Symptoms of Low Progesterone

There are many, many symptoms of low progesterone. Here are some of the most common:

• Tender Breasts
• Depression and Mood Swings
• Dry Skin and Hair Loss
• Heavy Periods
• Insomnia
• Weight Gain
• Blood Clots During Your Period
• Vaginal Dryness
• Infertility
• Thyroid dysfunction

Causes

Your low progesterone levels could be caused from naturally lowering hormones. Women in perimenopause experience a drop in their progesterone level.

While many women think that during perimenopause their estrogen levels are low, it is not until they reach menopause that they have a drop in their estrogen level. In fact, during peri menopause, since a woman's progesterone level is low, she may experience symptoms of too much estrogen.

Other factors causing your progesterone levels to plummet include:

• Stress: Stress wreaks all kinds of havoc on our systems. One consequence of too much stress is a lowered progesterone level.

• Not Enough Exercise: Similar to too much stress, not getting enough exercise can affect our bodies in all kinds of negative ways.

  One consequence of not enough exercise is an increased stress level! Exercise also helps your body to maintain regular hormone levels.

• Certain Medications: Oral contraceptives lower your progesterone level. Talk to your doctor to see if any of your medications are causing you to have a low level of progesterone.

• Sugar & Refined Carbohydrates: Because of insulin resistance, your progesterone levels can be affected when you eat sugar and refined carbohydrates.

  Your cells can't take in progesterone when they have too much glucose or not enough glucose. Since eating sugar and refined carbohydrates causes your blood sugar level to spike very high and bottom out very low, it also causes your progesterone levels to fall.

Normal Progesterone Levels

Your progesterone levels are measured in nanograms per milliliter. Here are normal progesterone levels for each phase of life.

To see a chart with more female hormone levels, see this site.

• During Menstruation:

  During days 1-14 (the follicular phase): 1-1.5 ng/ml

  During days 15-28 (the luteal phase):: 2-28 ng/ml

• During Pregnancy:

  First trimester: 10-90 ng/ml

  Second trimester: 25-90 ng/ml

  Third trimester: 49-423 ng/ml

• During Menopause:

  less than 1 ng/ml

Natural Treatments

Try these natural treatments to ease your symptoms of low progesterone.

• Progesterone Creams: Rubbing these into your face, neck, stomach, and thighs can increase your progesterone level, moisturize your skin, and leave you feeling much better.

• Wild Yam Cream: This cream is made from the roots of wild yams.

• Chasteberry This is a natural, herbal supplement is a safe way to raise your progesterone level.

Go From the Symptoms of Low Progesterone page to the Estrogen Source Homepage.