What is the rate of progesterone and what to do if it is high or low

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

This hormone is especially important for expectant mothers.

What is progesterone

Progesterone is a hormone that helps the female body prepare for conception, enables the fertilized egg to gain a foothold in the uterus and provides nutrition to the embryo. On average, pregnant women have about 10 times higher progesterone levels in the Progesterone Test than non-pregnant women.

For men, this hormone is also important Progesterone, although it does not play such a significant role.

In more detail about how progesterone affects the body, Lifehacker has already written in a separate article. And here we will find out why it is necessary to measure the level of the hormone in the blood and what its deficiency or excess can indicate.

Why check the level of progesterone in the blood

A huge proportion of the hormone is produced in the ovaries, and its level depends on the phase of the monthly cycle or, if pregnancy has begun, on its term. However, some progesterone is produced in the adrenal glands and testes. This fact is of little importance for women, but it is key for men.

Your doctor will ask you to have a blood test for progesterone to get Progesterone:

• Assess the performance of the ovaries. In particular, find out whether ovulation occurs (whether a formed, ready-to-conceive egg comes out of the ovary).
• Find out if ovulation has taken place at the moment. As a rule, this is important in the treatment of infertility, when the release of the egg is stimulated by medications and it is necessary to check whether they have worked.
• Clarify the diagnosis if an ectopic pregnancy or early miscarriage is suspected.
• Track how pregnancy develops if there is a risk of miscarriage (for example, a woman has previously experienced several miscarriages in a row). In this case, the analysis for progesterone is done regularly, with an interval of several days. If suddenly the level of the hormone begins to decrease, the pregnant woman will be urgently prescribed replacement therapy - taking synthetic progesterone.
• Determine the causes of abnormal uterine bleeding in non-pregnant women. In this case, a progesterone test is prescribed along with tests for other hormones: follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing (LH), human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and a complete blood count.
• Find out if there are serious ovarian diseases. For example, progesterone levels can change dramatically in cancer.
• Clarify the diagnosis if there is a suspicion of adrenal dysfunction. In this case, the analysis is prescribed only for men.

How are blood progesterone levels measured?

Blood for progesterone is taken from a vein. No special training is required, but like most blood tests, this test is best done on an empty stomach.

Before sending you for analysis, the doctor will definitely clarify whether you are taking any hormonal drugs. And it may ask you to cancel them 2-3 days before going to the laboratory. Also, if we are talking about a woman, it will be necessary to clarify the day of the monthly cycle or the expected duration of pregnancy.

What is the rate of progesterone in the blood

Progesterone levels are measured in nanograms per milliliter (ng / ml) or nanomoles per liter (nmol / L).

The progesterone rate for adult men (over 18 years old) is PGSN - Clinical: Progesterone, Serum less than 20 ng / ml. In children and adolescents, the upper limit can reach 0.35 ng / ml.

In women, the situation is somewhat more confusing, since the level of progesterone is closely related to the phase of the monthly cycle or the duration of pregnancy. The standard limits of the norm look like this:

• In the first half of the monthly cycle before ovulation: less than 0.89 ng / ml.
• During ovulation: less than 12 ng / ml.
• After ovulation: 1, 8-24 ng / ml.
• In the first trimester of pregnancy: 11–44 ng / ml.
• In the second trimester of pregnancy: 25–83 ng / ml.
• In the third trimester of pregnancy: 58-214 ng / ml.

Please note that the range of normal values may differ slightly from those given above. It depends on the particular laboratory and the reagents that are used in it. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the values indicated on the research form.

Why progesterone levels are elevated

Among women

Increased progesterone can mean the following in the Progesterone Test:

• You are pregnant.
• You are pregnant with two or more children.
• Pregnancy develops with some pathologies.
• You have cysts on your ovaries.
• There is a risk of ovarian tumor.

In men

An increase in the level of the hormone can tell Progesterone about such disorders:

• Excessive production of progesterone by the adrenal glands.
• Congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
• Adrenal cancer.

Why is progesterone levels low

For men, there is no lower limit of the norm. As we have already said, the main thing is that the level of the hormone in the blood of an adult does not exceed 20 ng / ml.

In women, a lack of progesterone in the blood can be associated with the following conditions:

• Lack of normal ovulation and ovarian dysfunction in general.
• Ectopic pregnancy.
• Frozen pregnancy or miscarriage.
• Preeclampsia (this is a serious pathology of pregnancy).
• Amenorrhea. In this case, the reduced level of progesterone is the main reason for the absence of menstruation.

What to do if progesterone levels are abnormal

First of all, don't be nervous. Progesterone is a hormone that only your doctor can assess. Self-diagnosis and even more self-medication in this case are unacceptable.

After receiving the test results, show them to the specialist who ordered the test for you. The doctor will evaluate the information received, correlate it with your symptoms and the results of the physical examination, and, if necessary, prescribe treatment.