Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary
Leading the change to better periods and hormones
Progesterone is a beneficial hormone for mood, hair, and lightening periods. It has a natural anti-androgen effect and is different from the progestins of hormonal birth control.
A tendency to allergies or high histamine can contribute to perimenopausal symptoms like night sweats, anxiety, sleep disturbance, fluid retention, breast pain, migraines, and heavy menstrual bleeding.
That’s because histamine increases with estrogen, and estrogen is usually higher than normal during the early years of perimenopause.
Body-identical progesterone (also called bioidentical, natural, or oral micronized progesterone) can be an effective treatment for a range of women’s health conditions, including PCOS, PMDD, migraines, endometriosis, adenomyosis, and perimenopause.
To be clear: progesterone is a real hormone (identical to what the body makes) and usually requires a doctor’s prescription. Depending on your country, brand names include Prometrium, Utrogestan, Teva, and Famenita. In some countries, progesterone cream is available over the counter. Cream can help with mild symptoms, but it’s generally less effective than capsules.
The ovarian hormones estradiol and progesterone are highly beneficial for general health, and the only way to make them is with regular ovulation.
With the 2019 news that women don’t need pill bleeds came the assurance that “women don’t need periods.” But is that accurate?
It’s true that women don’t need monthly pill withdrawal bleeds because they’re not periods, but women do need (or at least benefit from) monthly natural menstrual cycles because that’s how we make the hormones estradiol and progesterone.