If extremely high levels of progesterone were truly dangerous, then why do both male and female fetuses develop and thrive in the womb under those very conditions?
While it’s true that some pregnant women experience nausea and vomiting, this may actually be due to high estrogen levels without enough progesterone to counterbalance them.
Dr. Katharina Dalton, a pioneer in recognizing the importance of progesterone throughout a woman’s reproductive cycle, including pregnancy and postpartum, treated pregnant women suffering from PMS with additional progesterone.
These women not only did well during pregnancy, but their children also thrived, according to follow-up years later.
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The Problem with Measuring Progesterone in Saliva
Dr. John Lee, author of Natural Progesterone: The Multiple Roles of a Remarkable Hormone, helped raise awareness about the importance of progesterone. His work was inspired by Dr. Ray Peat, whose research encouraged the use of progesterone in patient care.
However, Dr. Lee mistakenly claimed that women produce only 20 mg of progesterone per day—a number without a clear source. In contrast, Dr. Peat cited research showing levels closer to 100 mg in the ovarian vein. Dr. Lee also promoted saliva testing to monitor hormone levels, a method that remains controversial.
Progesterone creams applied to the skin often lead to unusually high progesterone levels in saliva tests, but we don’t fully understand why.
While saliva testing is meant to reflect hormone levels in the body, actual tissue concentrations can vary, and the idea of using a single test result as a comprehensive measure is questionable. To make sense of these elevated readings, labs have created new “normal” ranges for saliva progesterone in treated patients—ranges that are higher than in untreated individuals.
Unfortunately, this approach, influenced by Dr. Lee’s recommendations, has led some healthcare practitioners to focus on adjusting test results rather than treating patients based on their symptoms. As a result, many women feel worse and come to believe they can’t tolerate progesterone at all.
Using Progesterone for Other Medical Conditions
There are two women who are unsung heroes in the story of progesterone.
One is Ona Green, who started Ona’s Natural to provide non-prescription progesterone products because she herself depended upon a generous helping of progesterone to treat catamenial epilepsy.
Another is Doris King, who saved herself and now coaches others to use progesterone for bipolar disease and schizophrenia. These women found the answers for their progesterone deficiency health problems and, in turn, try to help others in significant ways.
Estrogen Kickback and Dominance
Kitty Martone, who is the current CEO of Ona’s Natural, hosts a Facebook page called the Estrogen Dominance Support Group.
Estrogen dominance is not exactly a medical term, but it is a good description of the symptoms that occur when progesterone is deficient relative to estrogen.
This concept was introduced by Dr. Lee.
“Estrogen” includes all the xenoestrogens, heavy metals, glyphosate, and all the chemicals that have estrogen-mimicking activity and occupy estrogen receptors.
This group uses another term, “estrogen kickback,” to describe enhanced estrogen effects when women or their healthcare practitioners timidly start small doses of progesterone.
Symptoms of Estrogen Kickback or Estrogen Dominance
Neither the term “estrogen kickback” nor this phenomenon appears in conventional medicine, or even functional medicine, though it is predictable and frequent.
The symptoms of estrogen kickback may include:
- Anxiety
- Difficulty concentrating
- Depression
- Weight gain
- Decreased sex drive
- Worsened PMS
- Palpitations
- Breast enlargement
- Breast tenderness
- Headache
- Sleeplessness
- Hair loss
These may suddenly magnify and even send women to emergency rooms. The resolution is more progesterone (and very quickly) until these symptoms abate.
Practitioners often give their patients the wrong advice – to stop or decrease the progesterone.
The first denies the very hormone those women need for many of their other health problems, and the second can cause reactions even worse than the first small dose.
Conventional medicine often teaches with drugs to start low and go slow, but this is the wrong advice when it comes to progesterone.
Claims from Women Who Take Progesterone
Here is the long list of symptoms that various people have posted on social media to warn women of using too much progesterone:
Weight Fluctuations
Most frequently, this occurs in the estrogen kickback zone when estrogen promotes fat storage and fluid retention. The remedy is more progesterone.
Fatigue
Another estrogen kickback symptom. Thyroid activity is inhibited when estrogen dominates. Adding more progesterone will help support thyroid conversion to active thyroid, which is the main driver for our energy-producing mitochondria.
