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Going on Progesterone to End this flare

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Posted 7/28/2012 12:57 AM (GMT 0)
Has anyone tried progesterone (an anti inflammatory hormone which dips sharply right before monthly period and right after childbirth ->both times when i flare!) to stop a flare? Whether you tried it by accident and it worked or whether you specifically used it for UC.


Right now i have tried mesalamine suppositories, enemas, changing my oral meds, prednisone enemas, no gluten or dairy or sugar diet modification, high doses of probiotics LGG and others, homemade kefir, high dose licorice root, pomegranate juice, manuka honey 550 (which is the highest activity known to man), bee propolis, fish oil of various types, flax seed oil, aloe vera juice, lyprinol, slipppery elm, l-glutamine, boswellia (for 2-3 weeks only), pomegranate peel water enema (pome peel has been used traditionally to aid with ulcer healing), metamucil, low fibre diet, turmeric (now for 1 month).

Im trying to avoid prednisone. I want to be able to get out of a flare without this evil drug.

I can safely say that this disease has destroyed my life: rendered me into a 'toilet mother' and a 'UC wife'. Im sooo full of it im considering getting a permanent ileo. Im at my wit's end and i cannot stand this s**t any longer. It's affecting my work too.

Im seeing my GI on monday and asking for LDN. But before that i want to try progesterone- any suggestions?

Thanks for letting me vent *cries*
Posted 7/28/2012 2:00 AM (GMT 0)
This is so interesting, Conquer UC. I also have troubles when I start my cycle, in fact my current flare started like this.

I suspected had bowel bleeding during my period for quite a few months before I actually continued to flare during my cycle in July of 2011. I didn't know I had UC. I thought I had endometriosis or something. I didn't go to the doctor until I had bleeding that didn't stop.

Anyways, you weren't asking for MY history, but the idea that low progesterone has something to do with this makes a lot of sense to me.

I also have another auto immune disease that bothers me more just before my period.

How will you get progesterone?

Oh, and you're so young to have this disease. I hope you find some relief soon, it must be so difficult to care for a baby when you have this!
Posted 7/28/2012 4:01 AM (GMT 0)
I haven't tried it but I notice I felt better when I started progesterone only birth control ppills. I would have to go back on my old pills for a while to really test the theory (I did switch back once but it's not accurate to base my theory on one test). Please let me know how you do. I definitely think there is something to this for some of us.

Have you considered antitbiocs? How about an antidepressant? I was in a horrible flare and I started one and I started feeling better. Perhaps it wasn't the cause but I definitely felt less negative and I was able to focus on other things. I was also on pred at the time and having trouble tapering off, you can image the stress I was under. I was unemployed, couldn't afford medication.

I ordered the birth control pills from Canada. I take cerazette. I went back to Ortho Tri Cyclen for a couple months and I started to flare pretty badly by the end. I went back to cerazette and I've been almost 100% since. The best thing is that you don't get a period on this pill and I don't get migraines. I also don't have spotting like I did on Ortho. It seems to work very well for me except I get some pimples. It also deosn't increase the rate of DVT which is good for UCers because we are at an increased rate. Estrogen isn't a good mix with a UCer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progestogen-only_pill

Posted 7/28/2012 4:23 AM (GMT 0)
I also had flares and severe migraines that were triggered by hormone dips. The hormone drops were measured by an endocrinologist. I now know that the ob/Gyn should have found a hormone supplement that is as close a match to your hormone dip levels as possible. I use a patch, Combi, because my digestive system was not able to absorb enough hormone from a pill. My new Gyn tested absorption rates and has me on a hormone level much lower than a birth control pill. Hurray!
I am very glad everyone is asking about this. When I went through it, I had no one who knew anything about UC and hormones. I started going through this process about ten years ago.
Posted 7/28/2012 6:01 AM (GMT 0)
Definitely seems plausible for some women. Hope it works!
Posted 7/28/2012 12:47 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks fr the replies, it's good to see some of you had positive results with this.
I have an apptmnt with endocrinologist end of aug. it's too far out so I'm gonna call them and try to move it closer.
I'm gonna call my obgyn, he can advise me over the phone usually - so I may try him first.
Is there like a progesterone that is lower than the pill dose? Some of you mentioned it.
Posted 7/28/2012 1:07 PM (GMT 0)
Would love to hear how it goes! I always get worse before my periods. My UC started after childbirth. Good luck!
Posted 7/28/2012 2:01 PM (GMT 0)
Hey there,

Sorry to hear you're so miserable. Interestingly, tho, I did read a study about half a year ago about using progesterone supplements for UC patients. Some patients had a great deal of success. So, yeah, it makes biological sense and scientific sense. You should be able to get progesterone supplements fairly easily.

