Progesterone deficiency can cause infertility, irregular periods, ovarian cysts, anxiety, breast tenderness, bloating, mood swings, weight gain, and miscarriage. It is naturally produced in both men and women, but plays a more important role in the female body. Treatment includes stress reduction, herbal remedies, and hormone replacement therapy.
Progesterone deficiency is a condition in which the body does not produce enough progesterone, a hormone important to the female reproductive system. Having too little progesterone normally occurs as a woman enters menopause, but it can also occur earlier in life. Progesterone deficiency can cause infertility, irregular periods, ovarian cysts, anxiety, breast tenderness, bloating, mood swings, weight gain, and miscarriage. Progesterone is naturally produced in both men and women, but plays a much more important role in the female body.
Women produce progesterone in the ovaries, which are located in the pelvic region and are responsible for making eggs and hormones. During a normal menstrual cycle, progesterone levels start out low and then rise during ovulation, the time between when an egg is released from an ovary and when that egg ceases to be viable. During ovulation, an egg cell is released from a follicle in one of the ovaries, and the follicle ruptures and triggers the production of progesterone. Progesterone then begins preparing the lining of the uterus for implantation of a fertilized egg. If the egg is not fertilized, progesterone levels drop and the woman has periods or periods.
If the egg is fertilized and implants in the uterus, the progesterone helps reduce the woman’s immune response so it doesn’t attack the fetus. The placenta, an organ that develops with the fetus in the uterus during pregnancy, also begins to produce progesterone, so that a woman’s overall production of progesterone increases tenfold. Progesterone deficiency can cause problems for pregnant and non-pregnant women.
One of the most common problems associated with progesterone deficiency is polycystic ovarian syndrome or PCOS. This occurs when the ovary releases an egg each month, but the follicle fails to rupture and start producing progesterone. The body will then start producing more hormones to try and stimulate ovulation and progesterone production again, but even these follicles may not rupture. This condition can cause mood swings, irregular or missing periods, severe cramping and bleeding, weight gain, anxiety, breast tenderness, carbohydrate cravings, acne, excessive hair growth, and infertility. Without progesterone, the egg may have difficulty implanting in the uterus, even if it is dropped from the ovary and fertilized.
Progesterone deficiency during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage. In addition to preparing the pelvis for labor, preventing lactation until delivery, and many other functions during pregnancy, progesterone prevents the body from shedding the lining of the uterus. If progesterone levels drop too low during pregnancy or if progesterone receptors are unable to access the hormone, a woman may lose her embryo, usually during the first trimester.
Progesterone levels also drop after women reach menopause, about a year after their last menstrual period. Although this is a normal hormonal change, some women experience severe symptoms of hot flashes, weight gain, mood swings, anxiety, insomnia and hair loss. Treatment for progesterone deficiency for women who have gone through menopause, pregnant women, or women of childbearing age is similar. These treatments include stress reduction so that progesterone doesn’t have to compete with stress hormones, herbal remedies like black cohosh, and hormone replacement therapy. HRT is done with the help of a doctor and can come in pill or cream form.
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