Many of the symptoms of PMS are consistent with estrogen dominance due to relative progesterone deficiency, which can be corrected by progesterone supplementation. Essentially no progesterone is made by the ovaries after menopause. Progesterone has many important roles in maintaining good health. Estrogen is still being produced by conversion of androstenedione in body fat. This is often sufficient when progesterone is added.
Progesterone stimulates new bone formation.
When progesterone is deficient, an alternative DHEA pathway is called upon to take up the slack. This leads to increased androgen production, which is the cause of the unwanted facial hair. Upon replacement of natural progesterone, facial hair will in time disappear or decrease. For women who experience hot flashes or other menopausal symptoms during the days off natural progesterone reduce the time off to 2-3 days for several months and then experiment with extending the days off back to 5 or 6. There are three inter-related components to the conventional doctors' error in believing that the only purpose for using progesterone in HRT is to protect against endometrial cancer and, thus, is not needed in a woman without her uterus.