I have frequently heard from women who want to use bio identical creams for their hormonal symptoms, but are not sure whether the two things are compatible.

Many women do not realise that using forms of hormonal contraception such as the Pill, Implant or hormonal coil such as Mirena may interfere with the action of bioidentical hormones.

What’s the problem?

It is critical that you know when you can – and cannot – combine using the two  because the synthetic hormones in these products are usually progestins. Many women are told by contain progesterone, but they do not.

The problem arises because the synthetic progestins action mimics progesterone but it is not the same, in fact there are clear and substantial drawbacks to using synthetic hormones.

These synthetic progestins compete for the same receptor sites in the body as the bioidentical progesterone, and this will make both products less effective.

This is a clear problem if you are using contraceptive devices to prevent pregnancy because if you want to use bioidentical hormones then you would certainly need to take additional contraceptive precautions alongside using them.

However, women using the pill or coil in order to help with heavy bleeding can use bioidentical hormones, but they may need to use a slightly larger amount to compensate for the action of the progestins.

If however  you have a non-hormonal copper coil then it is fine to use bioidentical hormones alongside it.

The side effects issue

One of the main reasons women wish to use bioidentical natural progesterone alongside such products is to help with the side effects and that is certainly something that it can do if being used to help heavy menstrual bleeding.

These are some of the commonly listed side effects for the Mirena Coil for example:

*  menstrual pattern changes

*  breast tenderness

*  headaches

*  abdominal pain

*  nausea

*  skin disorders

*  mood changes

*  fluid retention

*  pelvic inflammatory disease

*  ovarian cysts

Who can use progesterone?

Women at perimenopause often overlook the fact that they can still become pregnant, so if it is essential to avoid pregnancy then it is not advisable to use progesterone alongside any product designed to prevent conception.

If you have been given the Pill/IUD/Coil in order to control heavy bleeding then it will help with the side effects but you may need to have a larger initial dose of the progesterone cream to start getting your symptoms under control and to rebalance the effect of the synthetic progestins.

Helpful information:

One of the other issues that can arise with using the synthetic progestin products such as the Pill and Coil at menopause is they can also affect your weight, and that is often one of the main symptoms that women struggle with.

If trying to control heavy bleeding, which is linked to oestrogen dominance, then using bioidentical natural progesterone can help.

If you would like more information, the following article will be helpful.

https://anna.blog.wellsprings-health.com/what-to-know-about-birth-control-and-menopause/