symptom check
woke up with mild cramping,
lower abdomen.

took a morning walk. G. and I had
been walking an hour each morning
but stopped about a week ago or
so due to schedules.

this walk knocked me for a loop.
way too exhausted from it - should
take it easier next time.

supposedly some of that exhaustion
during exertion comes from the
increased blood volume in the body
during pregnancy making it harder
to get oxygen into the system.

today, I've been worrying just a little
that my breasts don't hurt as much
as they did over the last few days.

every little symptom seems magnified
or de-magnified.

so I bought some progesterone cream.
a midwife in the next town had recommended
it and even though the one here doesn't
"believe in it," supposedly it cannot harm
but could (possibly) help.

From http://www.natureswoman.com/NPandPregnancy.asp

Natural progesterone is the closest thing to the progesterone produced by the body. In fact, natural progesterone, produced by a several step process involving the Mexican Wild Yam, is bio-identical to the hormone produced by the human body.

To recap, here are some of the reported benefits of natural progesterone related to pregnancy:

* Counters the effects of estrogen
* Aids in conception
* Aids in the attachment of the placenta
* Aids in the health of the fetus
* Clears the skin
* Produces healthier hair
* Increases muscle tone

According to Dr. John R Lee, the international authority on natural progesterone, many side effects plague the synthetic versions created by the pharmaceutical companies. These synthetic versions are known as: Synthetic progesterone, progestins and Progesterone Acetate. There are no reports of any significant side effects when using natural progesterone.

All reports of natural progesterone causing significant ill side effects, upon further investigation, have been revealed as a synthetic progestin erroneously reported as natural progesterone.

Here is a quote from Dr. Lee about the effects of progesterone: "We know that transdermal progesterone is very affective, very convenient, and very safe. Overdoses do not hurt anybody. They might mess up somebody's period, it could cause the period to change as to when it comes in the month."