What Are The Pros And Cons Of Natural Progesterone Treatment Versus Synthetics?
Print PageNatural progesterone creams are absorbed through the skin (transdermally), so they avoid first-pass metabolism by the liver, a phenomenon where ingested drugs are absorbed through the stomach and intestine, travel to the liver, and are broken down to the extent that only a small fraction of the active drug circulates to the rest of the body. This first pass through the liver greatly reduces the bioavailability of the hormones by breaking them down into less active forms. Synthetic hormone pills (such as medroxyprogesterone acetate) are rapidly metabolized by the liver on the first pass, so the amount of hormone you receive is reduced. Oral hormones are excreted in the urine, so most of your dose is lost.
ProFeme® progesterone cream (Lawley Pharmaceuticals, Australia) contains the hormone progesterone identical to that which is produced by the ovary – natural progesterone. cream is an effective, reliable mode of administration for the management of simple hyperplasia. Other delivery methods of natural hormones, such as lotions, gels, sprays and troches, have not proven to be as effective for the management of simple endometrial hyperplasia.
If within 3 months of initiating treatment with ProFeme® 10% progesterone cream significant improvement is not seen in the simple endometrial hyperplasia with stabilization of periods then a synthetic progestin should be considered by your doctor. The other more complex forms of endometrial hyperplasia require more detailed interventions than natural progesterone treatment.
Wild yam treatments sold in health food stores contain a steroid substrate called diosgenin, which is chemically similar to progesterone, but does not act like progesterone within the body. Humans cannot convert diosgenin into progesterone – a point often misrepresented by marketers of wild yam products. Wild yam treatments are totally ineffective in managing endometrial hyperplasia.