Progest

Progesterone is a prescription medication used to cause menstrual periods in women who are premenopausal but have stopped having periods due to low progesterone levels in their bodies. It is also used to prevent abnormal thickening of the lining of the uterus in women taking estrogen.

Progesterone belongs to a group of drugs called progestins, which work to bring menstruation by causing "withdrawal" bleeding when the medication is stopped. 

This medication comes in capsule form and is taken once a day, at bedtime for 10 or 12 continuous days per cycle, depending on the condition being treated.

Common side effects of progesterone include headaches, breast pain, and irregular vaginal bleeding or spotting.

Progest is part of the drug class:

• Pregnen 4 derivatives

Side effects are grouped by how serious they are and how often they happen when you are treated:

Serious, but less common side effects include:

• Risk to the Fetus: Cases of cleft palate, cleft lip, hypospadias, ventricular septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus, and other congenital heart defects.
• Abnormal Blood Clotting: Stroke, heart attack, pulmonary embolus, visual loss or blindness.

Some of the warning signs of serious side effects include:

• Changes in vision or speech
• Sudden new severe headaches
• Severe pains in your chest or legs with or without shortness of breath, weakness and fatigue
• Dizziness and faintness
• Vomiting

Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of these warning signs, or any other unusual symptoms that concern you.

Less serious, but common side effects include:

• Headaches
• Breast pain
• Irregular vaginal bleeding or spotting
• Stomach/abdominal cramps, bloating
• Nausea and vomiting
• Hair loss
• Fluid retention
• Vaginal yeast infection

These are not all the possible side effects of progesterone capsules. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for advice about side effects. You may report side effects to Abbott Laboratories at 1-800-241-1643 or to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

What you can do to lower your chances of getting a serious side effect with progesterone:

• Talk with your healthcare provider regularly about whether you should continue taking progesterone.
• See your healthcare provider right away if you get unusual vaginal bleeding while taking progesterone.
• Have a pelvic exam, breast exam, and mammogram (breast X-ray) every year unless your healthcare provider tells you something else. If members of your family have had breast cancer or if you have ever had breast lumps or an abnormal mammogram, you may need to have breast exams more often.
• If you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol (fat in the blood), diabetes, are overweight, or if you use tobacco, you may have higher chances for getting heart disease. Ask your healthcare provider for ways to lower your chances for getting heart disease.

Tell your healthcare provider:

• If you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
• About all of your medical problems. Your healthcare provider may need to check you more carefully if you have certain conditions, such as asthma (wheezing), epilepsy (seizures), diabetes, migraine, endometriosis, lupus, problems with your heart, liver, thyroid, or kidneys, or have high calcium levels in your blood.
• About all the medicines you take.

• Progesterone are to be taken at bedtime as some women become very drowsy and/or dizzy after taking progesterone. In a few cases, symptoms may include blurred vision, difficulty speaking, difficulty with walking, and feeling abnormal. If you experience these symptoms, discuss them with your healthcare provider right away.

Capsules

• If you experience difficulty in swallowing progesterone, it is recommended that you take your daily dose at bedtime with a glass of water while in the standing position.

Capsules:

• Prevention of Endometrial Hyperplasia: A postmenopausal woman with a uterus who is taking estrogens should take a single daily dose of 200 mg progesterone at bedtime for 12 continuous days per 28-day cycle.
• Secondary Amenorrhea: Progesterone may be given as a single daily dose of 400 mg at bedtime for 10 days.