Triggering of Menstruation
Women who are anovulatory and do not have periods frequently undergo the triggering of menstruation at the beginning of a treatment cycle. During this process, the patient will undergo progesterone dosing (typically in the form of a single injection or an 8- to 10-day course of oral medication) which will vascularize the uterine lining. As progesterone levels begin to fall (as a result of the injection wearing off or stopping the oral medication), the lining begins to break down, and menstruation is triggered.
Luteal Phase Supplementation
In luteal phase supplementation, patients begin progesterone after ovulation in order to augment the progesterone produced by the corpus luteum. In some cases, supplementation is simply used as insurance. In other cases, a patient's corpus luteum may not function properly, and lack of supplementation can cause the luteal phase to end prematurely and prevent a successful pregnancy. Finally, in most medicated frozen embryo transfer protocols, patients often produce no progesterone, and complete supplementation is needed in both the luteal phase and in early pregnancy.
It is also important to note what progesterone cannot do. Some women with shortened luteal phases assume that progesterone supplementation alone will be adequate for correction of their condition. In some cases, however, short luteal phases are caused by poor oocyte development in the follicular phase. This condition cannot be treated by progesterone alone, and careful testing and accurate diagnosis is therefore needed before any medication is used. |
