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You are here: Home / Hormone Imbalance / Common Signs of Progesterone Deficiency

Common Signs of Progesterone Deficiency

Last updated on March 1, 2019 By Jing J. 23 Comments

If you suffer from infertility, miscarriage, PMS, insomnia or mood swings, progesterone deficiency would be the reason behind your hormonal imbalances. 

signs of progesterone deficiency

If you experience PMS, irregular periods or infertility, low progesterone may be the reason behind your menstrual disharmonies – and the physical and emotional discomforts that accompany them.

In this post, I’ll help you understand how progesterone affects your menstrual cycles, whether you have signs of progesterone deficiency, and what you can do to increase your progesterone naturally.

What Does Progesterone Do for a Woman

Progesterone is very important for women during the reproductive years. It helps regulate the menstrual cycle, facilitate and sustain a pregnancy, counter balance estrogens, and promote a feeling of calmness and contentment. 

1. Facilitate and sustain a Pregnancy

Progesterone means “pro gestation” in Latin. And its name pretty much sums up its most important function – helping a woman to conceive and sustain a pregnancy.

It does so by raising the basal body temperature, providing blood supply and nutrients to the uterus, and increasing immunity to protect the development of the fertilized egg.

what does progesterone do for a woman

2. Balance Estrogen

In addition, progesterone acts as a great harmonizer to balance estrogen levels. Without this counterbalance, there can be too much estrogen in the body – which not only creates irregular cycles and PMS, but also increases the risk of infertility, fibroids, PCOS, endometriosis, and even cancer.

3. Calm Emotions

On an emotional level, progesterone is a “life is good” kind of hormone. It’s calming, relaxing, and has a sedative quality. It gives you a sense of contentment and helps you sleep.

4. Regulate Menstrual Cycles

Progesterone is produced immediately after a woman ovulates (as shown in the graph below). The level peaks about one week before the next expected menstruation and falls when no fertilization takes place.

If there is a fertilized egg, the body continues to produce a large amount of progesterone to support the development of the fetus during pregnancy.

As you can see, progesterone plays a dominant role in the second half of the menstrual cycle and is crucial for maintaining its regularity – and harmony.

estrogen and progesterone chart

Source: Armand Grimshaw, M.D.

How Do I Know if I Have Low Progesterone

The most common signs of progesterone deficiency are related to its most important functions:

  • Maintaining the regularity of the monthly cycle,
  • Counterbalancing estrogen,
  • Providing emotional comfort, and
  • Supporting pregnancy.

Your progesterone levels may be low if you have one or more of the following symptoms:

what are the symptoms of low progesterone

1. Irregular Periods

Ovulation determines the timing of the menstrual cycle. If you don’t ovulate, your ovaries will not produce and release progesterone. So irregular periods is the first sign that your progesterone levels may be low. 

Below are some examples of irregular menstrual cycles:

Amenorrhea (no period)

When there’s no ovulation there will be no period and the ovaries only produce a bare minimum amount of progesterone.

Oligomenorrhea (infrequent periods)

In this case, ovulation may only happen every few months, and so does the period.

Heavy and frequent periods

When there’s a prolonged progesterone deficiency, estrogen levels may be elevated without the counterbalancing effect of progesterone.

Because estrogen helps thicken the endometrial lining, high estrogen levels can cause tissue buildup in the uterus and result in heaving bleeding and frequent periods.

Spotting a few days before period

Here, progesterone levels drop rapidly and prematurely during the menstrual cycle, causing period-like bleeding.

2. PMS and Estrogen Dominance

The appropriate estrogen and progesterone ratio is crucial for a harmonious cycle – one free of emotional turmoil and physical discomfort.

When progesterone is low and fails to counterbalance estrogen, it leads to strogen dominance and produces various PMS symptoms.

Here are a few examples:

  • Because progesterone helps release excess fluid in the body, low progesterone can cause water retention and weight gain.
  • Due to its role in raising the body temperature and promoting metabolism, low progesterone can make you feel tired and sluggish.
  • It may also cause digestive issues such as bloating and sugar cravings.
  • And when there’s excessive estrogen due to progesterone deficiency, there may be signs of estrogen dominance such as tender and painful breasts, headaches, irritability, anxiety, anger and insomnia (which we’ll discuss in sign #3).

3. Poor Sleep, Anxiety, Irritability, and Mood Swings

Progesterone stimulates GABA receptors. GABA is a neurotransmitter that sends chemical messages through the brain and nervous system.

The role of GABA is to inhibit or reduce the activity of the neurons or nerve cells, which have a sedative effect on the moods.

This perhaps explains why many women feel their best during the second trimester of pregnancy when progesterone level is high.

Correspondingly, if progesterone is low due to menstrual disharmonies or during perimenopause and menopause, one tends to feel irritated and anxious, have lower tolerance for stress, and sleep poorly at night.

4. Infertility and Miscarriages

One of the manifestations of low progesterone is a luteal phase defect (LPD), which occurs when the corpus luteum fails to produce enough progesterone during the two-week period spanning ovulation to menstruation.

You may be diagnosed with LPD when the second half of your menstrual cycle is 10 days or less, or if you have low progesterone on day 21 of the menstrual cycle, or both.

LPD is found in about 10% of women with infertility, and 35% of those women who experience recurrent miscarriages.

This makes sense, considering one of the most important roles of progesterone is to support fertility and sustain pregnancy.

