High Progesterone Levels

Progesterone is a hormone which is produced by a woman's ovary and is secreted after the ovulation period. This hormone prepares the woman's body for conceiving baby but if the egg is left unfertilized, then it helps the body for the process of menstruation. Progesterone hormones are also helpful in maintaining the balance of estrogen level in the body. But any imbalance in the level of progesterone may result in some side effects. High progesterone level may be caused due to many reasons and hence indicates the cause by itself.

Normal levels of progesterone in a woman's body should be 8 to 10 ng/ml. Any amount more than this level is considered to be high levels of progesterone. Progesterone is responsible for the thickening of the uterus wall which further supports the fertilized egg. If the egg is not fertilized then the wall again comes to its normal position and the process of menstruation is carried on. Sometimes these hormones are given for the treatment of PMS syndrome, infertility, and pregnancy loss.

Causes of High Progesterone
There are many causes of high levels of progesterone in a woman's body. Following are some of them.

• Menopause: Menopause can be a reason behind too much progesterone in the body. It takes place at the age of about 52 years. Because of this the progesterone levels fluctuate and either become too high or too low.
• Multiple Pregnancy: In multiple pregnancy the woman has more than one baby in her womb, like twins or triplets etc. Hence to help the body to support this condition the levels of progesterone increases. It's normal and natural.
• Pre-Menstrual Syndrome: As we know the levels of progesterone increases at the time of ovulation hence before the menstruation cycle starts, fluctuation in the progesterone level is observed. This condition is known as pre-menstrual syndrome. This may result in mood swings.
• Uterine Cancer: The estrogen progesterone treatment of uterine cancer may result in the higher level of progesterone in the woman's body.
• Adrenal Hyperplasia: This is caused due to the abnormal functioning of the adrenal glands. Because of this there is an excess production of sex hormone which in turn results in a premenstrual condition and further causes higher production of progesterone hormone.

Symptoms of High Progesterone
Following are some of the high progesterone symptoms which may help you to understand what is going on inside your body.

• Breasts usually become sensitive to touch when the level of progesterone hormones increases.
• Menstrual bloating can be observed near the belly, in feet, fingers, ankles etc.
• You may feel tired and fatigue due to the excess production of progesterone.
• Mood swing is a very common symptom of high progesterone. This can be observed at the time of menstruation and is very prominently observed at the time of menopause.
• Too high progesterone may result in the person losing interest in sex.
• There may be vaginal dryness which may take you to discomfort at the time of sexual intercourse.

Treatment for High Progesterone
Usually you can observe high progesterone levels in early pregnancy, menstruation cycle and menopause. These are the natural conditions and hence progesterone levels becomes normal once you overcome the condition. You can concentrate on healthy diet and can balance its level by using some herbs like dong quai, wild yams, macafem etc. At the time of menopause, hormone therapy is very effective which helps in the balancing progesterone levels in the body. Apart from this the last option is the progesterone replacement therapy, in which progesterone from a foreign source is incorporated in the body of a person.

Change in lifestyle can also help in bringing high progesterone levels to normal. Although it is a natural process but to avoid the progesterone side effects you can take some measures. Try to avoid synthetic progesterone as their high levels can take you to dangerous consequences.