If im able to get a referral to you are you able to prescribe compounded progesterone cream? I just talked to a telus health dr today and was informed I’d have to get it from a natural pathic dr or a hormone clinc like true balance. Had i known about you a few hours ago id of asked for the referral
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Have you had bloodwork done recently?
Yes, just this past weekend.
Hi Rae, this is a good question. I do not prescribe compounded creams (or any compounded HRT products) in my practice. The reason for this is that we do not have good evidence that these products are safe or effective in the management of menopause. They are a group of drugs which can contain a whole range of different things, and are not licensed or regulated in the way that non compounded HRT options are.
The progesterone part of HRT is there to protect a woman’s womb lining from the estrogen component of HRT (to stop it thickening in the presence of the estrogen, which increases the risk of womb cancer). There are a range of licensed progestogens (e.g. the Mirena IUD, oral micronized progesterone and others) which we know protect the womb adequately as part of HRT. Micronized progesterone (brand name Prometrium) is our human progesterone in an oral capsule which is licensed for womb protection. It is well tolerated and we have good data to confirm it protects the womb adequately when used with licensed doses of estrogen. By contrast, compounded progesterone creams are not adequate for womb protection, so are not something which I would prescribe or recommend. There are lots of safe, evidence based options for HRT which have been trialed in good quality scientific studies, where we have good evidence that they work. These products are standardized, licensed and regulated: they contain the same amount of drug in the same form every single time. This is in contrast to the compounded products which are made up by an individual pharmacist each time, so are very variable with their content, are non standardized and are not subject to any form of regulation. The terminology can seem confusing, but I hope that explains the difference between the two things, and the reasons I do not recommend compounded products.
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