# Progesterone pessaries - can you take too much?



## Cumberland12 (Apr 22, 2013)

Hi there

We're currently on day 8 post day 5 embryo transfer.  My partner is really struggling with bloating and stomach cramp type pains. (It's not OHSS.)  We're doing a HPT on Thursday to find out if she's pregnant.  The difficulty is we don't know at the moment if the symptoms she's getting are the pessaries and/or that she is also pregnant.
Obviously if it's BFN then she can come off the pessaries on the weekend, but if she is pregnant I wondered would it be safe for her to reduce her dose of progesterone at all?  She's taking 2 daily x 400 Cyclogest at the moment and we wonder if it's too high for her? Would it be safer if she is pregnant to carry on the same dose during the first trimester though as she's started at this level?  To be honest we're unsure if she needs pessaries at all, but I know they do recommend if you go through IVF you should take them, so we're kind of 'scared' as it were not to take them.

Thanks for your help


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## mazv (Jul 31, 2006)

This dosage is standard for Cyclogest. The evidence base supports the use of progesterone during the 2ww but there is no proven benefit in continuing after this. Many clinics will advise to continue during the first trimester though. The bloating and cramp is a side effect of the pessaries but also occurs in pregnancy as the natural levels of progesterone rise. I'd advise keeping on the pessaries for now as per clinic advise. If you do have a positive pregnancy test the sysmptoms are likely to continue anyway regardless of whether you continue with the pessaries or not.


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