Recommendations for Progesterone Deficiency

If the symptoms of low progesterone persist over a period of time, it’s important to look into the causes and use natural remedies to rebalance your hormones. 
 
Here are my recommendations:
 

1. Take a Progesterone Test

If you have one or more symptoms discussed above, it helps to get your progesterone and other key hormones tested. 

Our friends at True Health Labs provide female hormone imbalance test that you can take at the convenience of your own home.

After you take the test, you can also schedule a consultation with Dr. Brady Hurst and his colleagues to explain the results to you.

Standard Reference Range for Progesterone

For your info, here’s the standard reference range for progesterone:

  • 0.2 – 0.8 ng/ml during follicular phase (the first half of your menstrual cycle)
  • 4.1 – 23.7 ng/ml during luteal phase (the second half of your menstrual cycle)
  • 0.1 – 0.6 ng/ml for post-menopausal

So if your progesterone level during the luteal phase is lower than 4.1 ng/ml, it indicates an insufficient level of progesterone.

2. Understand the Causes of Low Progesterone

causes of low progesterone

There are various reasons that can cause your progesterone levels to be low.

For example, it may be a result of infrequent ovulation. It could be due to adrenal fatigue or an underactive thyroid. Or it may be a consequence of higher estrogen or prolactin levels.

It’s helpful to understand your specific cause. This will help you choose the right remedies.

To learn more, read the 7 most common causes of low progesterone.

3. Support Your Progesterone Levels Naturally

Once you identify the right cause, it’s time to use proven, natural remedies to increase your progesteorne productions. 

Maintaining adequate progesterone levels is one of the keys to solving the hormone puzzle. So, please take your time to digest this information and come up with a plan to improve your hormonal and overall health. A small but right action can make a noticeable difference.

And as always, please leave a comment to share your questions and experiences.

Hormone Balance Kit

Boost Progesterone

Vitex (proven to help treat low progesterone and regulate menstrual cycles in more than 60 years of clinical research, including 5 randomized trials)

Vitamin B6 (one of the best vitamins to boost progesterone)

Progesterone Cream (bio-identical hormonal support)

Reduce Estrogen Dominance

Liver Cleanse Detox and Repair Formula (support liver functions)

Dim Plus (improve estrogen metabolism)

Support Adrenal and Thyroid Functions

Adrenal Health Daily Support  (promote overall hormone balance)

Thyroid Support Complex (support energy and metabolism)

Balance Nutrition

Once Daily Organic Whole Food Vitamin Supplement (provide essential nutrients for health and hormone balance)

Liquid Iron (support healthy blood)

Recommended Reading

The Hormone Cure, by Dr. Sara Gottfried

Cooking for Hormone Balance, by Magdalena Wszelaki

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Related Posts

  • Progesterone Deficiency: 3 Reasons Why Your Progesterone Level is Low
  • Natural Supplements to Increase Progesterone
  • Low Progesterone Insomnia
  • Thyroid and Menstrual Cycles: Symptoms of a Sluggish Thyroid and What to Do About It
  • 7 Most Common Signs of Adrenal Fatigue

Please help us educate other women in your circle. Thank you!

Hi, this is Jing. I created Cycle Harmony to share what I've learned to live in harmony with my body - and my life. Join us and share yours @facebook.com/cycleharmony!

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  1. Jan Drake Bakke says

    October 10, 2018 at 7:33 pm

    I am really struggling. My legs are so severly fatigyed and my jaw is barely able to open. I do have both low progesterone and also low estrogen too. I am not well at all. I was just given a pacemaker. My heart rate became severely low too. I have not tried the meds yet. Severly afraid. I react so hard to medicines. Do I go ahead and try the progesterone pills and estrogen too? Maybe it is another imbalance? know. Should I try b6? My body is burning up and my jaw is severly almost shut. It hurts with fatigue. I am scared. My phone number i 702-737-6068. Have you heard of any of this? Sincerely, Jan

    Reply
    • Jing says

      October 24, 2018 at 7:46 pm

      Hi Jan, I’m so sorry to hear that you’re suffering. Based on your description, your symptoms are beyond hormonal imbalance. I highly recommend that you see a holistic doctor (e.g., a Chinese Medicine practioner) who can look at your body as a whole system and take steps to rebalance it. Are you living in Northern California? There should have good practioners there. My friend Jason Moskovitz practices in Oregon area. He is an excellent doctor who may be able to help you. You can reach out to him and see what he says. http://www.newharmonyhealth.com/about/

      Reply
  2. Virna Simner says

    December 10, 2017 at 7:43 pm

    Great information but I’d love some ideas of food to eat…instead of food I can’t..and can’t afford organic

    Reply
  3. quresha says

    July 29, 2016 at 5:53 am

    great information but I do hve cycle for almost 2month,ihve alot of lower back pain n sometimes abdominal pain n hoping vry much 2 conceive but i do not know weather ma horminal drop.Any information pliz .thnxs

    Reply
  4. Libraryun says

    October 28, 2013 at 8:47 pm

    Bek,

    I’ve been diagnosed with Cyclical Vomittiting Sydrome and the cycle seems to be a few days before my periods. From what I can tell, maybe when my hormones drop? I’ve not figured it out yet, but want you to know you aren’t the only one with this symptom. Diet and some natural hormone supplements helping by also Zofran for when it is bad.

    Best, K

    Reply
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