DR. JOHN R. LEE
PROGESTERONE & LIBIDO


"...The effect of progesterone on human libido has been largely ignored in mainstream medical research.  The common 'wisdom' is that estrogen is the primary sex-drive hormone in women. The experience of my progesterone patients, however, does not bear this out. Their flagging libido returned only when progesterone was added. Many of my medical colleagues have the notion that testosterone turns on libido in females, completely overlooking the role of progesterone."

PROGESTERONE & SLEEP PATTERNS

"...Many of my patients have volunteered that the first benefit they perceived from using natural progesterone was an improved sleep pattern. After years of unsettled sleep they now look forward to retiring each night because they know they will enjoy sound sleep and awaken refreshed in the morning. This is one of the reasons I tend to recommend that progesterone cream be applied at bedtime."

OSTEOPOROSIS & PROGESTERONE

"...The makers of Premarin and other estrogen manufacturers would have us all believing that estrogen loss is the major hormonal factor in osteoporosis in women. ...The more
important factor in osteoporosis is the lack of progesterone, which causes a decrease in new bone formation. Adding progesterone will actively increase bone mass and density and can reverse osteoporosis."

PROGESTERONE & HEART DISEASE

"...A woman's passage through menopause results in a greater loss of progesterone than of estrogen. Perhaps the increase in heart disease risk after menopause is due more to progesterone deficiency than to estrogen deficiency. ...Progesterone increases the burning of fats for energy and, in addition, has anti-inflammatory effects. Both of these actions would be protectrive against coronary heart disease. Progesterone protects the integrity and function of cell membranes, whereas estrogen allows an influx of sodium and water while allowing loss of potassium and magnesium. Progesterone, a natural diuretic, promotes better sleep patterns and helps one deal with stress. When one reviews the known actions of progesterone, it is clear that many of its actions are also beneficial to the heart."

OVARIAN CYSTS & PROGESTERONE

"...An alternative treatment for ovarian cysts is natural progesterone. The signaling mechanism that shutsoff ovulation in one ovary each cycle is the production of progesterone in the other. If sufficient natural progesterone is supplemented prior to ovulation, LH levels are inhibited and both ovaries think the other one has ovulated, so regular ovulation does not occur.
(This is the same effect as contraceptive pills.) Similarly, the high estriol and progesterone levels throughout pregnancy successfully inhibit ovarian activity for nine months. Therefore, adding natural progesterone from day 10 to day 26 of the cycle suppresses LH and its luteinizing effects. Thus the ovarian cyst will not be stimulated, and in the passage of one or two such monthly cycles, will very likely shrink and disappear without further treatment."

FOREWORD

"I first heard of natural progesterone seventeen years ago. Twenty-three years out of medical school and in my twentieth year of family practice in Mill Valley, California, I had been invited to present a report on hypoglycemia to the Orthomolecular Medical Society in San
Francisco. After giving my paper, I returned to the audience to listen to the next presentation, a talk by Ray Peat, Ph.D., of Oregon. His subject was natural progesterone, its many roles in human health, and a criticism of the medical profession for having ignored this important hormone in the care of women's health. As I recall, Dr. Peat argued that giving unopposed estrogen (estrogen replacement without progesterone) to women after menopause was, in
short, the wrong thing to be doing. The force of his argument, the scientfic knowledge he laid out, and the references he provided were a clear challenge to the prevailing practice of most of us in the room. We had all been taught that menopause (when the ovaries stopped making
their hormones) led to a a variety of female complaints that represented estrogen deficiency. We had believed it obvious to treat such patients with estrogen. Yet here was a Ph.D. in biochemistry telling us we were wrong."

POSTPARTUM BLUES & PROGESTERONE

"Many women experience depression in the days (and weeks) following childbirth. Other symptoms include headache, irritability, and sleeplessness. The depresson can be incapacitating and prolonged. Research by Brian Harris and colleagues in Wales found that, among 120 women, those with the highest prenatal and lowest postnatal progesterone levels also scored highest on measures of postpartum despression scores.

"...It would seem appropriate to measure progesterone levels a day or two after childbirth and, if found to be low, progesterone could be promptly supplemented. It is possible that this simple and safe therapy could make postpartum depression much easier to treat."

THE ESTROGEN MYTH

"Most physicians are attempting to push hormone replacement therapy (HRT) featuring synthetic estrogens and progestins onto ALL menopausal women. Their enthusiasm for these drugs, however, is not backed up by the facts. Let's examine some of the claims being
made for HRT.

"The chief argument for postmenopauseal estrogen supplementation is the keenly ingrained assumption of estrogen deficiency after menopause. This is touted in all pharmaceutical estrogen ads, many medical texts, lay publications, and by mainstream medical practitioners.
Women are reminded that their mood swings, depressions, hot flashes, vaginal dryness, loss of sex drive, and accelerating osteoporosis are indisputable evidence of estrogen deficiency. Menopause is treated as the onset of an estrogen deficiency disease.

"It is true that menopause is known to be associated with decreasing estrogen levels, but what is not known is whether these decreased levels of estrogen do in fact cause all the symptoms of menopause."

In view of the above information, more and more women are now choosing a natural, safer, and much more effective alternative. Dr. John Lee (as well as many other medical doctors) advise using a natural transdermal progesterone cream to assist with the symptoms of
"female" problems.