depending on your country. Alternatively, progesterone cream is available over-the-counter in some countries and can help with mild symptoms but is generally not as effective as capsules.

Here’s what you need to know.

How Testosterone Can Cause Weight Gain in Women

January 18, 2021January 17, 2021 by Lara Briden

Testosterone causes weight gain in women.

Too much testosterone can cause insulin resistance and abdominal weight gain in women.

That’s why androgen excess is a factor in the weight gain associated with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), menopause, and some types of birth control.

What Are Bioidentical or Body-Identical Hormones?

January 25, 2021January 8, 2021 by Lara Briden

Bioidentical or body-identical hormones are estradiol and progesterone that are molecularly identical to human hormones. Most (not all) modern menopause hormone therapy is bioidentical. Keep reading for a list of brands.

The difference between “bioidentical” and “body-identical” is that body-identical is the preferred conventional term and bioidentical the term traditionally applied to customised hormone formulas dispensed by a compounding chemist, back in the day when compounding was the only way to obtain hormones identical to the body’s own hormones.

Why Progesterone Is Just as Important as Estrogen

January 13, 2021December 15, 2020 by Lara Briden

It’s time to bring progesterone into the conversation about women’s health. That’s according to Canadian endocrinology professor Jerilynn Prior, who just released an important paper called “Women’s Reproductive System as Balanced Estradiol and Progesterone Actions—a revolutionary, paradigm-shifting concept in women’s health.” In the paper, Professor Prior makes the case that historically there has been a “cultural over-emphasis on estrogen” while “progesterone tends to be ignored or associated with negative effects.”