im interesting in additionally suppressing HPG axis without super high E(can cause mood swings)
what other benefits of prog?
im worried about converting into DHT in liver via oral route(i dont like rectal method…)
and also worried that is increase sex drive,
I HATE ITyes, prog generally increases libido (but it doesn’t feel like male libido, which is what I actually hate).
If you’re only going to take it orally, don’t bother tbh - it probably won’t help you much at all.
I took it for the reason you mentioned - to help suppress testosterone production, and then to help me sleep when my E levels were high when I was using monotherapy to suppress T.
But I only took it rectally, and I only recommend you take it rectally. There’s not much point in taking it orally.
is possible to take prog sublingualy?
or transdermal, progestogel
The article I linked to covers this:
https://transfemscience.org/articles/oral-p4-low-levels/
the t;dl answer is basically no - rectal administration is really the best option.
It’s not really a big deal tbh, plenty of medications are administered rectally (or vaginally).
here’s the longer answer:
for sublingual there are two problems:
Sublingual progesterone appears to achieve high and more physiological progesterone levels than oral progesterone but has a short duration of highly elevated progesterone levels similarly and necessitates administration several times per day (Wiki; Graph). Moreover, although sublingual progesterone may have been more widely available in the past (Wiki), it is available today only in a couple of Eastern European countries (Wiki).
so:
1. though it raises the blood progesterone levels much better than oral route, the metabolism is too spikey so you don’t really benefit from consistently elevated blood progesterone levels, making it somewhat pointless (this is a similar problem with sublingual estrogen)
2. sublingual progesterone is not available for most people, very few will have access to it
The problem with transdermal is that progesterone does not absorb through the skin well, so it doesn’t raise blood progesterone levels sufficiently, it’s similarly low as oral route:
It is notable that transdermal progesterone achieves very low progesterone levels similarly to oral progesterone and is not a good option for progesterone therapy (Wiki; Hermann et al., 2005; Graph). Progesterone levels with neovaginal administration of progesterone in those who have undergone penile inversion vaginoplasty are likely to be low similarly.
so again, not an option.
The real alternative to rectal is daily injections - which is again impractical not just from a cost perspective, but because injectable progesterone is not widely available.
This is why rectal administration is basically the only reasonable route of administration for progesterone.
Способ применения и дозы 1 аппликация (2,5 г геля), содержащая 0,025 г прогестерона, наносится на кожу молочных желез аппликатором-дозатором до полного всасывания 1-2 раза ежедневно, sorry for russian im lazy to find manufacturer instruction in english it saids to put to breasts
so progestogel can be used only for breasts growth?
As already mentioned, progestogel, just like oral progesterone, does not sufficiently raise blood progesterone levels. The conclusion is not that progestogel can only be used for breast growth, but instead that it won’t successfully help a transfeminine individual raise their blood progesterone to be similar to cis female levels, making it an insufficient route of administration.
It won’t work, don’t take it - it’s a waste of money and time.
Realistically the only option is rectal administration of oral progesterone pills.
how the fuck on 341 pg estro, LH increased to 2.40 while it stable zero even on 120pg… maybe its just lab error or every day flustrations im on transdermal E
I’m also not thrilled about the rectal route just because of the increased logistics. Thats what I’m doing though because it’s kinda the only available option for me atm. There are also subdermal implants for progesterone but I’m not sure how to get them.
What for you is the increased logistics of the rectal route? I find it almost as easy as taking it orally (no need for water to wash it down, even). The main logistics is just remembering to do it and washing my hands after.
Mostly defecation timing. I dont want to take it only to need to poop an hour later, and I feel very unmotivated right before bed. Here is where someone chimes in with disbelief that I cant predict when I’ll need to poop or feel if I’ll need to soon, but my bowels just dont work that way. I fucking hate the internet sometimes.
oh, yeah - the only time I take it is right before bed - not just for the poop reasons but also the drowsiness it induces and the way it helps me sleep longer. The way I fix the motivation & brain problems is to use routine - I have a routine of showering, brushing teeth, moisturizing skin, etc. right before bed and I just pop the progesterone in as a part of that night-time routine. Establishing the routine is hard, but once it is established (maybe around 1 - 2 months of consistently doing it every night), it becomes automatic and easy. I used to not take care of myself at all, and I had to gradually build a routine.
and I’m the same with my bowels, particularly since I started estrogen - on testosterone I had fairly predictable bowel movements, but with estrogen I just never know these days.
I’ve almost never had an issue (except maybe when sick) where I had a bowel movement after my night-time routine, though.