Bloating
If candida is overgrowing in the gastrointestinal tract, progesterone will allow more overgrowth in the same way that progesterone protects the alien baby from the mom. Treat candida first and retry progesterone. A feeling of bloating can also occur as the estrogen-induced endometrial buildup increases the size of the vagina.
Discomfort/Pain in the Legs
Progesterone is an anti-inflammatory. Pain and inflammation will disappear when progesterone is dosed adequately. Check on vitamin D levels for this one, too. Make sure minerals are adequate.
Water Retention
Progesterone is a diuretic. When water retention occurs, it is a sure sign that the estrogen kickback is in full swing, and more progesterone is needed. It is very common to have generous peeing occur as progesterone relieves this.
Anxiety
This is one of the easiest symptoms to resolve with more progesterone. Anxiety is a wonderful symptom to monitor because it responds so quickly to progesterone. Use progesterone every 15 to 20 minutes till calm prevails.
Breast Tenderness
This is another estrogen kickback sign, along with breast enlargement, an increase in fibrotic tissue in the breast. Progesterone may be applied directly to the breasts. Iodine is a great addition to relieving fibrotic tissue in the breasts.
Depression
Estrogen dominance suppresses thyroid function, leading to depression. This can be helped with additional progesterone, but investigate thyroid function as well.
Loss of Libido
Underdosing progesterone leads to estrogen dominance. This has the consequence of inducing sex hormone binding globulin, a carrier protein, which binds up testosterone and DHEA preferentially and affects libido. The answer is again to increase the progesterone and perhaps give some help to the androgenic hormones too.
Mood Swings
Doris King’s books are a great reference to describe how progesterone can relieve the misery of some misdiagnosed mental illnesses.
Dr. Phyllis Bronson’s book is also a good reference about hormones and moods.
Progesterone has a positive effect when treating mood disorders.
Muscle Weakness
Progesterone can help with producing the hormone relaxin at delivery to soften the cervix.
This required the very high progesterone levels of third-trimester pregnancy. Check for thyroid issues as mentioned above. Ligament laxity is a low thyroid symptom. Androgens like testosterone and DHEA should be monitored in the case of muscle weakness.
Progesterone enables estrogen to be more active. This is not a progesterone excess, but perhaps not enough estrogen activity dependent upon progesterone.
Acne
Progesterone has been used in the treatment of acne successfully. Look for issues like constipation or yeast overgrowth, forcing the skin to become a main organ of excretion. Vitamin A has also been helpful in converting cholesterol into the rest of the steroid hormones and has been used to treat acne.
Headaches
Headaches can be a common monthly occurrence for some women during the luteal phase. Progesterone can relieve them. Use a topical to the back of the neck and the temples. Women have reported new onset of headaches with progesterone, which is likely when in the low progesterone zone.
Hot Flashes
This wonderful study by Dr. Jerilynn Prior is just published and demonstrates that vasomotor symptoms can be relieved by progesterone. When those tiny doses of progesterone are used, instability of the adrenals, insulin/glucose, and varying estrogen levels worsen vasomotor activity. Dr. Prior’s study used 300mg of oral progesterone. (7)
Incontinence
The urinary tract is especially rich with receptors for estriol and testosterone. Incontinence can be reversed with these hormones. Progesterone can also ease incontinence, so this symptom may come up in the estrogen dominance zone.
Urinary Infections
Progesterone does not create infections, but tissues depleted of estriol and testosterone are vulnerable to infections.
There are many women and practitioners that believe that women can use too much progesterone and interpret the signs of too little progesterone as an indication that progesterone is in excess, or ignore other deficiencies.
None of these complaints are correlated with progesterone levels that must be more than third-trimester pregnancy levels to legitimately exceed normal human levels.
Although generous amounts of progesterone can bring relief, we now know there are many ways to mitigate the estrogen burden to also bring relief.
This article was written by Carol Petersen at the Wellness by Design Project. As with anything you read on the internet, this article should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN does not agree or disagree with any of the materials posted. This article is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement.
Opinion Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of WHN/A4M. Any content provided by guest authors is of their own opinion and is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything else. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
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