Progesterone Cream Side Effects

Progesterone, a female hormone, is naturally formed in the body, during the lateral phase of the menstrual cycle. One of its most important functions is to oppose or level out the effects of estrogen. If estrogen is produced in the body without any opposition, it creates high chances of breast and reproductive cancers. Apart from this, progesterone also helps in regulating various other hormonal functions in females and is also required during pregnancy. During menopause, there are chances that the progesterone levels in women can even get reduced to nil, while estrogen levels are reduced by 40 to 60%. As a very low level is bad for health, women need to use cream or consume pills to maintain optimum levels of progesterone in the body. Using progesterone cream surely helps in the hormonal balance, but there are certain downsides as well.

Common Side Effects of Progesterone

Artificial or bioidentical hormones are proven to have certain toxic elements in them. This causes a few side effects when they are used.

Changes in Appearance
Using progesterone cream may cause certain appearance changes in women. Facial hair growth, loss of hair and increase in weight are some of the common changes noticed among women using the cream.

Pain
Pain in the muscles, headaches and also breast pain are a few other side effects.

Stomach Abnormalities
Progesterone cream usage can also lead to stomach cramps, nausea and bloating of the stomach.

Vaginal Problems
Some vaginal abnormalities like vaginal itching, vaginal discharge and vaginal dryness can result due to progesterone cream usage.

Disrupting Adrenal Hormones
The cream is easily soluble in fat, due to which it gets stored in the fat tissues. After applying it over a period of time, the progesterone in the fat tissues starts accumulating and disrupts the functioning and production of adrenal hormones in the body.

Sleepiness
Progesterone at times causes sleepiness, because of certain sedative like qualities present in it. It is noticed that some women use the cream just to get sleep. This may not be good for working women who are constantly on the move.

A few tips to minimize the side effects:

• Stress has negative effects on the hormonal functions and this results in the side effects of the cream getting worse. It is therefore necessary to identify the causes of stress and eradicate them.
• While using the cream, it is important that the person sleeps early and sleeps well. Sleeping around 10 pm every night is important so that the biorhythms in the body are not disrupted.
• Eating a healthy and balanced diet ensures the supply of essential nutrients and vitamins to the body, which help control certain side effects. So, it is better to eat a good amount of vegetables and fresh fruits while using the cream.

Natural progesterone creams are also available and the good part being that there are fewer side effects as compared to the synthetic ones. The natural cream is made from a secretion from Mexican yam. This extract can be reformed into a molecule, similar in chemical properties to the progesterone molecule. It gets absorbed easily into the blood stream, which helps to balance the hormones in the body and also reduces menopause and pre-menopause symptoms, without any side effects. However, the progesterone present in natural creams is mild, because of which it takes more time to cause any effect.

In spite of these side effects, it is still very beneficial and effective for women. If used correctly, a lot of hormonal problems in women can be cured with the usage of progesterone cream. Consult a physician to get proper guidance regarding it's usage.