November 22, 2008

can a patient’s “natural” (drug-free) estrogen and progestrin levels be measured to target what’s needed?

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November 24, 2008

Jay W @ 3:13 pm

Unfortunately, the range of “normal” levels of estrogen varies widely enough that it is almost impossible to say whether a woman’s levels are “abnormal” or not. The amount of progesterone varies by an immense amount between normal cycles and pregnancy, so again, the term “normal” has little meaning.

Although doses vary slightly between oral contraceptives, most fall into general categories that differ very little between them except for some side effects and idiosyncratic effects.

As such, there can be very little to guide a doctor to recommend one oral contraceptive over another. In fact, when it comes to effectiveness, they are all essentially identical–they are all more than 99% effective, regardless of what your “normal” hormone levels are.

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