Symptoms of Hypothyroidism

Like estrogen dominance, the signs of hypothyroidism can be many and varied.  Oftentimes they sneak up on you and at first you pass them off as just fatigue or a sign that you are starting to feel older.  Eventually, however, the symptoms become more obvious.  Some of the most common symptoms of hypothyroidism, or low thyroid function, include:

• Fatigue
• Sluggishness
• Weight gain
• Pale, dry skin
• Cold hands and feet
• Constipation
• Hoarse voice
• Puffy face
• Heavy menstrual periods
• Dry, coarse hair
• Brittle fingernails
• Muscle aches and stiffness
• Joint pain, stiffness or swelling
• Elevated cholesterol level
• Depression
• Foggy thinking
• Low basal temperature (temperature measured under your arm first thing in the morning)

If you are familiar with the symptoms of estrogen dominance, you will recognize many  symptoms that are the same.

The Connection Between Estrogen Dominance and Low Thyroid Function

This is not to say that there are not women out there who truly suffer from hypothyroidism, because there certainly are; but if your thyroid function has been tested and the tests come out “normal,” it may be that an excess of estrogen and a lack of progesterone could be the culprit.

Estrogen and the hormone produced by the thyroid gland work in opposite ways.  The thyroid hormone is meant to help regulate the metabolism of the cells in the body but estrogen encourages the body to store fat in preparation for pregnancy.  Unopposed estrogen can get in the way of the thyroid hormone and block it from doing its job.  Your body may be producing a normal or near normal amount of the thyroid hormone but because of the excess estrogen taking up its receptors it  can’t function properly.  The result?  You suffer from the symptoms of hypothyroidism but the the thyroid hormone levels appear to be within the normal range when they are tested.

Hypothyroidism and Natural Progesterone Cream

If you are suffering from the symptoms of low thyroid function, you may discover that using a natural progesterone cream may make a big difference in your life.  Many doctors are  learning that women who have been taking thyroid medication show marked improvement when they begin using a natural progesterone cream.   The cream helps restore estrogen levels to normal and symptoms improve or are eliminated in a surprisingly short time.  In fact, some patients need to reduce the amount of thyroid medication they are taking after using progesterone cream for just a few weeks.  Other women have been able to eliminate the thyroid medicine completely.  If you take prescription medicine  for hypothyroidism and decide to try a progesterone cream, discuss the situation with your personal health care provider so your medication can be monitored.

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What are Prostaglandins?

Prostaglandins are compounds derived from certain fatty acids.  There are a variety of prostaglandins, each of which have specific tasks to perform.  Depending on which class of fatty acids they were made from, prostaglandins fall into three different categories.

Series 1 prostaglandins are derived from linoleic fatty acids.  These prostaglandins work s to relax blood vessels, lower blood pressure, improve circulation, decrease inflammation, improve nerve function, improve T-cell function, regulate calcium metabolism and, most importantly, keep cells from releasing “arachidonic acid”, or AA.

AA is what makes up Series 2 prostaglandins.  These are considered the “bad” form of prostaglandins.  It is the job of this type of prostaglandin to promote the formation of blood clots, make your body retain sodium, encourage the production of cortisol, increase inflammation, and even promote heart disease.  It is incredibly  important to regulate this type of prostaglandin.

Series 3 prostaglandins are made from the fatty acids found in fish oil.  Series 3 prostaglandins are like the police, striving to prevent the ‘bad guys’ from being released into your body.  If they fail to do their job, your blood tends to clump together and you are more likely to suffer a stroke or heart attack.

Why Your Prostaglandins become Unbalanced

The most common culprits throwing your prostaglandins out of balance are poor diet, stress and viral illnesses.  Hydrogenated oils (trans-fatty acids) and sugar are two of the worst enemies of prostaglandins.  Avoiding these substances will help keep Series 1 and Series 3 prostaglandins strong and prevent them from being overwhelmed by Series 2 prostaglandins.

Stress is also a major factor in prostaglandins balance.  When your body releases stress hormones it encourages inflammation-producing prostaglandins, which, in turn, raises the levels of cortisol and estrogen in your body while restricting the production of progesterone. These imbalances in turn contribute to the development of estrogen dominance.

