Podlipodcast player Webplayer

Everyday Wellness: Midlife Hormones, Menopause, and Science for Women 35+

Everyday Wellness: Midlife Hormones, Menopause, and Science for Women 35+

Ep. 614 "The Progesterone Conversation We've Been Missing" | Menopause, Perimenopause, Progesterone

Everyday Wellness: Midlife Hormones, Menopause, and Science for Women 35+ · Jul 2, 2026 · 32:28

0:0032:28

Listen in the Podli app 🎧

Follow your favourite podcasts, listen offline and in the car with CarPlay and Android Auto, and always pick up where you left off. Free to try.

Welcome to this week’s Midlife Minute.

In this episode, we’re focusing on progesterone, exploring the differences between progesterone and progestins, how progesterone is used in clinical practice, and how individual responses can vary significantly.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:



Why bioidentical progesterone and synthetic progestins are not interchangeable




How early synthetic progestin studies continue to shape how progesterone is viewed




How different routes of progesterone administration produce different effects 




Why do some women experience stronger neurological or physical effects than others on the same progesterone dose




How cyclical versus continuous use can affect how progesterone is used in the body 




Why some women experience sleep or mood changes on oral progesterone




The importance of personalized decision-making




Connect with Cynthia Thurlow  



Follow on X, Instagram & LinkedIn




Check out Cynthia’s website.




Submit your questions to support@cynthiathurlow.com 




Join other like-minded women in a supportive, nurturing community: The Midlife Pause/Cynthia Thurlow. 




Purchase Cynthia’s book, The Menopause Gut.




Cynthia’s Intermittent Fasting Transformation Book




The Midlife Pause Supplement Line




Resources: 



The pharmacodynamics and safety of progesterone doi:10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2020.06.002




Profiles of plasma estrogens, progesterone and their metabolites after oral or vaginal administration of estradiol or progesterone doi:10.1016/0378-5122(93)90064-O




Pharmacokinetics of progesterone and its metabolites allopregnanolone and pregnanolone after oral administration of low-dose progesterone doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2005.11.005




Allopregnanolone and mood in the peripartum: a longitudinal assessment in healthy women doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.104465




Behavior of Male Gamete Fusogen GCS1/HAP2 and the Regulation in Arabidopsis Double Fertilization doi:10.3390/biom13020208




Tolerance to allopregnanolone with focus on the GABA receptor doi:10.1111/j.1476-5381.2010.01059.x




Effects of exercise training on the cardiovascular system: pharmacological approaches doi:10.1016/j.pharmthera.2007.03.010




Sex steroid induced negative mood may be explained by the paradoxical effect mediated by GABA modulators doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.02.003




Paradoxical effects of GABA modulators may explain sex steroid induced negative mood symptoms in some persons doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.03.061




Progesterone selectively increases amygdala reactivity in women doi:10.1038/sj.mp.4002030




Progesterone and allopregnanolone neuroprotective effects in the central nervous system doi:10.1016/S0006-8993(02)02366-5




Allopregnanolone and mood disorders doi:10.1016/j.pneurobio.2013.07.005




GABA receptor plasticity and neurosteroid cell withdrawal during the estrous cycle doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2800-09.2009




Unequal risks for breast cancer associated with different hormone replacement therapies: results from the E3N cohort study doi:10.1007/s10549-007-9523-x




Management of Menopausal Symptoms: A Review doi:10.1001/jama.2022.24140




Progesterone vs. synthetic progestins and the risk of breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis doi:10.1080/13697137.2018.1467611




Progesterone prevents sleep disturbances and modulates GH, TSH, and melatonin secretion in postmenopausal women doi:10.1210/jc.2010-2558

Episodes: Everyday Wellness: Midlife Hormones, Menopause, and Science for Women 35+

PodliGet the free Podli app
↓ App