Does progesterone work?

[Lindz152]

Hi,

I wondered if anyone has any opinions on progesterone treatment. I've had 5 miscarriages to date and am desperately trying to find an answer to why it might be happenning. I've had all the tests at the hospital which all came back normal. I went to see my GP last week who has agreed to start me on progesterone as soon as I find out that I'm next pregnant. I was starting to feel quite positive until I read a book about miscarriage by Professor Lesley Regan. She goes on for pages about how progesterone treatment is 'worthless' and will not do anything but delay the inevitable. I'm now feeling really confused and miserable, and wondered if anyone had any experience of progesterone and can comment on whether they think that it might work for me?

XXXX

 

[JPARR01]

I was actually curious about the same thing. Hope some ladies can share their input.

 

[darcie]

I've had 3 chemical pregnancie's. The only thing I've tried is the progesterone cream for my short leautal phase, it made no difference to me but what your Dr is prescribing you is a lot stronger and surely its worth a try. I've heard a lot of success stories from using progesterone, that book that you've read is only one persons opinion don't let that ruin your pma. X

 

[JulianasMommy]

I think ( I AM NOT A DOCTOR) that if a mc is going to happen anyway because the baby is not right, or bad egg or bad sperm or something then it will not help, but i think if the only thing that is going wrong is your progesterone is low it will help you keep your baby. I could be totally wrong but this it what i think

 

[MRS_HJO]

I think ( I AM NOT A DOCTOR) that if a mc is going to happen anyway because the baby is not right, or bad egg or bad sperm or something then it will not help, but i think if the only thing that is going wrong is your progesterone is low it will help you keep your baby. I could be totally wrong but this it what i think

Interesting you say this because my doctor said the same thing when I went through my m/c in Feb. He basically said low progesterone was the effect of the m/c, not that low progesterone caused the m/c. He said if the pregnancy was "good", then low progesterone would not be an issue, however he still put me on progesterone because it wouldn't hurt and he wanted to feel like he did all that he could.

I see my doctor again tomorrow to ask about a link between a short luteal phase and low progesterone possibly being the cause... I'll let you know what he says.

Good luck.

 

[LittleBird]

I'm trying it this cycle, and I hope it works! I know my BFF had several early miscarriages, tests results didn't give her any information about why. She went to my FS, did Clomid + Progesterone, and is now most of the way through the pregnancy of her 3rd baby. My FS prescribed it for me as well. My tests haven't given any indication of why I'm having early miscarriages, either. I think I may have a progesterone deficiency which is a problem of mine, not necessarly the pregnancy itself. The symptoms I found seemed to match my own.

 

[Lindz152]

Thank you everyone, its so nice to know that I'm not on my own! It would be great if you could let me know what your doc days Mrs Hjo, its always good to have a few opinions! I know I'm probably being daft, it won't make any difference opinions I listen to, it will either work or it won't, but its just nice to feel that there is some hope isn't it!
Good luck. Xxxx

 

[MRS_HJO]

Sure, I will post what he says on here. I don't see him until 3:30 California time though.

 

[JulianasMommy]

i think that was the problem with my last pregnancy. My lines kept getting darker and darker and darker then one day they just got light?? Then i miscarried. But i had my daughter just fine?????

 

[Tasha]

I am not really sure. I have two children, then a little girl who was born sleeping at 36+6, then another little girl who was born screaming, I had six miscarriages and then was put on progesterone and for me in that instance it did just delay my miscarriage, the sac never looked right, a funny shape so much so they werent sure at first that it was a pregnancy, and well eventually it was confirmed it was and it was only after stopping it the bleeding began. But then I got pregnant again, and I believe it helped, she was eventually born sleeping at 24+3 but I dont believe that has anything to do with the progesterone and it certainly didnt delay the loss of her.

I think anything that womt cause harm is worth a shot hun

 

[MRS_HJO]

Ok, this is what my doctor said today regarding progesterone. I am not saying his opinion is the only one that matters, but you wanted me to share, so I am!:

Basically, he dismissed my concern about the short luteal phase... He said yeah, average is 14 days, mine is 10 or 11... But that doesn't keep an egg from being fertilized or keep an egg from implanting. He explained to me that when I ovulate, that egg will either become fertilized or it won't. If it does, then it takes 24-48 hours (yes, 24-48 hours... I was surprised to hear this too) to implant into the thickened uterine lining that has been building up the first half of the cycle. ***From there that embryo will start producing progesterone. He strongly believes that if there is something wrong with the embryo, then it will NOT produce enough progesterone, causing there to be "low progesterone". Low progesterone is not responsible for the miscarriage, low progesterone is the product of a bad pregnancy. Still, he would give his patients progesterone if it were low because it cannot hurt the situation. Most of the time though, if it is a non-viable pregnancy, nature will run it's course.*** Obviously, if the egg is not fertilized for whatever reason, or perhaps it was fertilized but didn't implant for whatever reason, you will have a period and start the cycle over.

