Progesterone and Weight Gain: What Users Say

• Lor...
• April 22, 2012

For Perimenopausal Symptoms "I am soon to be 49 and I was feeling so bad, hot flashes, 30 pounds of weight gain in 2 years, insomnia, foggy brain and a very large appetite, to name a few. But I saw a doctor (alternative) and he did blood work and found my testosterone was so low and my progesterone. So I now take a small dose of testosterone cream and 200 mg of natural progesterone. Can I tell you I feel like I did in my 30s. Use progesterone at night, testosterone in the morning. I have lost 12 pounds in about 40 days and it continues to fall off. Sleeping like a baby, no hot flashes and I think more clearly and my memory is awesome too. I do take a lot of supplements that work with the hormones."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 13, 2019

Progesterone "I am 21 years old and in about 2 months gained 30 pounds although I worked out consistently and kept a clean diet. In addition, I wasn’t sleeping, was retaining so much water I could not wear rings, and had horrific mood swings. However, my main problem was that I could no longer breathe, just speaking or walking felt like a marathon. For 8 months, I have had an endless nightmare of appointments and tests with different medical specialists with no answers. After loss of all hope, I finally decided to see a hormone specialist. Because of a mild progesterone deficiency, she recommended Prometrium for 6 weeks. I have been on 200 mg of Prometrium for two weeks now and after only 3 days, I started noticing my water retention lessening and I could breathe again! I can now work out better than I ever have been able to in my life, I sleep well, my stress levels are down, and my mood swings have subsided. This medication may have saved my life. Get your hormones checked!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 23, 2020

Progesterone for Uterine Bleeding "I am on 200 mg Prometrium due to uterus bleeding and enlarged uterus wall. Other than the bleeding, I had no post-menopause issues (I am 57 with high estrogen levels). After 2 days of taking the medication, bleeding stopped - great! After a few more days, I started gaining weight, breast tenderness, breast enlarging, very strange dreams every night, very tired during the day although I sleep at least 8 hours now, and bad headaches. Too many side effects for me. I went to my naturopathic doctor to do detailed hormone tests. Result = extremely high progesterone level. Make sure you get your hormones tested before taking the medication!"

• Jac...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 8, 2022

Progesterone for Progesterone Insufficiency "Side effects not worth the gain. Had been using bioidentical progesterone (via a troche) for the last 12 years with no side effects, until my doctor retired, leaving a 5-month wait for a new bio-id doctor willing to take on new patients. In the interim, I moved to an online service that prescribed Prometrium. It's awful. I wake each morning feeling like I've been hit by a bus: deeply tired, no energy, no libido, and a consistently flat mood bordering on mild depression with swings of moodiness. The worst symptom, though, is the extreme increase in asthma and struggle to breathe even after the lightest exertion (something I've not experienced before and is equally frightening for my family). The service advised me to double the estrogel, hoping to balance it, then to cut the Prometrium dosage in half, but that's causing noticeable weight gain and the side effects lessen on the day after I don't take it, but not significantly. It's been 3 months of struggle. This drug clearly doesn't suit me."

• Ste...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 2, 2020

Progesterone for Perimenopausal Symptoms "I started taking 200 mg day 14-28 of my cycle. My doctor had me combine it with a progesterone cream. My breasts became bigger and much more tender. I began steadily gaining weight, up 7 lbs now. I am going to go off the Prometrium and go back to the cream only and see if the sore breasts and weight gain subside. The cream worked well for me in the past, not sure why my doctor felt I needed both the cream and the pill. I do feel progesterone is wonderful for reducing mood swings and food cravings. That issue is all but abolished when I'm on the progesterones, I just am obviously not a fan of the weight gain. So if the goal of the medicine is to increase progesterone levels and decrease mood swings, it is effective."

• chi...
• March 10, 2010

Progesterone for Amenorrhea "This drug is effective at inducing a period, but it has awful side effects. Basically, you will feel pregnant-tired, dizzy, hungry for junk food, and bloated. My breasts grew half a size within 3 days of taking. Then the rest of me caught up and I gained 5 lbs in the 10-day time frame that I took this drug. But it did do what it was supposed to do, so I can't totally complain."