I just wanted to say (because I can hear your pain and frustration) that you shouldn't give up hope on going back into remission. I was diagnosed with UC in October of 2011 when I was pregnant with my son. He was born in January of 2012, and things REALLY spiraled out of control, and I was hospitalized in February of 2012. I flared from October 2011 until June of 2012, and tried a thousand different things. Every day I just wished that I had a bag so that I could live a *normal* life again. There are 3 bathrooms in my house and I was STILL having accidents for not being able to get there in time!

But, not I am in remission. It's so weird to feel normal again! After flaring for 9 months, I am finally eating what I want, when I want, and living life like a normal person.

For me, I think the things that work the best are the homemade kefir daily, VSL#3 DS daily, Remicade every 8 weeks, and Imuran (100mg daily). It was really the Imuran that finally kicked everything into remission, I think.

So, I hope you can hang in there, and that the progesterone works for you!

Ta and take care,
Lisa
Posted 6/25/2014 3:17 AM (GMT 0)
Interested in other people taking progesterone to help. I am having my levels tested in a few weeks now that my cycle has normalized after getting off birth control. On the pill (trinessa, trisprintec) I always got a bit looser stool during my period, whether in a flare or not (and usually I was not!) I've been in an awful ongoing flare for over a year, and stopped my BC in October to be on less chemicals/hormones. My naturopath is doing the testing now and has found some research about it as a UC treatment. I hope something can be found in my tests to help me. I'm pretty much always feeling crappy (haha) but on my period currently it's been even worse. :(
Posted 6/25/2014 4:44 AM (GMT 0)
We'll I have since flared while taking the progestin pills. I guess it wasn't my "cure" afterAll. Everything is just so inconsistent. Seems like, when things flare, they flare and nothing helps forever so I don't even know if it was helping or if it never helped and it was something else. This illness is so unpredictable and frustrating
Posted 6/25/2014 4:49 AM (GMT 0)
Im currently getting saliva hormone tests, my prev hormone tests done by an Endo were blood ones and they didn't check progesterone either. Apparently blood ones are not the best because it doesn't tell you how much of the hormone is actually available or "free" vs protein bound.
But yeh im interested to hear if anyone had success going on progesterone and stopping a flareup.
Posted 6/25/2014 4:16 PM (GMT 0)
My best days of the month always coincide with when Progesterone would be highest in my cycle. I know it slows the digestive tract but don't know anything about its relationship with inflammation. Would be great to hear how you get on with it.
Posted 6/26/2014 12:00 PM (GMT 0)
Just did the saliva test for hormones. Been on bio identical hormones for a while. All my levels were off the chart too high. Went off them . Detoxing going to start over. I think hormones play a part but I'm not sure how much. I read thyroid imbalance and hormonal imbalance play a part in colitis Dz.
Posted 8/30/2014 10:55 AM (GMT 0)
Conquer - just wondering if you did try progesterone?

I saw a post on another forum where someone said that they were in remission when using a Mirena coil (it releases a progesterone equivalent hormone) and flared on removal - that got me thinking about progesterone again. Apparently it thickens cervical mucous - wonder if it might help thicken colon mucous as well....I know it is said to slow the digestive tract.
Posted 9/2/2014 1:20 AM (GMT 0)
Hello London Lurker, no I have not tried it yet because:
1) my saliva hormone tests came back wayyyy up. So i contacted the lab and they told me it is because i was taking entocort at the same time. Apparently steroids make all hormones go up. So it was hard to tell. They agreed to re-test after im done taking steroids. But i need to wait 2-3 months before testing to allow hormone levels to go back to normal.

2) i started taking 6mp about 3 months ago. And i wanted to give it a chance to work. otherwise i won't know what's working and what's not.

