Prometrium and Progesterone Testing

Get a second opinion. Yes they can check your progesterone levels. I have also had issues and they checked mine along with my HCG levels.

I took progeterone suppositories (yuck) when pregnant with my daughter (now almost 2), but it was only during the first trimester.

Good luck and try not to stress.

You doctor is lying! Find another doctor RIGHT NOW! I had two children pass away before discovering I had progesterone problems. We had given up having any more children. We were surprised with another pregnancy.....I got a new OB. He tested all hormone levels and discovered my progesterone was low. From then on I tested ever week until the baby was full term. I had to supplement with shots of natural progesterone for nearly the entire pregnancy. PM me if you have any questions. Find a doctor that is affiliated with the Pope Paul the VI Institute. They train doctors from all over the world.

Edit:
I didn't have enough time to post everything I wanted to say.

Yes, progesterone tests can very. You need to go with someone that knows what they are doing. An endocrinologist may be able to help if you can't hook up with someone from the PPVI Institute. I live quite a distance from the doctors there so I had my blood drawn at my local hospital and sent to the national lab at the Institute. They then would give me a call to adjust my dosage of progesterone. It is best if natural progesterone is used. The doctor that founded the Institute is known all around the world for cutting edge research in fertility care.

My local OB did not believe in following progesterone past the first trimester if at all. He kind of made light of the progesterone. At one point during the my pregnancy the local hospital accidentally ran the blood work in their own lab. The test can vary depending on how it is run. By the time everything was squared away my progesterone had fallen and I began having serious cramping. They were able to catch it in time and once my levels were adjusted all was well again. By the end of the pregnancy I could feel when the levels were falling and could predict when the blood work was going to show a drop.

Many doctors these days think that if your progesterone is low that there is an issue with the baby and the pregnancy wasn't meant to be, so to speak. That is not the case. Many also believe that the placenta will produce enough progesterone in the second trimester so testing at that time is useless. That also is not the case. I had babies that died in the first trimester as well as in the third.

Find a doctor that is more up to date on the latest information on progesterone. I did and my youngest child wouldn't be here had I not.

Time for a second opinion! Call around, call your ins. provider, tell them what you are looking for & they can steer you (basically) to another Doc., hospitals also generally can give you the names of Docs that fit the criteria of what you are looking for, a central women's clinic also may be able to help with your questions. Online advice is available as well I don't know of any specific sites other than Web M.D. but I'm sure if you type in different key words you will eventually find the sites to answer your questions. It may be that your current Doc is giving you sound advice but since getting & staying PG is such a difficult thing for you why take a chance?

Be safe, be calm, become a mom...Best to you, my thoughts are with you as you walk your journey to Motherhood, sister.

There is a test for hormones and it is called a "spit" test. If your doctor can't do it go to a naturopath and they will do it. Simple, easy and if you need progesterone then they will give you a natural one.

N.

They can check your progesterone level your blood, but it doesn't really tell you all that much, especially if your levels are typically low. I was on progesterone suppositories for my previous and current pregnancy. My current dr. had me get weekly blood checks - but honestly it just stressed me out more than anything. My levels fluctuated above and below the "typical" range even with the suppositories....it truly just caused me more worry. Every time my levels would dip I would panic, but it is not like my Dr. was going to change or do anything different. I was already on a pretty high dosage of progesterone. I think it sounds like your Dr. is on top of it. I never had to take prometrium, but Rachel C.'s advice seems to make a lot of sense considering my own experience as well. Good luck - relax. The body has a way of coming through.

Congrats on your pregnancy! I'm so sorry to hear you are so stressed about taking Prometrium in pregnancy. It sounds like you need just a little more info to put your mind at ease. Here's a link that might help explain why prometrium is sometimes prescribed in first trimester pregnancy and the risks and benefits: http://menopause.emedtv.com/prometrium/prometrium-during-....
Because you have a history of low progesterone and infertility concerns, prometrium might help you by increasing the thickness of your uterine lining creating a healthy blood supply to nourish your growing baby. In general, we try to avoid hormones during pregnancy (especially synthetic ones like in birth control pills) because with any addition of a drug, the risk of birth defects increases. Recent studies with bio-identical progesterone like Prometrium show no increased risk of birth defects and some Drs see a decrease risk of miscarriage in women taking this drug who have documented low progesterone. Your Dr is not being careless by putting you on this dosage of Prometrium without checking your hormone levels, she is being proactive. There's always a risk to everything you take in your body while pregnant, but your risks are pretty minimal with this drug.
What your Dr. means by answering your question about making sure your pregnancy is OK with "there's no test for that" is the following:1) normal progesterone levels and hcg levels do not in tell us if "everything is OK" with the baby 2) only time will tell if your pregnancy is healthy and will continue to term. As hard as it is, you have to just wait and see. Most miscarriages that occur because of chromosome problems in the baby occur before 8 weeks gestation. I encourage you to have an ultrasound at around 8-9 weeks of pregnancy to see if the baby is growing at a normal rate and if you can see a normal heartbeat. If you see a heartbeat on an 8 week ultrasound, you have a 95% chance that your pregnancy will NOT miscarry.
Please relax and enjoy the holidays. There really is nothing more you can do to prevent miscarriage. It makes sense for you to take the Prometrium given your history. Progesterone cream is poorly absorbed by the body and the liver metabolizes and removes most of it from the body before it gets to your uterus. Hope this helps. Merry Christmas! Congrats and best wishes in 2012! Nurse Midwife Mom of 3

Progestrone supplements is very helpful for low progestrone. Take it as a suppository not orally. I would take it for 14 weeks. I have had issues w low progestrone/miscarriage too. Oh and they can easily test your progestrone with a simple blood test, they should moniter you through the pregnancy if they wont get a new doctor or a specialist!