Progesterone 101: The Hormone Behind Your 3am Wake-Ups, Your Anxiety & Your Worst PMS
6/29/202621 min
You wake up at 3 a.m. with your heart racing, and you cannot figure out why. The anxiety out of nowhere, the PMS that got worse. It may trace back to one hormone that started leaving your body years before your first hot flash.
This episode is part of Tamsen Fadal’s series breaking down the topics from her New York Times bestselling book How to Menopause, one conversation at a time.
This week it's progesterone. Tamsen starts with a confession: her doctor prescribed it, and it sat in her medicine cabinet so long the pills congealed into a brick. She never took one, because nobody ever told her what progesterone was or why she needed it. So she spent a year struggling with the exact symptoms it would have helped.
She's not a doctor. She's a journalist who has lived this, breaking down what the leading menopause doctors she's interviewed have taught her, so you can take it to your own doctor.
Inside the episode:
- Why progesterone is one of the first hormones to drop, often years before anything else feels off
- The brain receptor that explains your 3 a.m. wake-ups
- Why it's non-negotiable if you still have your uterus and you're taking estrogen
- The straight answer on progesterone and breast cancer, and why the study that scared everyone doesn't tell the whole story
- Body identical vs. synthetic, plus the exact words to use with your doctor
- The one side effect that means you call your doctor instead of quitting You deserve to understand what's going into your body and why. Get the free Hormone Therapy 101 guide If you liked this conversation, check this out: The #1 Sleep Expert Reveals What’s Ruining Your Sleep
If you liked this conversation, check out the rest of the How To Menopause series:
Estrogen Down There 101: Here's Everything You Need to Know
Testosterone 101: Everything You Need to Know in 20 Minutes
Relationships 101: Is It Him or Is It Menopause? Here's How to Tell
Perimenopause 101: The Symptoms, Tests & Fixes No One Tells You About
Alcohol 101: Belly Fat, Bad Sleep and the Long-Term Cost of Drinking
Anxiety 101: What I Wish I Knew Before I Hit Perimenopause + How I Got My Life Back
Coming up: Mental Health, Estrogen 101 and more!
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Medical Disclaimer:
The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical concerns or treatment options. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Tamsen Show.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsTamsen Fadal· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Hi, friends. I'm so glad you're here with me today. If you're new here, we are in a series where I'm walking you chapter by chapter through my book, How to Menopause, and breaking down everything I've learned from interviewing the top docs in the space. Today, we're covering progesterone. So I'm gonna start with a story. You know I like stories. A few years ago, I was prescribed progesterone for the first time. It was an endocrinologist who gave it to me, who I love, and has these incredible rhinestone reading glasses that made her look like a cross between, like, a doctor and, um, a real housewife, which I mean as the highest compliment. She wrote me a prescription, told me to take one a night, and sent me on my way. I took the bottle home, along with the estrogen, put the bottle in my medicine cabinet, and then, I don't know, like nine months or a year later, when I went to use one, the whole thing had congealed into, like, a blob. The pills were, like, sticking to each other. It was, like, disgusting. I took a picture of it 'cause I could not believe... Like, they were like plasticky pills at first. The reason is, I hadn't taken a single one.
Elizabeth Day1:09
I'm Elizabeth Day, creator and host of How to Fail, where we hear from people like this.
Speaker 3· Soundbite1:15
For Schitt's Creek, for example, if I had a partner going into that experience, I certainly would not have had that partner coming out of that experience.
Speaker 4· Soundbite1:22
It's a talent to be a mom. [laughs] You know? It's a skill, and even- We'd actually seen Miranda fail at a