Prometrium vs. Progesterone - what are your experiences?

I mean how stupid that we have to think of something as simple as driving true I couldn't drive with the other ones for a few hours after I took them but that's why I took them second before I went to sleep but these ones side effects last all day and can hit me suddenly ugh! Thankfully my mother in law is coming with me so she can take part of the driving :P

I'll let you know what I do. Thanks for letting me know I'm not crazy or the only one feeling this way about Progesterone.

This past weekend I almost went to the ER for about 3 days due to unbelievable vertigo feeling all day long. I couldn't put my head down or up without feeling extermely dizzy. I was even dizzy while I slept at night feeling the room moving, couldn't wash my face without holding on. I thought something bad was happening. I actually fell at the park in front of other parents when I got up. I stopped taking the prometrium because it was the only pill that said on it's label it may cause dizziness. I started feeling less dizzy on the 3rd day of not taking the pill at night. I am having a very hard time sleeping but I/m not dizzy.
I finally went to my primary doctor today to discuss what happened. I started telling him that I think the prometrium is possibly the problem because I feel less dizzy since I stopped it. As I pulled the bottle out I noticed on my new 90 day refill that it was not prometrium, it was generic PROGESTERONE. I had taken it for about 3 weeks. I called my pharmacy and of course said they legally have to have the dose in the same ranges. BULL, I thought I was dying with a brain tumor or something, especially since I had stage 4 cancer. Then I hit the internet. There is also another site called ask a patient that goes on and on about dizziness and vertigo. Thanks !!!

Tonight will be my third night. Already bleeding has stopped after 28 day..my first night I was walking like a drunk... PS I don't drink or smoke. My anixity seem to disappear . Next day by afternoon I was feeling like maybe this med was helping. 2nd night took it at 10:00. Stayed in bed. A.M oh my gosh the cloud could be lifting. No bleeding again.

For sometime now I have had swings of just feeling sick, out of sorts, fatiqued , etc, etc. then came the crazy period bleeding.

This was long. Just wanted to tell you and the others thanks for the great info. So helpful and I for sure will stay with brand Prometrium not generic. Who care about saving a few bucks when it's you health you are trying to save.

It didn't work and within three months I was in the same condition as I'd been without the medication at all. Prometrium is my magic pill (I am not peri-, post- or menopausal yet, it was given originally after a reproductive endocrinologist identified a lower-than-appropriate in comparison to the other hormones, level of progesterone and I credit it with 'curing' migraines and carry a child to term). I am currently researching whether or not Progestan is bioidentical or synthetic.

I was concerned as my family is riddled with cancer. LIterally every person on my mom's side of the family has died of it, except her. So i'm very hesitant about taking anything that could increase the chances, but I was so desperate I went on it, thinking it would be just for a little while. But when I'd try to go off it, the symptoms would return with a vengence and a little while became a year. Then a year and half. I kept asking to be moved to bioidenticals and kept getting a run around.

At first it was great, no symptoms, in fact I felt normal for a change in that there were no mood swings, it was like when you're in the middle of your cycle and you're not pmsing or about to pms. Just felt good. Then I started having terrible side effects, heart pounding, insomnia, always hungry, terrible headachs. Told doc thought it was progesterone, nobody would listen. Regular doctor made me have heart tests, holt monitor etc. Finally got ob/gyn to move me to estradial which is bioidentical to estrogen, but she said Kaiser didn't have a bioidentical to Progesterone yet.

I went off progesterone and then was a mess, emotional, bleeding, hot flashes. Went back on, as it would build up in my body over time, the stupid side effects kicked back in. I think I slept a total of 20 hours one month. it was ridiculous. It was like I was on speed. I beg doctor to write me a prescription for prometrium so i can get it from an outside compounding pharmacy, and i'm told they can't do that. I'd have to pay out of pocket to see a nonkaiser doctor, to get the script. Then about that time Kaiser started selling prometrium. Hallelujah. They switch me, im' in heaven, its awesome. I sleep like a baby, i feel like a human, i'm productive at work, no mood swings, no heart palpitations. Then 6 months later, I have my first period in 8 months and I start having mild palpitations and some insomnia. I don't make the connection (i find out later that they switched me to generic without telling me) then in october the symtoms get worse, come on with a bang, back almost going to hospital with heart pounding, can't think, can't work, hungry constantly, can't sleep. I check bottle and they switched me back to progesterone without telling me. I'm livid. I email doc and am told, its the same as prometrium because its microionized. I say, well what ever the delivery mechanism, it still says "progesterone FOR PROMETRIUM" not the other way around on the bottle.

