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Q: Are my Hormones within the Normal Range? Risks of Antibioti
asked by: DoctorQuestion on August 25th, 2006
Doctor Question
Hi,

i'm 11 weeks pregnant and had some blood tests done last week to determine my estradiol and progesterone levels and was wondering if you could tell me if they fall within the normal range. I can't find any other figures online or in my medical books that correspond with the ones that the lab sent me, so have nothing as a reference point.

Estradiol 12336 pmol/l , 3355 ng/l
progesterone 116.4 nmol/l

what does the pmol/l stand for and the nmol/l and what does that correspond to in terms of per mg or the standard measuring system that i see online most of the time.

It really confused me becuase the normal values that they showed for the various stages of the menstrual cycle on the same paper were much lower than mine, and it looked like my levels were extremely elevated, especially the estradiol.

I am concerned simply becuase I am very high risk for miscarriage and have a large hematoma at the base of my uterus that has been bleeding out, and we thought I had miscarried 3 weeks ago because I suddenly lost about 2 cups of blood. We went to the doctor the next day and the baby was fine, the placenta was anchored in much higher up in my uterus so was ok.

However, the doctor put me on duphaston (dydrogesterone) a synthetic progesterone as a precaution to try and prevent any cramping and help the uterus relax etc to prevent miscarriage. I had the blood tests done the day before I started the duphaston. I am now concerned that if my progesterone levels are quite fine on their own, with something else being the cause of the hematoma that taking the duphaston is not helping at all and could be causing harm to the baby, as I know there is increased risk of fetal deformities from using synthetic hormones during pregnancy.

I am plannign on switching to a natural progesterone cream in the coming week, so that I can avoid the risk of the birth defects, but I may have already exposed the baby to that risk.

I also just found out yesterday that I have a minor bacterial infection from the last vaginal swab that they did. The hospital gave me a prescription for something,(that is illegible) but I don't want to take any drugs while pregnant as they carry other risks for the baby as well. I need a natural alternative, any ideas?


Thanks for your advice, much appreciated.


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DoctorAnswer replied on September 6th, 2006
Doctor Answer
Pregnancy Q&A Answer A1408
You don’t need to be so upset about the increase in hormone levels you've noticed. During PREGNANCY, hormones increase more than during any stage of the menstrual cycle. You have nothing to fear regarding synthetic progesterone because this hormone won’t harm your baby. In your case, it seems that progesterone is the only medication that can be given to you. Synthetic progesterone will neither prevent nor stop bleeding but can only decrease contractions in the uterus. There is no way to prevent or stop another bleeding! You were lucky that the bleeding you experienced wasn’t localized in the placenta and the feeding mechanism related to the fetus remined intact. You must treat any vaginal infection that occurs because a vaginal infection can provoke miscarriage, intrauterine death, or premature birth. There are antibiotics that can be used during pregnancy. You can request further information and follow up with your gynecologist or obstetrician.


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