We’re not just walking wombs!

I often see women who have had hysterectomies and then required hormone replacement and who have only been given oestrogen. That’s because traditional medicine has always prescribed progesterone (or more likely a non-bioidentical progestin) solely for the purpose of keeping the lining of the womb thin, and therefore progesterone has been considered unnecessary if you don’t have a womb. But we’re not just walking wombs! We have progesterone receptors in other places such as the breast and brain. We need progesterone to:

• Promote a healthy sex hormone balance
• Have a calming effect
• Help sleep
• Help to enhance mood
• Increase sex drive
• Help use fat for energy

Many women feel better on oestrogen plus progesterone replacement, particularly if they have pre-existing conditions such as endometriosis.