The medication Utrogestan contains the active ingredient progesterone. Utrogestan is a naturally occurring female hormone used in combination with estrogen, another sex hormone, to block or control its tissue building effects. Utrogestan is typically used in hormone replacement therapy for women who are undergoing menopause and whose uteruses are still intact.
How Utrogestan Works
When women go through menopause their ovaries gradually produce less and less of the hormone estrogen, resulting in a decline in blood levels. Without sufficient estrogen, women can experience uncomfortable symptoms such as hot flushes, vaginal dryness or itching, irregular periods and mood swings.
This is where replacement therapy (HRT) can provide some short-relief, as estrogen can be given to supplement the naturally occurring process of menopause. Orogesterone is also a needed part of HRT for those who have not had a hysterectomy because estrogen can still stimulate growth of the womb lining (endometrium). This can lead to endometrial cancer, in a process known as combined HRT. Progesterone can oppose the estrogen’s tissue growth effect and reduce the risk of cancer. You and your physician must weigh the benefits and drawbacks, however, because progesterone does not eliminate the risk of developing cancer entirely.
How to Take Utrogestan
Estrogen supplements are taken on a continuous basis for HRT, which Utrogestan tablets balance the effect by taking the medication in one of two ways each month.
A patient, as prescribed by their doctor, may take one 200mg Utrogestan capsule daily, at bedtime for 12 days in the latter part of a 28 day cycle, i.e. from day 15 to day 26. This usually results in a withdrawal bleed that is similar to a period, which occurs the following week. Alternatively, the patient may also take one 100mg capsule of Utrogestan once daily, at bedtime on days 1 to 25 of each 28 day of the cycle; the benefit being less withdrawal bleeding.
Utrogestan capsules should always be taken on an empty stomach at bedtime, because patients may experience dizziness or drowsiness side effects.
Though Utrogestan affects individual people in many different ways, common reported side effects include: sleepiness, dizziness, breast tenderness, retention of water, depression, decreased sex drive, changes in menstrual bleeding, changes in weight, and changes in menstruation, among others. Also, irregular brown patches on the skin (usually on the face (chlosama)), have been known to occur through prolonged exposure to the sun; so minimizing that exposure through avoidance or some form of protection is advised.
