progesterone and infertility
INFORMATION ON NATURAL PROGESTERONE AND INFERTILITY:
Progesterone Actions Combating Infertility:
Each month our ovaries begin to ripen a number of follicles. You may be surprised to hear that normal follicles are cysts in that they are pockets of tissue filled with benign fluid and hormones, mostly estrogen. The amount of immature follicles changes with each cycle— but during normal times, one or two follicles grow stronger than the others and produce an egg.
When we ovulate, the egg in the dominant follicle pops out and flows into the fallopian tube on its way to the uterus. This event triggers a host of hormonal secretions, one of which is progesterone, that will support a pregnancy if the egg is fertilized or a normal monthly period if it is not.
"Too often physicians will treat the infertility problem with strong medication or even surgery without checking progesterone levels first...But for many women, natural progesterone therapy has been very effective in helping them to become pregnant and to carry the child to term. Only after this treatment is tried should more drastic procedures be considered..." says Jerome Check, M.D. an infertility specialist and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Thomas Jefferson University and Hahnemann University.
The 3 primary causes of female infertility are anovulatory cycles, endometriosis and tubal disease, and about 30% of female infertility cases are caused by the anovulatory cycles, often rectified by the correct use of natural progesterone.
Female Infertility is often caused by ANOVULATORY CYCLES
This occurs as a result of hormonal imbalance either within the hypothalamus, the pituitary or in the ovaries. Common causes of this includes stress, excessive weight loss or weight gain, and polycystic ovaries. Polycystic ovaries can affect up to 30% of women with infertility problems. The ovaries contain many tiny cysts and although the majority of women with PCOS have normal regular cycles and have no problems conceiving, others may experience menstrual irregularities, fertility problems, excessive growth of body hair, acne and obesity.
Treatment used with success by Dr. John Lee and other 'natural alternative' doctors, involves correcting the hormonal imbalance and stimulation of the ovaries.
Dr. Lee: Progesterone Cream May Help with Infertility
Dr. Lee had a number of patients in his practice who had been unable to conceive. For two to four months he had them use natural progesterone from days 5 to 26 in the cycle (stopping on day 26 to bring on menstruation). Using the progesterone prior to ovulation effectively suppressed ovulation. After a few months of this, he had them stop progesterone use. If you still have follicles left, they seem to respond to a few months of suppression with enthusiasm -- the successful maturation and release of an egg. His patients, some of whom had been trying to conceive for years, had very good luck conceiving with this method.
Among the many desirable effects of Natural Progesterone are:
- Making survival of the fertilized egg possible.
- Maintaining the secretary endometrium which feeds the ovum and resultant embryo
- A surge of Progesterone at ovulation increases libido in women