I've been using progesterone cream for cramps for a few months now. I am AMAZED at how well it works!! I was taking between 4 and 10 Darvocet per period (for about 5 years) and my gyn threatened to quit prescribing it unless I had a hysterectomy. I read about the Progesterone, tried it and it really works. I put about a half to 1 teaspoon right on my lower abdomen and the pain goes away in about 15 minutes. I try to use it just 3 weeks of the month, but sometimes I use it during my period as well if I am having cramps. I'm nearing menopause, but not there yet. The cramps did go away (pre-progesterone) once I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and on thyroid meds, but came back as soon as I started adrenal meds (which mess with the female hormones). So it's a good idea to check out the thyroid first (check antibodies too, and not just the tsh). Also oral progesterone has to go through the liver, so really the over-the-counter cream is a better choice.

It is not recommended to take any kind of hormones unless you have a very serious problem. There was a study years ago and the participants were women doctors. The women stopped the study and would not take anymore hormones because strokes and heart attacks resulted. Very dangerous stuff, especially if you have taken them before and start again. That is why women don't have to have paps test after a certain age because the body no longer makes the "dangerous" stuff. Dangerous was my GYN's term.

Expanding on what others have said, the estrogen creams and gels for skin, as opposed to vaginal, use are prescription forms, made up by a compounding pharmacist to a prescription written by your own doctor (the pharmacist can help him with that if he is unfamiliar with how to write this kind of prescription). There are compounding pharmacists in Canada and they can make up these forms of HRT, but they are somewhat harder to locate (less common) than in the US. The main difference between using a topical cream/gel and using a patch is that the patch gives a steady release over the life of the patch (more or less) where the topicals give more of a curved effect, peaking after the dose and then dropping off till the next dose. Whether or not that makes a difference to any particular woman seems to be an individual thing: some dose with topicals once or twice a day and do fine; others have to go to multiple doses to avoid too much variation in hormone levels. The vehicle (there are a number of different cream bases, not to mention the gel) and where you put it (fatty tissue versus not) also affect the length and shape of the absorption/circulation curve. So, as with everything else menopausal, there's a lot of personal variation and you may have to experiment some to find the best one for your own body. There are, as Leigh notes, no effective over the counter variations on estrogen creams and gels.

Jerri, I haven't checked into this Forum for awhile and have only now seen your post asking those who started using progesterone cream to give an update. It's a pity that the original thread will eventually disappear because it's reached it's limit of 100 posts. A lot of valuable information will be lost when it slips off the end of Page 10. I used AIM Renewed Balance when I first started using progesterone cream. I was quite happy with that but was convinced by posts on this Forum to try PhytoProlief. I bought three bottles of it so I gave it a very fair trial. I am now back on AIM. My hot flashes and night sweats returned when I was on the PhytoProlief so it obviously wasn't for me, although I didn't have them as often as I did when I first started having hot flashes and used nothing, which was every 15-20 minutes 24 hours a day. I haven't tried any other brand. I use very little of the AIM, less than the 1/8th teaspoon recommended and I now use it 21 days per month. I am almost 56 and have been perimenopausal for 14 months now. I don't suffer like some ladies do though, my only symptoms being erratic periods, night sweats and hot flashes although the last two are under control now. I still have periods every 2 to 3 months. I keep thinking/hoping each one will be my last. My friends are amazed that I didn't start perimenopause until just before my 55th birthday and that I am still having periods at almost 56. They all went through menopause in their 40's. The only difference between me and them is I had a tubal ligation at 36, I've never been pregnant and I'm a vegetarian. Whether these things mean anything, I don't know. Some people think that vegetarians live on soy but I rarely eat/drink anything made from soy. Reading the bad press it's been getting lately, I'm quite pleased that I've never liked it. Another thing I would like to add is that I also take Promensil - one a day. This is derived from red clover. I've tried each one without the other but using both the cream and taking Promensil appears to be a good combination for me. I know everyone is different. I'm pleased I found my "balance". Good health Barbie