Low progesterone and progesterone supplements

[Anonymous]

Anyone out there discover they had a low progesterone level in early pregnancy (for me, 6.5 weeks) and end up taking progesterone supplements? I'd like to hear about what sort of issues you had and what the outcome was. Low progesterone looks to be related to miscarriage, so I'm obviously not too thrilled with this information. Anyone have experiences to share?

[Anonymous]

I had low progesterone and took both suppositories as well as pills until week 14 to support my pregnancy. It was no big deal (although suppositories are kind of icky) and must have worked because I'm now 28 weeks and all is well. I always had low progesterone at the end of my cycle though so I was supplementing that from very early on. If your Dr. is suggesting a supplement, I suggest you take it, there's really no harm in it. I was on something crazy like 700mg a day but most people just start out small. I did not have any crazy hormonal reactions although the pills did make me a little sleepy.

[Anonymous]

Sorry you're having to go through this. I insisted on a progesterone test very early in my pregnancy (maybe 4 weeks) and it was just over 10. But got it tested a few days later and it had fallen slightly to just under 10. So I started using suppositories. When I finally got in to see my OB (the original tests were from just my GYN) she switched me to pills (prometrium) and I took those instead. I was really nervous too about what it meant for my baby, but my OB insisted that though >11 is normal and >20 preferred, that a lot of woman dont have it that high and it doesnt mean anything. It's just that most dont get it tested to even know to worry. I took the prometrium until week 12, went off it just like that one day, and now I'm 38 weeks and have what they tell me is a very healthy little girl in there.

Hope this helps!! Definitely get on the progesterone for peace of mind, but unless your levels are really low, it most likely doesn't mean anything.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks PPs for sharing your experiences. I had a subchorionic bleed show up on u/s at 6.5 weeks which is why I had my progesterone level checked. At 6.5 wks it was 12.8, they said it should be above 20, so I have now at 7.5 wks started the supplement. Hope this goes well. I have no idea what my progesterone levels looked like with my other two pregnancies - but those two came out just fine.

[Anonymous]

There is no evidence to show that progesterone supplements will harm your baby in any way. In fact, every person who has done IVF takes progesterone in some form after their transfer to usually about week 10-12 (because those women don't actually ovulate so there's no corpus luteum to let the body know to start producing its own progesterone).
And we all know that IVF has produced many healthy, happy babies!

[Anonymous]

I took them with my first son and am so grateful that my OB was proactive enough to monitor my levels. She described progesterone as "the glue that keeps the baby in the uterus".

Take the supplements!

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to get pregnant and learned that I have borderline low progesterone --- but since I suffer from migraines with aura, I would be at risk for suffering a stroke if I took progesterone. Has anyone else dealt with this?

[Anonymous]

To PP, find out if taking the suppositories would be as bad as taking progesterone orally vis-a-vis the migraine issues. I have a feeling the effects would be much less severe. I took the supplements - looks like a giant vitamin that you insert vaginally and it just dissipates. If it's anything like hormones in the pill vs. nuvaring, the hormones in vaginal inserts are usually a lot less with similar results.