I check with a nice pharamcist at kaiser and he shows me exactly when I was switched, and by who. I can't help but wonder if the docs are getting some kind of kick back from one of the drug companies. They definitely do NOT want to encourage women to take bioidenticals. Yet the tests prove if women my age are on progesterone medication for years, it increases heart attacks, strokes, and cancer.

8 emails back and forth between 2 different doctors. They admit they put me on a generic in june and switched me back to progesterone in October without telling me and the act like it was the pharmacy and the pharmacy says it came from the doctor."

This AFTER I had told the doctor about all the problems I had had with the medication. I feel betrayed and I'm furious. Yet they are trying to make me feel like there is zero difference between these pills OR if I don't buy that, that prometrium doesn't work... when I'm here to tell you, it does.

You have to take responsibility for your own health, and research and stay on top of your medication because they will switch you out without warning you.

However, while Prometrium is technically bioidentical or natural in molecular structure, an oral delivery system really doesn't do a good job of mimicking nature's way. Convenient, yes; optimal, probably not for most. Transmucosal delivery (usually in the form of a vaginal cream, gel, or suppository) most closely approximates nature, followed by transdermal delivery (cream rubbed into the skin).

As for the generic forms of Prometrium, they are required to be equivalent, but the inactive ingredients can deviate, which may account for the differences many seem to be experiencing.

Here everyone is the difference between medications and their generic forms. Generic forms are not made with the same ingredients! They may have the same "active ingredients" but they can have different "inactive ingredients" and that can make a huge difference for some of us. So, if your doctor puts you on Prometrium, don't think that the generic brand will offer you the same results, it may or may not. The difference for me was night and day.

Your pharmacist will confirm this.

My doc wrote a script for me and Walgreens filled it with generic progesterone made by WATSON. This continued working great. I switched my Rx to King Soopers (owned by Kroger) and within a week I started getting 1-2 flushes a day. Within two months this had slowly increased to at least 10-20 flushes per day which were also increasing in intensity. I finally began to wonder if it was due to changing brands since I noticed the new pill from Kroger was beige and not yellow like Watson. I learned the Kroger Rx was filled from a manufacturer called AKORN, so you might want to beware of this manufacturer. I have also heard Teva is a manufacturer that doesn't seem to work for many women as well.

I have switched back to Watson and I'll report back if this changes things. So far, the Watson pill looks identical to the Prometrium.

BTW - as one poster pointed out, transdermal absorption is supposed to be superior. I used this for years when I was pre-menopausal but no matter how much of the cream I used in a given day (and no matter which manufacturer) it didn't work for my hot flashes. Only the micronized oral natural progesterone made by Prometrium or Watson seems to work. And I have absolutely no side effects.

As a side note: I find I must also take 2-3 caps of plant-based estrogen per day or I'll experience a few daily flushes, even with the Prometrium/Watson.

I'm a nutritionist and I researched this carefully since soy is estrogenic which, if unopposed by progesterone, can lead to hormonal cancers. The key here is to be sure to also take natural progesterone to balance it correctly ("oppose" it). If 200 mg of Prometrium isn't working for you then you might want to give this a try. Also eating fermented soy daily, like Miso soup, is helpful. I add a little green onions and "sprouted" tofu to the miso. It's closest to fermented tofu (which I've never been able to find but have heard about). All forms of fermented soy are safe and healthy.

After checking and trying many brands I settled on 'Life Extension' Soy Isoflavones, and 'Nature's Answer' Red Clover. Neither contain any harmful fillers or lubricating agents and as such they are priced the best. I found the best price for Life Extension on Amazon. I have it on auto-ship and get a small discount and do not pay shipping. (If you're not an Amazon Prime member then consider ordering a 2-month supply at a time so you don't pay any shipping.) It costs about $19/bottle as opposed to nearly $30 at the health food stores. I get the red clover from VitaCost dot com (and the isoflavones run about $22 there).