WOMENS-HEALTH Messages for May, 1998: Re: pregnant with progesterone question

Re: pregnant with progesterone question

From: Kelly Shanahan, MD (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Sun, 17 May 1998 19:06:35 -0500 (CDT)

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In reply to: Chris: "pregnant with progesterone question"

At Sun, 17 May 1998, Chris wrote: >
>Dear doctor(s):
>
>I wrote here one week ago with concerns of high temps with brown
>spotting and wondered if it might be a progesterone problem (new post
>m/c in March: prior to that I never had pre-menstrual spotting). After
>that posting here, I had a bright red bloody discharge that was clotty,
>and so I was almost certain that it was my period. But that's all the
>blood there ever was, and then the next morning my temps were still at
>37.1 (98.8), so I took a pregnancy test, and it was positive. Concerned
>about the blood I had seen, I went to the doctor the next day, and she
>put me on oral progesterone pills, 200 mg at night just before going to
>bed. I am now 18 days post ovulation and have seen not one small spot
>of blood of any color since the red clotty discharge.
>
>Questions:
>
>1) Could this red clotty blood really be considered "implantation
>bleeding"? It seems so different from the way it's described in your
>archives (brown, light, etc...). What else could it have been?

Implantation bleeding can look like anything, when it happens at all. Another possibility is bleeding from the cervix (most likely due to infection), but I'll put my money on implantation bleeding

>
>2) Is 200 mg per day of progesterone excessive? I've been reading that
>some women with histories of m/c have been taking only 100 mg.

It depends on how youre taking hte progesterone -- women need higher doses with oral than with vaginal suppositories. the best judge of how much progesterone you need is to have blood levels checked. Even if 200mg is more than absolutely necessary for you, it will not do any harm. >
>3) Is oral progesterone just as effective as vaginal suppositories?

It is not as well absorbed, so higher doses are needed. It is proably as efective, but most REs use eithr daily shots (ugh!) or suppositories. the new Crinone vaginal gel is less messy than suppositories but is pretty expensive. >
>4) Have there been any case studies in which the long-term effects on
>children whose mothers had taken progesterone during the pregnancy were
>researched? (For example, problems with sexual development due to this
>additional hormone in the body prenatally.)

NO problems with NATURAL progesterone (as opposed to synthetic progestins like provera) >
>I greatly appreciate your time and your assistance.
>
>--
>Sincerely,
>Chris
>

Congratulations on your pregnancy -- I hope to see posts soon on how to deal with morning sickness :-)

--
Kelly Shanahan, MD, FACOG
S. Lake Tahoe, CA

note: Opinions here are for educational purposes only. This information is not intended to supplant the need for you to consult with your own physician. It cannot take the place of a face to face consultation and examination.
Sorry, but private e-mails will not be answered.

Next message: Kelly Shanahan, MD: "Re: 2nd request--BBT as Test???"
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In reply to: Chris: "pregnant with progesterone question"

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