# Too much progesterone?



## Blissfull (Jan 27, 2014)

I read your 'How to learn from your failed IVFs', and remember you saying that progesterone levels can be TOO high. I had transfer yesterday of a perfect 8 cell. Had been taking the 300 mg Lutinus per day for 2 days prior to this. My progesterone level was 166. Its quite high I think. My lining was over 10 mm before ER.
Could I maybe benefit from taking only 200 mg Lutinus per day?
 xx Bliss



Disclaimer - Please consult you clinic with regards to altering your medication, as they know your full circumstances. Answers from FF members are merely suggestions and advice but your clinic know your particular case. Fertility Friends accept no responsibility for members who self medicate.


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## poppy05 (Apr 10, 2006)

Hi blissful
I have prgesterone issues as in they are always to low, my consultant told me you cant over dose on it, and your body will only take what it needs, im currently on 2 cyclogest pessaries and 1 gestone injection a day, i had my ET yesterday and i had my levels checked, they were 119 and they said it was fine, i wouldnt worry about it being high, but if in doubt then ask your clinic


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## Blissfull (Jan 27, 2014)

Thank you very much Poppy!
My clinic doesnt individualise the treatment, so I dont think they would ever ask me to take less Lutinus, even if the number was over 300 like it was in my last cycle.
Good luck with your treatment!
xx Bliss


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## poppy05 (Apr 10, 2006)

Agate is alot more knowledgable than me regarding this kind of thing, i just go by what my clinic have said to me, and that is that you cant have too much, i guess theres no need for it to be so high but i dont think it can do any harm?


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## Caan (May 24, 2010)

Hi,

correct me if I am wrong I thought (hope) you can't have too much Progesterone!!? i am doing 100mg IM gestone with my present FET,  due to having sorry TMI coming up the runs, (have diverticular disease!) for the first 12weeks of my previous successful DE cycle, with lower dose progesterone pessaries, so don't need extra progesterone, just something that doesn't cause me grief!!

Ask your clinic ASAP, they should reassure you> Good Luck!! Cx


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## Lilly83 (Jan 19, 2012)

I'm not particularly in the know nor am I Agate so not sure If I'm qualified to answer  

I believe there's a small risk to baby boys of hypospadia from too much prog, but obviously much better to take advice from your clinic/consultant. If you are worried get a prog test done. I'm not clued up in this area but I was told that when researching 

I asked for Gestone this time after always bleeding before test day so I don't think the pessaries do the trick for me 

L x


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## agate (Nov 14, 2008)

just to be absolutely clear, I'm not sure I've said that high blood progesterone is a problem? Its not discussed in the post you mentioned about failed IVF. So I think maybe we've got crossed wires.

In my immunes faq there is some discussion about a study on EGG DONOR recipients which which found that pregnancy rates fell when high INITIAL doses of VAGINAL progesterone doses were used compared to using a lower initial starting dose - but the thoughts behind that were to mimic the slower climb in progesterone that happens on a natural conception. (The study didn't look at blood levels). On a DE cycle, the doc is trying to mimic what the body would do and give enough progesterone to mature the lining before ET, because, except on a natural cycle transfer, the ovaries are not helping out with progesterone. Then after ET he is just trying to sustain the levels so you don't get a bleed.

Its a different situation when you have an OE cycle, because then you also have progesterone from the ovaries (and it will be very dependent on the quality of the follicles you had and their number) - so the aim of taking progesterone is different - its not to mature the lining because the progesterone from the ovaries will already be doing that - its to avoid a crash down in progesterone if the punctured follicles start to breakdown too early.

But to go back to Blissful's actual question: *any change in your meds needs to be discussed with your own clinic *- but I would be surprised if they they would advise you to drop the dose at this point because you don't want a drop in progesterone to trigger early shedding of the lining.


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## Blissfull (Jan 27, 2014)

Thank you very much Agate Im sorry if Ive misunderstood what you wrote about progesterone. 
What do you know of 'normal levels' after egg retrieval? I had 4 eggs retrieved, and one perfect put back. Is 166 nmol/l (52 ng/ml) ok? Im taking Parlodel since end of January also, and my prolactin has come down from 835 to 400. Can this, or the fact that I had a pregnyl injection 6 days before the progesterone-bloodtest, OR maybe that Im taking 20 mg of Prednisone a day have affected the result?
Bliss


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## agate (Nov 14, 2008)

I don't THINK prolactin levels or pregnyl jabs will change the progesterone level, except if the lower PRL gave you slightly better follicle quality.  Likewise with pred, if you had, say anti-progesterone antibodies and the pred managed to suppress them you might have higher progesterone levels.

With stimmed OE, the variation in progesterone levels between people can be enormous because production per follicle varies, number of follicles varies and the rate of progesterone breakdown varies too, but if you keep in mind that on a natural cycle you are going to have something like 30-60 nmol/l with one ov'd follicle at 7dpo, you can easily expect 4 times that if you have EC'd 4 follicles at 7dpo.  160/4 = 40 at D3 so it doesn't seem a crazy high level.


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## Blissfull (Jan 27, 2014)

As always you are super helpful Agate! You ought to become an IVF-doc, you would certainly know a lot more than the IVF-docs Ive met so far (maybe except the folks at Serum who seem equally knowledgable). 
Thank you very much!


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## agate (Nov 14, 2008)

d3 is an odd day to test p4.  if you are checking to make sure its not dipping after OE then you'd test maybe d7ish and on bfp.  you'd test on ET day or just before really for a medicated FET or DE where you don't have any natural progesterone around and are just wanting to make sure the dose is getting into your blood.... but I can't see the logic of testing p4 on d3 for stimmed oe.

as to being helpful... I think you understand this is a peer-support site... so the logic is that if you are getting support here... then its nice for you to come on to give support to other people.


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## Blissfull (Jan 27, 2014)

I know you moderators are all here to help. Im just impressed with your particular knowledge! I hope you can take a compliment!
Yes I asked for the test on transfer day, also had estradiol and prolactin tested, to make sure I dont need extra hcg support etc on top of the Lutinus. 
But maybe what you are saying is, that I should test again on 7dpo which is tomorrow, to be sure.
xx Bliss


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## agate (Nov 14, 2008)

you need to ask your own doc, but personally it seems pointless to test now because you can expect your levels to be either similar to what you had on d3.


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## Lilly83 (Jan 19, 2012)

I'm not sure where you are cycling but have you thought about just paying for an extra consultation the help answer all your questions? I'm presuming you aren't able to phone/email your clinic with all your queries like a lot of us can? I paid £250 to see my consultant privately when I was nhs funded just as I felt I had a lot of questions needing answering and needed to thrash out my decisions regarding donor eggs

I only suggest this as I can see you have a lot of worries and queries 

L


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## Blissfull (Jan 27, 2014)

Hi Lily!
Thanks! No my own IVF-doctor wouldnt be open to this kind of question, this is why Im asking on Fertility Friends. I try and be my own advocate. I also live in a country where they refuse to discuss immune therapy, so I dont discuss it with them, but get the therapy abroad.
Have a lovely day!


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