Precautions With Progesterone Therapy

Jan 25 , 2023 | 1 min read

For patients

Anticipated menstrual and premenstrual effects of progesterone therapy
Dizziness or giddiness and caution when driving or operating machines, especially in the initial days of therapy.
Side effects such as symptoms of thromboembolism, fluid retention, irregular vaginal bleeding, headache, breast tenderness, bloating, acne, and injection site pain.

Not to use other vaginal medicines if already using progesterone gel or insert. And if necessary, then use it at a gap of 6 hours at least.
Inform your doctor if you are planning to get pregnant.
Inform if you choose to breastfeed as progesterones are secreted in breast milk.
Stop progesterone and immediately inform your doctor if you get migraine or vision disturbances like blurred vision, double vision, vision deterioration or loss, or bulging of eyes.
Inform your doctor of any pre-existing illnesses or medicines you have been on or are contemplating.

Risk of cardiac disorders like MI, DVT, stroke, thromboembolism, thrombophlebitis, pulmonary embolism, and retinal thrombosis.
Additional risk factors - diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, history of VTE, obesity, tobacco use, SLE
Diabetic patients should be carefully monitored as they cause a decrease in glucose intolerance.
They cause fluid retention, so use them with caution in cardiac or renal impairment, migraine, epilepsy or seizure disorders, and asthma.

CNS effects - apart from those mentioned above, slurred speech, difficulty walking, vertigo, loss of consciousness, confusion, disorientation, shortness of breath
Geriatric patients >65 years - lower dosage in view of decreased hepatic, renal and cardiac function
Carcinogenesis - not associated with breast cancer when used for contraception over a long duration. A small increased risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women on HRT using a combination of estrogen and progesterone.