Progesterone with short cycles, when to take?

[wonderstuff]

So I’ve recently been prescribed HRT, estrogen patches and progesterone tablets, I’m supposed to take the tablets from day 14-28 of my cycle, but my cycle seems to have reduced, so now I’m on day 27 but I’ve been bleeding for 3 days, so should i stop taking the tablets and restart on day 14, stop syncing with my bleeds, take it for a shorter time less often? There’s nothing in the leaflet to say.

I’ve had the same issue OP. I phoned my GP to ask. They got the pharmacist to send me a message saying I could stop taking the progesterone tablets on day 26 or 27 (when I started bleeding). However I spoke to my GP about this about a month later (she specialises in Menopause) and she told me that strictly speaking they advise women to get into a two weeks on two weeks off pattern to make it easier to remember when to take them. Since then I’ve also looked more into the reasons why we take progesterone with oestrogen and have decided to start my tablets a day earlier than I was previously taking them and continue taking them on the first day I bleed just to be on the safe side (this will never be greater than 14 days of tablets at a time).
I would try and speak to your GP Surgery about it just to be sure.

You can't synch the progesterone with your own cycles as they will become very irregular.

You need to take the progesterone on the SAME DAY each month for 12/14 days. So if that was today, you'd start again for 12 days from 21 Sept.

If you own cycle breaks though, keep taking the tablets.

Eventually, you will get into the HRT cycle.

Your GP was right

Women who use tablets or patches which come in packs don't start trying to change the patch or take the tablets in a different order to the blister pack, trying to work around their cycles- they just follow the packets.

It's no different with using Utrogestan separately.

You need to take the progesterone on the SAME DAY each month for 12/14 days. So if that was today, you'd start again for 12 days from 21 Sept.

So if the last 'day 1' of oral progesterone for 12 days was on 4 August, it would the same day in September even though this seems very close to the end of the period for Aug? I am confused.

You just start progesterone on the same DATE each month.

It doesn't matter which date you start progesterone because you are creating a HRT cycle (not following your own.)

Many women use the 1st of each month as DAY1 for progesterone. It makes it easier to remember.

If you have only just had a bleed, you could wait 2 weeks and start it then - eg 15 Sept- and keep to the 15th every month (October, November, etc.)

you just keep taking the progesterone for 14 days every 2 weeks regardless of what your bleeding is doing. My HRT nurse claimed I'd start bleeding a couple of days after finishing the progesterone......even though I started on the oestrogen on day 1 of my next cycle and hence the progesterone on day 14 this has literally happened about twice!! My cycles are all over the place from 19 to 40 days.

What would you do if you'd been taking it wrongly, and feeling pretty terrible? I had been timing oral prog. based on period first day. Currently overdue from day 28 by 3 days.

The reason i wanted oral progesterone was because I have had terrible reaction to oral contraceptives and wanted to be able to stop hrt completely if i reacted badly again. Thankfully, 2 months in I’m feeling okay, better than before, but I’ve made a few changes after feeling really rough so difficult to say what effects hrt is having. I definitely don’t have to awful depression that the pill gave me.

I will disregard my bleeding then and keep taking 2 weeks on 2 weeks off. I’m due to see GP in a month but of course it’s difficult to get an appointment..

I will disregard my bleeding then and keep taking 2 weeks on 2 weeks off. I’m due to see GP in a month but of course it’s difficult to get an appointment..

The info is online on lots of medical sites- you don't need to see a GP for this.

The dose is 12 days. The 14 days is an option to reduce blood loss if it's an issue.

The only reason it's become 14 days is because a Dr who wrote a HRT guide for GPs said 'Advise women it's 2 weeks on/ off so they remember more easily'. (This is online.)

There are many drs, mainly consultants, who will tell you to use the same DATE each month.

By all means do 14 days if it's easier to remember but if you have side effects from it you'll be happier with just 12 days.

The important thing is that you don't go for weeks and weeks with no bleed.
Choose a date to start and keep to that date in future.

It's not a 'big issue' and the only reason to use progesterone is so the womb lining does not continue to grow. A few days or even weeks isn't going to make a huge difference.

Thank you, it may explain a lot. Thanks OP for raising it as I would never have considered it, and hope that you are feeling well with the HRT.