The Natural Fertility Community

Hi.

I have read the posts about progesterone and am still unclear about the levels. I recently miscarried (naturally) around june 13th/14th at about 6.6 weeks. I started thinking that maybe my previous heavy clotted menses may have been miscarriages and asked my doctor to check my progesterone. I did a blood check and it came back 2.2 (my hormones are at 7 after 2.3 weeks). Is this normal? When should I check to see if my levels are normal? I'm not sure they will do a saliva test here as they (the doctors) are really weird about testing for things in amsterdam.

I just don't want to go through another miscarriage to find out that it could've been helped with a cream, etc. My fertility doctor told me that if I have several miscarriages then we can do some checks, but they would probably be due to my age and "old eggs." Gotta love a doctor's way with a patient." (I'm almost 39 and this was my first pregnancy).

Any suggestions/light would be appreciated.

lin

Dear lin,

Because I am not a medical doctor I am unfamiliar with medical testing for progesterone. I encourage you to ask your doctor to explain the test better so that you can understand what your results meant for your fertility.

If you would like to know more about Progesterone and Natural Progesterone Cream supplementation please go to this link: http://natural-fertility-info.com/progesterone-fertility-guide

You can learn how to increase your egg health at this link: http://natural-fertility-info.com/increase-egg-health

You may also want to consider finding a Naturopathic Doctor in your area as well, a naturopath will listen to you and support you naturally.

Thanks so much for your quick reply! I only wish I had naturopaths here. The doctors only say everything is fine or you're too old or to take a paracetamol. That's really how it works around here, so I kind of rely on the forums, etc.

Do you think there's any harm in using the progesterone cream?

cheers
Lin

Dear Lin,

This is from our Recurrent Miscarriages page:

Vitex (Chaste Tree berry) Has been traditionally used by midwives and herbalist to prevent miscarriage associated with low progesterone. It can be used in conjunction with progesterone creams.

Is it safe to take vitex during pregnancy?
Aviva Romm states in her wonderful book Botanical Medicine for Women’s Health…

In placebo controlled studies for teratogenicity and mutagenicity were conducted in rats, and even with the animals ere administered 74 times the dosage typically consumed by humans, no toxicity nor aberations in fetal development were seen. While Vitex can be used to help a miscarriage that is acute, it is best to use at least 3 months prior to conception and continued into the first trimester to maintain stable progesterone levels. The Botanical Safety Handbook provided no contraindications to use during pregnancy.

Vitex may be an herb you could learn more about. Maca as well.

If you know when you are ovulating you could talk to your doctor about trying natural progesterone cream after ovulation up to your period or through your first trimester of pregnancy.

Thanks again for the info! The fertility clinic that I go to don't even know of progesterone cream - they are THAT backwards. They want me to have another miscarriage in order to do any tests. I was barely able to convince them to do a follow up of my progesterone level and it was at 1 (being 2.2 the week before). They said this was normal and not low! I honestly don't have much confidence in the doctors here at the women's hospital. They are nice, but I'm not planning on more miscarriages for any action on their part. Their only answer is that "you are old and have old eggs, so this is normal for you." No kidding ladies.

Maybe if I take a trip to the states, I can try to get my levels tested, but that's not for a while. I will look into Vitex (I ordered some by mail) and I take maca and royal jelly already.

Staying positive and waiting for my menses to give it another try.
lin

Bummer, sorry to hear that.

Keep us posted on how you are doing.