I had my blood drawn with my physician yesterday to get my first blood tests done. He is going to call me monday to discuss increased dosages of estrogen. During the visit, he asked if I would be interested in starting a regimen of progesterone as well. I said that I didn't know much about it's effects and would want to do some research before starting on another medication. For those qualified to answer, what are the effects of progesterone on the human body? And what biological function does progesterone serve cis-gendered women? Will it help to improve estrogen effects on my body? Some of the statements I have read online describe it as having positive effects on breast development and improves skin. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Progesterone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - explains Progesterone (very confusing) Effects of Progesterone & Estrogen (says what effects both estrogen and progesterone have on the body) I'm not qualified, but have read up on it before I took it. Progesterone is a form of estrogen. There are three (or something) different types of estrogen that run around in cis gendered women. This one has more to do with the uterine lining, it's given to women who are taking estrogen (which increases the growth of that lining) so that they can control that.. It's more prevalent in pregnant women. Progesterone increases the effect of estrogen by making the receptors more sensitive. It is also used (because estrogen has an increased chance of blood clotting) to reduce the odds for your blood to clot. From what I've been able to read it works with estrogen to make the outcome much better while reducing the risks. Because male bodies can't produce all three (or more?) forms of estrogen we can take these supplements to make up for that. As you said before, it increases breast growth and helps skin. Fair warning, progesterone can cause depression. It is used to 'treat' sex offenders. It makes you lose your libido, and causes male infertility. I think it's annoying how little attention transgender health questions get here. Hormones aren't different for transgender people, they all have the same effect. I spent 20 minutes (more because I was taking them) looking them up and found out all I needed to. Women should know how the hell estrogen works in the first place. Just like men need to know what testosterone does. I bet most of the guys here have no idea that testosterone is synthesized from estrogen. Ignorance is not okay, it's better to be asking the question than hoping some1 else in class will ask them for you. You all have the internet, the world of information at your fingertips. You can know anything! Please start using it.
The use of Progesterone is debatable in HRT regime because there is no substantial evidence that it enhances breast development in non-genetic females. And progesterone is mildly androgenic actually. So it can interfere with the estrogen. Also, it can cause depression, edema and weight gain. The proposed benefit is that it mimics the natural female hormonal cycle. You should probably discuss this in detail with your doc. Just a note: The dermal application estrogen reduces the blood clotting hazard that comes with IV estrogen. But its very pricey.
It is unfortunate. I do have a background in biomedical sciences in university, and have studied cholesterol and its derivatives in-depth (oh look steroids, oxysterols, and bile acids), but I am not completely qualified for their uses in matters such as these. I can poke and prod and make very educated guesses, however nothing in medicine is truly certain for any one individual, especially without any medical information about yourself to go on. Some of the info on the internet can be partially to near partially complete, but it can be VERY misinforming due to this, since things are changed, not included, or dumbed down, and when people write articles without the proper background it can mess things up in unforeseen ways. If it is accurate and relatively up-to-date info, it is most likely too complex and foreign to be understandable to the masses, and can not necessarily be applied to you. I would recommend talking to ACTUAL physicians in REAL LIFE, but I have no idea how the American legal and medical systems accommodate this, since I am from Canada, with much different systems.
