Guest Author - Carolyn Chambers Clark, ARNP, EdD

Pro-Gest or progesterone cream has been shown to help with menopause changes in some studies, but a study reported in Menopause (Jan-Feb, 2003) concluded there were no detectable changes in hot flashes, mood characteristics, sexual feelings, blood or bone markers as a result of women using a daily cream containing 32 mg of progesterone.

The study only ran for 12 weeks, so that may not have been long enough. Also, other experts and study results disagree...

Progesterone cream (ProGest) may help stop heavy bleeding

This natural progesterone can be applied to the soft areas of the skin---neck, face, breasts, abdomen, inner thighs and inner arms. Dr. Christiane Northrup suggests alternating the sites at each application.

Better yet, follow a low-fat, high-fiber (lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains) diet. This will decrease and often eliminate the need for progesterone over time. It has even been used successfully as an alternative to hysterectomy.

Endometrial ablation, or cautery of the lining of the uterus, can also work, but you may want to try the progesterone and diet change first. The surgical procedure doesn't always work and general anesthesia has risks. As well, surgery always produces scars and adhesions inside you.

Progesterone cream and your skin

Researchers reported in Experimental Dermatology (February 2005) that applying a 2%-application of progesterone cream to the skin can firm it and improve its elasticity and resulted no serious side effects. These dermatologists suggest progesterone may become a possible treatment agent to slow down the aging process of the female skin after menopause.

Progesterone cream and your bones (osteoporosis)

A more recent study conducted over a 2 year period was reported in the European Journal of Nutrition (August, 2004). All participants in the study were randomly assigned to either soymilk, progesterone cream, soy + progesterone cream or a control group. All groups received comparable intakes of calcium, minerals and vitamins. The researchers found that either 2 glasses of soymilk a day OR the application of daily progesterone cream (but not both, which leads to bone loss!) has a positive effect on bone and prevents lumbar spine bone loss in postmenopausal women, including women already diagnosed with osteoporosis. Since we really don't know the long term effects of progesterone cream, but soy has been studied extensively, in this area, you're probably better off drinking the soy milk.

Progesterone cream and the heart

The risk for heart disease increases after menopause. Now comes research to show that progesterone cream may be useful in this area, too.

A study in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (May, 2004) place progesterone cream or an identical placebo cream on the monkeys being fed a fatty diet (atherogenic diet) that elevated the cholesterol in all animals. The progesterone cream reduced heart hyper-reactivity, a major symptom correlated with coronary artery disease, in both primates that had pre-atherosclerotic blood vessels and prevented it at sub-physiological levels in the other primates.

Again, changing to a low-fat diet, exercising and reducing stress can do the same thing without any potential adverse reactions down the line. Also, we can't make a direct correlation between monkey and human findings, so until someone tries this study with women, we still can't be sure.

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This article is for information purposes only. For treatment, consult your health care practitioner.