Again, this is not my opinion, this is my doctor's, and there are many different opinions out there.

Hope this helps.

 

[JPARR01]

Thank you for sharing Heather! Very interesting information.

 

[PieMistress]

I had read that taking B vitamins can help with short luteal phases and if you google it there seems to be some good evidence that they can help with the reproductive system? If you look at the pre-conception vitamins (pregnacare, zita west etc) they all contain a B vitamin complex? I know that before I conceived (but sadly miscarried) I had 2 messed up cycles with mid-cycle bleeding, cramps and they were irregular. The month I started the vitamins I had no cramps or mid-cycle bleeding and got a BFP. Could be a co-incidence but perhaps not - who knows!

I'm back on them again though in the hope that once the bleeding stops we can TTC again xx

 

[mami2karina]

Hey hun! I have had 6 m/c's in the past. With this pregnancy as soon as I found out I went in for my 1st Beta and requested they test my progesterone level. We were getting ready to be hit with a major blizzard so the on call OB went ahead and put me on Prometrium and I'm glad she did because my levels were low. I took it until I turned 13 weeks and so far so good. It saved my pregnancy. I'm 18+2 today and they think we're expecting another boy. So I woul definitely use it, it's worth a shot. It won't save a pregnancy that is going to miscarry from other reasons though, only progesterone. I'm alson on progesterone shots from 16 weeks now until 36 to prevent premature labor and delivery again.

 

[stuckinoki]

Progesterone is not proven medically to help maintain a pregnancy [unless you have a progesterone deficiency] , but some doctors will prescribe both progesterone and low dose aspirin as quickly as they will write a script for prenatals.

Natural progesterone is what tells your body to start AF [which is why it's so controversial from doctor to doctor]

There isn't any real proof that it works, thought they say that in early trials there was a 50% success rate when women used the progesterone with the low dose aspirin. I've tried it and on both drugs I've had 3 MCs so I don't really believe it works.

I also don't think there's a way to prove the theory as there is no way to know which pregnancies would have terminated without the progesterone supplements.

Good Luck.

 

[Audraia]

I've had two miscarriages in a row and my doctor said to start it as soon as I know I'm pregnant again until I'm 10 weeks. He said it "couldn't hurt." So hopefully it will help things!

 

[BetsyRN]

I have a friend that had a short luteal phase (6-7 days) and the three times she got pregnant on clomid her OB put her on progesterone; she carried all 3 to term. She had 5 mcs without using progesterone, so I definitely think it made a difference with her. My friend who did IVF took baby aspirin and prometrium (prescribed by her RE) at the beginning of both her pregnancies; one ended in an early mc and the other is 9 months old. And I always thought progesterone to sustain a pregnancy was produced by the corpeus lutum (what's left in your ovary after it releases an egg) until the placenta could take over at 11-12 weeks. That's what I've read anyway...So if your body isn't producing enough progesterone in the first trimester, a pregnancy will not stick, whether it would have survived or not

 

[Pebbles80]

My RE believes that I have a luteal phase defect, which may have contributed to my early miscarriages. I was placed on progesterone suppositories with both of the pregnancies, but I think it was too late and lost both at 7 weeks and 8 weeks.
He then started prescribing me the progesterone suppositories to take each cycle right after I ovulate. But then...we found by doing progesterone levels on 7 days post ovulation that my body does not absorb the progesterone suppositories very well and my level was still low (showed that I'm ovulating, but low causing a short luteal phase). So my luteal phase has been all messed up with spotting from 7 dpo and the suppositories did not help.
According to my doc, he says it all depends on certain people and if their body will absorb the progesterone or not. This cycle we are trying clomid to help correct the luteal phase defect (the thought is by producing a "better quality follicle" that the progesterone will be higher).

 

[BetsyRN]

This cycle we are trying clomid to help correct the luteal phase defect (the thought is by producing a "better quality follicle" that the progesterone will be higher).

Hopefully you'll be just like my friend above! She had normal 28 day cycles but ovulated on CD 21ish; clomid plus progesterone was all she needed to get pregnant. Fingers crossed it works as well for you!

 

[epump]

I'm really interested in this thread so thanks for sharing ladies. My RE just prescribed me progesterone to start 4-5 days after ovulation due to a short luteal phases (I've been charting). He said we'll try that for a few months and then move on to Clomid.

pebbles, that is intersting about the 7dpo progesterone test. I hadn't heard of that but it makes total sense. Let us know how Clomid works for you this cycle! Fingers crossed!