Evening Primrose Oil Helps Keep Prostaglandins Balanced

Evening primrose oil is a natural source of linoleic acid and Gamma-linoleic acid, the material from which the all important Series 1 prostaglandins are produced.  It is one of the  richest  sources of those important substances available anywhere.  If you are unable to get enough of these building materials from your diet, which is often the case with today’s hectic lifestyles, you may benefit from adding an evening primrose supplement to your regime.

Of course, a combination of evening primrose oil and an improved diet can make an even greater difference in your health. In addition to taking evening primrose oil supplements you’ll find that avoiding margarine and other hydrogenated oils, cutting back on sugar and eating fish once or twice a week will provide your body with the weapons it needs to combat prostaglandin imbalances.

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2. How to Heal PMS

Guidelines for Using Natural Progesterone Creams

Your goal is to find the right amount of progesterone cream for you.  Medical professionals can give you guidelines but it will be up to you to determine what amount makes you feel your best.  Natural progesterone cream is very safe, so you don’t have to be concerned about using too much when you are testing various dosages.  You just need to keep in mind that your goal is hormonal balance, so it is preferable to find the minimum amount of progesterone that works for you.  You want your hormones to work together harmoniously without any of them overwhelming the others.

Dr. Lee’s dosage recommendations are based on the use of a progesterone cream that comes in a 2 ounce container and contains 960 mg. of progesterone.  He does not recommend using high dosage progesterone creams that have 3,000 mg. or more in a 2 ounce tube.  Again, balance is the key.  You want to use a dose that will approximately equal the amount of progesterone your own body would produce under normal circumstances.

For a woman who is not too close to menopause and not pregnant, Dr. Lee recommends using about 1/4 teaspoon a day of the cream for the first one or two months. That will usually restore a natural balance to your system.  It is normally safe to drop the dosage to 1/8 teaspoon a day in the following months to maintain those levels.

Women who are closer to menopause may need a slightly higher dosage.

According to Dr. Lee, relief of symptoms is the best way to judge if you are using the right dose.  If you don’t get and maintain relief, you need to adjust your dosage up or down a little.

Dr. Lee has other guidelines for women who are not ovulating, women without ovaries, women with endometriosis, uterine fibroids, breast fibrocysts, women with specific PMS symptoms and women using estrogen supplements.  If you fall into any of those categories, you may want to pick up a copy of What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause to learn more. In fact, the book is so enlightening, it would be a good idea for all women to read it.

A Few Tips for Using Natural Progesterone Cream

Dr. Lee also offers a few guidelines for getting the best results from your progesterone cream.  He recommends that you apply it twice a day, using a small amount in the morning and the majority of the dose at bedtime.

For greatest absorption, spread the cream on as large an area as possible, preferably on an area of skin that is thin with capillary density, like your neck, face, inner arms or chest.

Take a break from the cream for 3 to 7 days a month.  If you experience a quick reappearance of symptoms, only break for 3 days, but 7 is recommended.

You be the judge.  When you start feeling good again, you’ve probably found the right dose of progesterone cream for you.

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Factors That Affect PMS

Stress is almost always a factor in PMS.  Stress raises cortisol levels, blocking progesterone from its receptors.  Even though you may have normal progesterone levels, if it is blocked from its receptors it can’t do its job.

Diet and nutrition also play a role in the development of PMS.  It is known that high calorie, high sugar diets that include a large amount of refined carbohydrates and and hydrogenated or unsaturated vegetable oils wreak havoc with the essential fatty acids in your system and stimulate adrenaline, cortisol and insulin, all substances that block progesterone from its receptors.

Emotions are important when dealing with PMS.  Most of society expect women to suppress emotions they consider unfeminine, such as anger, strong opinions or frustration.  Women are suppose to be sweet and nurturing, concerned about the emotional happiness of others.  Continually suppressing emotions and denying your own instincts is another way of causing stress.

Steps to Take to Heal PMS

Here are actions  Dr. John Lee recommends in his book What Your Doctor Many Not Tell You About Premenopause:

• Use natural progesterone cream to control the symptoms of estrogen dominance
• Take a daily multivitamin that contains zinc, B complex, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Vitamin B6
• Eat a plant-based diet rich in fiber.  Choose organic, fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole grains and legumes.
• Eat fish at least two times a week.
• Take evening primrose oil or borage oil to treat symptoms
• Take an herbal formula for PMS.  The formula should contain some or all of these herbs:  peony root, milk thistle, Vitex, wild yam, dandelion root, yarrow and nettle
• Take a liver-supporting and detoxifying herbal formula including some or all of the following herbs:  Bupleurum, milk thistle, barberry, goldenseal, burdock root, yellow dock, dandelion root
• Manage stress
• Exercise daily
• Keep a journal and record your emotions.  Try to resolve unsettled issues.

