Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary
Leading the change to better periods and hormones
Body identical hormone therapy includes an estradiol patch and oral micronised progesterone. Hormones that are exactly identical to the body’s own hormones.
Progestins such as drospirenone, levonorgestrel, or medroxyprogesterone are not progesterone.
That’s because progesterone is not a generic term like estrogen. Instead, progesterone refers only to the hormone made by the corpus luteum or taken as oral micronized progesterone.
Bioidentical or body-identical hormones are estradiol and progesterone, which 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, while bioidentical is the term traditionally applied to customised hormone formulas dispensed by a compounding pharmacist when compounding was the only way to obtain such hormones.
According to a Lancet review, migraines tend to occur during the premenstrual phase due to prostaglandins, histamine, and the steep decline in estrogen (aka “estrogen withdrawal”) leading up to the period.
Body-identical progesterone can shelter the brain from that estrogen withdrawal and reduce the frequency and intensity of menstrual migraines.
The next time your doctor orders a progesterone test, ask yourself: “When is the right day to do this test?”
Forget “day 21 progesterone.” There’s no need to test progesterone until about one week before your period. That will depend on how long your cycle actually is.
Here’s what you need to know about progesterone testing.