I'll update this thread when i do the re-test.
Posted 9/2/2014 2:45 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you for the update - hope the 6mp will work for you. I might be trying it soon as got too sick on Aza
Posted 9/4/2014 3:50 PM (GMT 0)
Thought I'd look up if I could find anything on link between progesterone and cigarette smoking because both are things that seem to have mysterious impact on UC. There is a bit out there that seems to say that smoking can lead to increased progesterone...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21325691 "Cigarette smoke increases progesterone receptor and homeobox A10 expression in human endometrium and endometrial cells: a potential role in the decreased prevalence of endometrial pathology in smokers"
Apparently there is a decreased incidence of endometrial disease in smokers

Also www.medscape.com/viewarticle/514240_4 talks about elevated baseline of progesterone in heavy smokers
Posted 5/18/2015 3:33 AM (GMT 0)
I have symptoms of low progesterone. My first symptoms of flare came right at the end of my pregnancy. I was tested for C diff at the time which was negative. (since then I've had C diff three times...) I had to be put on progesterone pills at the beginning of this pregnancy because I kept having recurrent miscarriages.

After that first episode, it was 7 years later, after a topical clindamycin rx for acne, that I was hit with UC full force.

I was looking into some natural progesterone analogs to help with some of my other problems, and decided to come to HW to see if it had been brought up before in relation to UC. What I've read has given me encouragement to try it.

If the analogs do not help, I will ask my doc for a prescription. I have had a progesterone test done, and it was low. Hard to interpret because I do not have cycles anymore since I had an endometrial ablation years ago.
Posted 5/18/2015 9:50 PM (GMT 0)
Hope it is a help for you. Please do let us know how you get on. I was listening to an interview with a nutrition coach who was talking about vitamin E boosting progesterone production. When I recorded my diet on the site cronometer for a few weeks to get an idea how I was doing at covering the nutrients I found it consistently difficult to get enough vit E.

Otherwise, long article here on ways to boost progesterone, looks quite well researched
/sites.google.com/site/miscarriageresearch/hormones-and-miscarriage/progesterone-research/how-to-increase-progesterone
Posted 5/19/2015 1:48 AM (GMT 0)
The low progesterone is the first hormones to drop when you start pre-menopause. So I read in a book about female hormones. I stated to read that book cause I suspected I was in premenopausal state because of the intense night sweets and other symptoms. As I had an endometrial ablation I can't tell with my periods. I got my hormone's level tested (blood test). According to what the nurse said I would be in a advance premenopausal state or even menopaused. I will see my family doctor on June 9 so I will know more about it.

But in anyways, I have been having more difficult flare for almost 2 years. One lasted 16 months I got a break from January to now. I really beleived it was link to the fact I was no longer smoking cigarettes as my 16 months flare started when I had quitted smoking.

However now I'm wondering if it not related to the drop of progesterone ??

I'm really hoping that once I start my hormone's therapy I will go back to have " Baby flares " as before. I would be happy to have two to three weeks flares once or twice a year as before.

I get that you are at the end of your rope. I was so so depressed last week when I realized I'm entering in an other flare... As like you I thought of getting a surgery because I just don't want to take the Pred and so on... That is my personal opinion but I would rather have a surgery.

Don't give up maybe the progesterone will help.
Posted 5/19/2015 9:56 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,
I'm new here. In the middle of my first major flare. Dx of ulcerative proctitis about 10-15 years ago. In 2010, told there was no sign of it in my latest colonoscopy. Back with a vengeance in April after a stomach virus.

Upped my Canasa suppositories to 2x day. Have a prescription for cortisone enemas. I'm reluctant to start since i don't know if I'll need them for life--would rather not if I can avoid that.

Also have been told by gyn that I need to take progesterone. Have been menopausal for 2 years, but blood work shows that I am not in menopause. I'm curious about the connection between progesterone and UC/UP.

Any advice/suggestions welcome.

Woman 60, dx UP in 2001 (approx)
remission until April 2015
Canasa suppositories 1000 mg maintenance 2 - 3x/week. now 2x day.
Posted 5/21/2015 8:57 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome. I don't think we can advise on progesterone as we are all wondering about the connection....would be very interesting if it helped you though.

I have used steroid enemas as needed and it never meant staying on them for life so I'd give it a try if you need them for now.
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