Here are some things Dr. Lee recommends avoiding:

• Birth control pills
• Unopposed estrogen
• Sugar and refined carbohydrates
• Hydrogenated oils and rancid unsaturated oils
• Commercially grown meats (choose organic instead)
• Pesticides
• Chronic stress

In many cases, PMS is so bad enough that it can affect many aspects of your life.  If you are not suffering through its symptoms at the moment, you may be fearing its imminent arrival.  Isn’t it worth giving Dr. Lee’s advice a try if it will help you decrease or eliminate the uncomfortable symptoms of PMS?

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What are Fibroids?

Fibroids are tough, non-cancerous tumors made up of fibers found in the uterus.  They can begin growing any time after the beginning of menstruation but are most common in women ages 35-50.  Normally they  begin to shrink or disappear altogether after menopause.  These benign tumors can be as small as a walnut or can grow to the size of a grapefruit or even larger.  The biggest fibroid tumor on record grew to a weight of more than 100 pounds.  It has been reported that at least 1 in 5 women experience some evidence of fibroids.

A woman with fibroids often begins to realize something is not quite right when she experiences heavier than normal bleeding during her period, irregular bleeding or her periods become more painful.  As the tumor grows, it can begin to cause discomfort because it is pressing against the bladder or intestines.  Bleeding can become so severe it nears hemorrhagic levels.

Estrogen Dominance Encourages Fibroid Growth

Estrogen is the primary hormone that makes the lining of the uterus grow each month, creating the endometrium that is shed  during menstruation.  If, however, the progesterone level is too low and unable to balance the flow of estrogen, the body doesn’t receive the signals to make the uterine growth stop.  This results in uterine fibroid tumors.

Normally, if a woman reaches the age of menopause, when the level of estrogen drops, the tumors will either disappear or shrink to a manageable level.  If, however, the woman’s progesterone level is still insufficient to balance the estrogen’s effects, such as with estrogen dominance, the fibroids can continue to grow.

Fibroids Do Not Always Require a Hysterectomy

In the past, when doctors diagnosed fibroids, they nearly always recommended a hysterectomy.  It is still a standard treatment method today.

What any woman who suffers from fibroid tumors needs to know, however, is that a simple, regular application of natural progesterone cream often causes fibroid tumors to shrink to a point where symptoms are eliminated.  When this occurs, a hysterectomy can be avoided and you can keep your uterus intact.

You owe it to yourself to avoid having a hysterectomy if at all possible.  It is known that hysterectomies in premenopausal women result in abrupt menopause and atrophy of the ovaries.  It raises the risk of osteoporosis, heart disease, bladder problems, frequent urinary tract infections and incontinence.

Controlling estrogen dominance is usually a healthier alternative to a  hysterectomy  if your problem is fibroid tumors.  The use of natural progesterone and other simple lifestyle changes can help you control the symptoms of estrogen dominance and allow you to regain balance of your hormones.

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One Woman’s Wild Yam Story

In Dr. John Lee’s  book What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause, Virginia Hopkins tells us about one woman’s experience with wild yam, also known as diosgenin or Dioscorea, the Latin name for Mexican wild yam.  The woman’s name was Sally and she had been diagnosed with osteoporosis.  Sally went to a health food store, told the clerk about her condition, and asked what could help her.  The clerk gave Sally a jar of what he said was “progesterone” cream.

Sally used the cream faithfully over the next 9 months, then, unfortunately, she fell and broke her hip.  When they conducted tests, Sally was informed that her bone density had actually gotten worse instead of better.  But how could that be?  Wasn’t the progesterone cream she’d been using suppose to help her fight osteoporosis?

After some investigation, it turned out that the cream that Sally had been applying wasn’t progesterone at all!  Instead, it was a cream containing diosgenin.  The label listed it as wild yam extract.

