[bryony]

One for you, and this will give Bryony some homework as sure she will check every word,

Love Julie

I will, but I've got to get some work done - I'm not the boss!

I'm not too interested in Progesterone, as it doesn't figure in my plans, so I'm not sure how much help I'd be - Chrishoney has quite a bit to say about it though, as I discovered when I circulated a paper that I found on the GIRES(?) site. http://www.breastnexus.com/showthread.php?tid=10457

The only points I want to make are (a) there is talk about "natural" versus "synthetic" progesterone. As far as I can make out, "natural" refers to the actual chemical, Progesterone, because it occurs in the body, and "synthetic" refers to the chemical "Progestin" because it does not, though it used by the medical (orthodoxy) profession (to screw up people's lives). (b) There does not appear to be any herbal source of progesterone; Wild Yam and soy have to undergo chemical treatment in order to convert their precursor molecules into progesterone. So a "natural" Progesterone still needs to be "synthesized".

In the end, microgest is a synthesized chemical, identical to that produced by women, but there is no associated local history to prove its safety, unlike PM eaten as a vegetable for generations with no ill effects.

So, unlike HRT treatment for women, where Progesterone levels are monitored by doctors, this is self-medication, in spades. Yes, there will be an oral history from TSs who care to write up their subjective experiences on boards like these (over a much shorter period of time - the internet has only been around commercially for about 10 years, and how long has microgest been around?) and there will be doctors who will pontificate about their experiences with dosing up TSs (as part of the orthodoxy), but there are a lot of "unknown unknowns".

The main one being: who really knows what effects on the brain are caused by adding progesterone into the mix of the estrogen mimics? (A radical increase in libido seems a possibility, but is this necessarily a good thing? )

As far as I can see, it's a risk. With PM, the benefits outweigh the risks (for me). At the very least, I'd recommend caution and take the smallest dose that provides an agreeable effect.

B.