Cycle Math Confusion

Using progesterone cream to alleviate cycle related issues, such as irregularity and mood swings, can be very helpful - IF you know how to do it correctly. Particularly, it involves some cycle math.

Below is a common question I see when women are trying a progesterone cream, and it’s really an indicator that the person has not been informed how to use it correctly:

“Just started using a progesterone cream day 16-28 in my cycle. If my period is delayed, when do I start using the cream again?”

If you have a fairly regular cycle, as implied in the question above, you will always have a day 16.

The counting starts on the first day of the period (=bleeding). Even if it’s only light bleeding. The first day of bleeding, is the first day of the new cycle.

So.

If your period, during any given cycle, would come after say 32 days or 27 days or 48 days, it is irrelevant. The first day of bleeding would still be day 1 marking the beginning of a new cycle. And 15 days after that would be cycle day 16.

However, giving someone the advice to use a progesterone cream on cycle days 16-28 is arbitrary. This is assuming the person always ovulates at day 14, and that is not always the case.

Using progesterone during the luteal phase of the cycle can be helpful if you suffer from PMS and/or heavy menstrual bleeding, but it requires a sufficiently high dose to be effective in such a case, and most progesterone creams on the market are simply not concentrated enough to do that particular job.

With a few exceptions.

Even so, you still need to apply a progesterone cream correctly and not just rub it randomly on “thin skin”. Skin can be a very effective barrier…