Why Wild Yam is Confused with Natural Progesterone

Wild yam has been used as an herbal remedy for centuries.  Native Americans, Chinese healers and others used it to soothe colic, gastritis, joint pain, asthma, morning sickness, impotency and other conditions.  Because it does have antispasmodic abilities, it even helped ease menstrual cramps and labor pains.

Wild yam does have some therapeutic benefits but it is not the same as progesterone.  The diosgenin in wild yam can be converted to progesterone in a laboratory but a chemical conversion process must take place in order for this to happen. The end product is  known as pharmaceutical progesterone and it is not natural in any way, shape, or form.  Because using wild yam is much less costly than real progesterone, many companies substitute the cheaper ingredient but if you purchase their products you are being shortchanged.  You will not get the benefits of  natural progesterone that you were seeking when you purchased the product. Your body does not have the ability to perform the necessary conversion to change diosgenin into progesterone or any other sex hormone.

Choosing the Right Progesterone Cream

When you purchase progesterone cream, make sure you buy a quality cream from a reliable manufacture.  Dr. Lee’s book on premenopause  contains a partial list of manufacturers that produce creams with real progesterone in a high enough level to prove effective.  A few of the brand names he mentions are Renewed Balance, Gentle Changes, and Progestacare.

There is no doubt that wild yam is a useful herb for several maladies.  Many women report renewed energy after using it and there is some evidence that wild yam is supportive of the adrenal glands.  It is not progesterone, though, and your body will never turn it into progesterone.  Avoid the myth and, when in search of a natural progesterone cream, aviod wild yams.

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2. Why Transdermal Hormone Creams Work the Best
3. How to Heal PMS

Why Natural Progesterone Cream Works Best

There are several ways you can supplement progesterone in you body.  You can take progesterone orally, have it injected, or use progesterone suppositories, but these methods are not very effective. Another option is to use natural progesterone transdermal (applied on the skin) creams, an option that seems to have worked best for most.  Although progesterone injections have been very helpful in high risk pregnancies, if your goal is balanced hormones, progesterone cream is the most successful.

When you apply progesterone cream to your skin, it is absorbed through the top layer of  skin and into the subcutaneous  fat just beneath the surface where it is gradually released and spreads throughout the rest of your body.    This method most closely mimics the way your own ovaries release progesterone into your body.

How do we know this?   Say you took both a saliva test and a blood test to evaluate the levels of your hormones, then afterwards began using the progesterone cream.  In a few days you have your hormone levels tested again using both methods.  The increased level of progesterone would show up in the saliva test but you would see very little change in the blood test.  If, however, you continue to use the cream, then retake the tests in 3 months, you would see the progesterone levels are now higher in the blood test as well as the saliva test.  Transdermally applied progesterone cream acts in a time-released fashion, keeping your hormones more continuously balanced.

The normal oral dose of progesterone is anywhere from 100 to 400 mg per day, compared to 15 to 30 mg per day of a transdermal hormone cream.  Large doses of progesterone all at once cause the body to experience a peak level 1 to 2 hours after the progesterone has been taken.  Once the peak has been reached, levels fall rapidly and within 90 minutes are severely sagging again.  While this is an effective way to treat premenstrual migraines, it is not the optimal choice for treating other problems aggravated by  estrogen dominance.

When progesterone cream is the chosen method of supplying progesterone, saliva tests show that the levels remain high for 8 hours or more.  Therefore, two small doses a day will keep levels maintained for most of the day.

Another  problem with oral progesterone and other progesterone supplement methods is that they are absorbed rapidly rather than gradually.  They bombard the liver all at once.  The liver tries to metabolize it, but has trouble coping with large doses.  The liver is unable to keep up with the demand and instead of excreting all of the progesterone metabolites in bile, some of the breakdown products end up in the blood plasma.  Only about 10% of the progesterone taken ends up in circulation.

Real Proof Hormone Creams Work Best

Like the old saying goes, “the proof is in the pudding”.  The most convincing evidence that progesterone cream works better than oral progesterone and other progesterone supplements is the relief that is experienced by the women using it.  PMS symptoms recede, breast  fibrocysts disappear and  estrogen-encouraged breast cell proliferation, which is the first step towards cancer,  is inhibited after using transdermal progesterone cream.

It’s nice to know that you are free to discover the benefits of  natural progesterone creams for yourself.  You do not need a prescription and the progesterone creams are readily available online and from natural health products retailers.

