Progesterone and Menopausal Symptoms

Menopause marks the end of the menstruation period and it’s diagnosed after you don’t have any menses after a year. While menopause is a natural biological process, it can cause various physical symptoms such as hot flashes, vaginal dryness, chills, night sweats, sleep problems, weight gain, dry skin, thinning of hair and mood changes. Fortunately, there are many effective treatments available, from lifestyle modifications to PRT, and studies show that restoring progesterone to healthy levels can help improve the quality of life of menopausal women:
1. Progesterone administration in menopausal women relieves hot flushes, mood swings, sleeping difficulties, night sweats, vaginal dryness and restlessness. [145]
2. In menopausal women, progesterone administration effectively corrects progesterone deficiency as well as menopausal symptoms. [146]
3. Progesterone administration in menopausal women relieves breast tenderness. [147-148]
4. In postmenopausal women, administration of transdermal progesterone at a daily dose of 20 mg significantly relieves menopausal symptoms without any adverse side effects. [149]
5. In healthy postmenopausal women, progesterone administration at varying doses improves menopausal symptoms as well as quality of life. [150]
6. In postmenopausal women with severe menopausal symptoms, administration of progesterone cream at varying doses (60, 40, 20, or 5 mg) significantly relieves symptoms and improves physical and social functioning. [151]
7. In healthy postmenopausal women, administration of progesterone cream (20 mg) daily significantly treats vasomotor symptoms (night sweats and hot flashes). [152]
8. In perimenopausal women, progesterone demonstrates great promise in the treatment of climacteric symptoms (hot flashes, sweating, and vaginal dryness). [153]
9. In early postmenopausal women, progesterone improves menopausal symptoms such as vasomotor and sexual dysfunction symptoms without any adverse side effects. [154]
10. In postmenopausal women, low-dose monthly intramuscular injections of progesterone are effective at reducing menopausal symptoms at short-term with a low rate of adverse events. [155]
11. In postmenopausal women, administration of progesterone decreases breathing irregularities, arousal from sleep, anxiety, and memory impairment. [156]
12. Low progesterone results in uncontrolled menstrual bleeding, whereas progesterone administration reduces bleeding. [157]