The most common method of progesterone delivery is via a cream base for transdermal application to the skin. The dictionary definition of “transdermal” is “supplying a medication in a form for absorption through the skin into the bloodstream.” The skin is an excellent medium for absorption. Progesterone cream is applied to the cheeks, neck, chest, breast, inner arms, palms of the hands, or soles of the feet, if not calloused. For best absorption, it is recommended to rotate the application site. Since progesterone is known for its relaxant properties, it is recommended to apply the cream before bedtime.
A word of caution…mineral oil creates a barrier on the skin, hence a barrier to the absorption of the progesterone cream. For this reason it is best to apply the cream over products that do not contain mineral oil. For maximum absorption, avoid applying progesterone cream over makeup, soaps, and lotions that contain mineral oil.
Other Hormone Delivery Methods
In the information below, Virginia Hopkins (www.virginiahopkinshealthwatch.com) provides a description of transdermal and other types of hormone delivery methods:
Hormone Delivery Systems: Pill, Patch or Pellet?
There are other important issues about how hormones are delivered. They can be given in a pill, as a troche/sublingual (held in the cheek or under the tongue), injected under the skin in time-release pellets, with vaginal suppositories, with injections, and through the skin (transdermal) with a cream or patch.
A hormone pill has to travel through the digestive system and liver before being delivered to the blood, so as much as 80 to 90 percent of it is lost in this process. Thus, a 100 mg progesterone pill may deliver 10 to 20 mg of progesterone to the blood and tissues. The other 80 to 90 mg may be excreted or turned into byproducts that can have a wide variety of (often negative) effects on the body.
Troche or sublingual hormone delivery causes a steep rise in hormones, followed by a steep fall, creating a roller coaster effect that does not promote hormone balance. Testosterone delivered this way can cause local effects such as hair growth on the face.
Pellets can be a convenient delivery system, but the downside is that once they’re injected under the skin they don’t come out, so a woman is stuck with those hormone dosages for months. If she’s getting too much estrogen or testosterone in particular, she may suffer months of unwanted side effects such as bloating, breakthrough bleeding, insomnia, weight gain and so forth. We also do not know the long term consequences of having pellets put under the skin over many years.
Vaginal suppositories are messy and drippy. Need I say more? Some people claim that vaginal hormone suppositories only have local effects on the vagina and uterus. Not so. This is essentially transdermal delivery, so once again the hormones are not showing up in the part of the blood that is being tested, so it’s assumed that they aren’t there! Hormones delivered vaginally have effects throughout the body.
Hormone injections are unnecessarily invasive, and tend to leave painful bumps at the injection site. This is a primitive way to deliver hormones.
Hormone creams and patches are presently the most effective hormone delivery system, because hormones enter the bloodstream directly and gradually. Virtually all of the hormone in the cream or patch gets into the bloodstream if it is put on thin areas of the skin such as the inner arms. If put on fatty areas such as the buttocks, the hormones may sit in the fat cells.
@dentpopcan Dr. Ruth said they have vaginal weighs which you can just hold in place for 30 minutes, several times a week. An exercise you can try is to squeeze in your vaginal muscles for 3 seconds, rest 3 seconds and try to do 5 to 10 reps. You can do it anywhere, even at work, and know one will know your doing vagina exercises right in front of them lol. Good luck.
Thank you for sharing, Stephaine! : ) Rosie