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1. Ask for help when you need it, then take time to appreciate it when you receive it.
2. Get plenty of sleep.
3. Do some of form of exercise daily.  You don’t have to go to the gym or jog 5 miles -  just take a walk, do a little gardening, dance for a while or do some other non-sedentary activity you enjoy.
4. Don’t lose touch with friends and family.  Keep loneliness at bay.
5. Drink green tea instead of coffee.
6. Limit alcohol consumption to just one drink after dinner or eliminate it all together.
7. Eat organic whole foods whenever possible.  Drink plenty of clean water and take a good multivitamin daily.
8. Leave the television off occasionally.
9. Relax in the car with books on tape or some soothing music.  Or if you have children along for the ride, this is a great time to talk to them.  Turn the cell phone off and have a conversation with the kids.
10. Learn to meditate.  Doing yoga or other meditative exercises and communicating with your spirituality helps you remain calm when the going gets rough.
11. Don’t take on more than you can handle comfortably.  It’s okay to say no sometimes.
12. Keep communications open with your partner.  If something’s bothering you, talk about it before anger and resentment builds to the boiling point.
13. Find a health care professional who listens to you and shares your views about caring for your health.
14. Don’t try to be superwoman.  Split the household duties with your partner and don’t be afraid to let children share in family care.  Give them age appropriate chores and offer praise for their efforts.
15. Avoid prescription drugs when possible.
16. Don’t feel obligated to have sex with your partner if don’t really want to at that time.  Sex should not be another chore you have to accomplish that day but should be pleasurable for both of you.  If something is preventing that, discuss your feelings with your partner.
17. Do your best to keep your spending under control and avoid the stress of financial problems.
18. Remember, you must take care of your own needs if you are going to be able to take care of those of your children, even if it means forfeiting some of your children’s smaller needs.  No parent can do everything for her child.
19. If you’re lonely, find some type of volunteer work you enjoy.  You’ll be helping yourself as well as others.
20. Take a few minutes and do something that makes you laugh.
21. When you know your emotions are out of balance, acknowledge the imbalance but don’t let it become a focal point in your life.  Don’t ignore your feelings but don’t make it worse by allowing them to build stress.  Try to turn your concentration to more positive thoughts.

Dr. Lee truly believed that finding ways to bring harmony and balance into all aspects of your life is a big step towards creating physical and mental well-being and by following his advice, countless premenopausal women have improved their health and their lives.

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PMS.  You dread its arrival.  You know you will suffer from bloating, cramps, fatigue, water retention, headache and tender breasts.  You know others around you may suffer as well because you will be irritable,  prone to mood swings and willing to bite off the first head that offends you.   There are steps you can take that will help reduce those disagreeable affects, however. Keeping a healthy level of essential fatty acids in your system is one of them.

PMS and What Not to Eat

PMS is the single most common complaint of women who are premenopausal.  For years it was believed that because PMS symptoms usually occur when progesterone levels are normally high, progesterone must be the instigator.  In the last few decades, however, it has been recognized that excess estrogen, rather than progesterone,  is the more likely troublemaker.

PMS is a problem that needs to be addressed from several levels, including managing stress and estrogen dominance control, but  researchers have also learned that PMS is affected by what you eat.  One of the main reasons your diet effects the severity of your PMS is because of  your prostaglandins.  Prostaglandins act like hormones and help regulate each of the cells in your body.  Their job is to keep your body balanced.  If the prostaglandins themselves become unbalanced, though, conditions like heart disease, pain, immune system dysfunction and PMS are more likely to occur.  Chronic inflammation, which aggravates PMS, is a common result.  If your prostaglandins are unbalanced, your blood gets thicker, which raises your risk of heart attack or stroke.  Estrogen dominance also has that effect, so the combination of excess estrogen and unbalanced prostaglandins can be a lethal blend.

So what causes prostaglandins to get out of balance?  One of the main culprits is foods that contain hydrogenated oils, or trans-fatty acids, and the way those fats disrupt essential fatty acids.   Foods like margarines and most cookies, cakes and chips.  If you look at the ingredients list on the labels of those products, you’ll probably see it listed as “partially hydrogenated”.  These are synthetic oils and block the effect of natural oils.

Other causes of imbalanced prostaglandins include too much sugar in the diet, stress and/or zinc deficiency.  Zinc, along with vitamin C and some B vitamins, is necessary for converting unsaturated oils into the essential fatty acids that our bodies need.

Treating PMS with Essential Fatty Acids

One of the goals in fighting PMS is to keep your prostaglandins balanced while keeping sufficient essential fatty acids in your system, but how do you do that?  One way is to avoid foods that provoke imbalanced prostaglandins, the foods high in hydrogenated oils, and eat foods that help supply you with essential fatty acids.  This includes fresh organic fruits and vegetables, whole grains and raw nuts.  You should also eat fish at least once or twice a week to raise levels of the essential fatty acid Omega 3 and Omega 6.

Eating properly is normally enough to keep the prostaglandins happy and essential fatty acids existing in healthy amounts.  There are also supplements available such as evening primrose oil, flax seed oil and borage oil that raise levels of essential fatty acids.

There is no instant cure for PMS but keeping the levels of essential fatty acids in your body at a normal level is a good  first step.

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2. Getting Your Prostaglandins in Control
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The History Progestins

Before we learn too much about progestins, it will be helpful to understand a little bit more about progesterone, the hormone progestins were created to mimic.  Though scientists had begun research a few decades earlier, it wasn’t until 1929 that they pinpointed this important hormone and gave it a name.  They learned that progesterone is  essential to a healthy, full term pregnancy and other bodily functions.  At first they used progesterone taken from frozen placentas  to further their knowledge of the hormone.  Then, in 1939, one researcher, Russell E. Marker, discovered a  substance found in wild yams could be converted into progesterone to treat female problems, including miscarriage.

Soon doctors began using progesterone to successfully treat their patients, but discovered a small problem.   In order to be very effective, the progesterone needed to be administered via an intramuscular injection.  Those injections proved to be painful and often caused irritation at the injection site.  The only other effective way to administer progesterone was through suppositories and most patients did not like that method.  One of the main issues, though, turned out to be that progesterone and progesterone like substances found in plants are all natural, which means that pharmaceutical companies could not patent them.  That meant there was little profit to be made in producing natural progesterone, so they had little incentive to provide them.

What’s the Problem with Progestins?

So what’s the problem with taking the synthetic hormones rather than natural ones?  The most serious problem is the side effects.  For instance, if you were to look in the Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR), you would see numerous warnings, precautions and adverse reactions listed for the drug Provera, technically known as Medroxyprogesterone Acetate, the most commonly prescribed progestin for HRT.  Here are just a few of them, written in layman’s terms:

• May cause fluid retention, which could negatively effect conditions such as epilepsy, asthma, migraine and cardiac or renal dysfunction
• May cause menstrual irregularities or breakthrough bleeding
• May cause edema, weight changes
• May cause pulmonary embolism
• May cause depression, insomnia, dizziness, fatigue and nervousness
• May cause backache, breast tenderness, itchiness, rash, excess hair growth or hair loss

And that’s just a partial list of side effects.  Now take a look at some of the warnings in the PDR about Provera:

• Increased risk of birth defects in babies whose mothers take Provera during the first four months of pregnancy
• Dogs given this medication developed nodules in their breasts, some of which were malignant
• Discontinue using if you experience sudden complete or partial loss of vision
• Physicians should monitor for early warning signs of cardiovascular disorders, pulmonary embolism and retinal thrombosis

There are others, as well, and the list is even longer if taking Provera in conjunction with estrogen.  Each progestin has its own substantial lists of warnings.

Although the difference between natural progesterone and progestins  may only be a couple of atoms, it is enough to create havoc in the body.  That’s why there are so many warnings about potential side effects.  Though our bodies first accept the artificial hormones, they eventually get the message that these are not the same.  Natural progesterone is used and then excreted from the body but progestins are more tenacious and resist being processed and eliminated.  It builds up in the system and throws your hormonal balance even farther out of whack then it was previous to the use of the progestins.

Many progestins have been linked to serious health issues such as breast cancer, heart problems and others.  When natural progesterone is available, why risk progestins?  Natural progesterone is  safer and has virtually no side effects. It is available in easy to use creams, which are readily absorbed through the skin.   Although many physicians are still not completely aware of the difference between progestins and natural progesterone, you are.  Why not talk to your physician about the benefits of using natural progesterone instead of expensive synthetic compounds?

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