----- Original Message -----
> How about progesterone cream? Many use it full-time, from menopause
> on, and it works wonders on hormonal bloating. Part of the problem,
> as I understand it, is that we continue to produce a certain amount
> of estrogen, but virtually no progesterone to balance it.

Most of the "menopause hormone" books I'm familiar with pretty much take a
unilateral stance that *estrogen dominance* --that is, lack of
progesterone--is the problem with hormonal imbalance at
peri-menopause/menopause.  While that may indeed be true for some or, maybe,
the majority of women, it's not true for all.  In my case, my estrogen
levels were below even menopausal levels, while my progesterone was a little
low but still well within the ref range.  Interestingly, my symptoms were
identical to those Lee and others cite as hard evidence of estrogen
dominance/low progesterone.  I was convinced.  *BUT* if I had followed the
advice of the books to go buy some otc progesterone,  I would have seriously
skewed/unbalanced my hormones even more than they already were.  Books, no
matter how convincing,  are no substitute for accurate knowledge of one's
body.   I think it's a good idea to get at least an initial baseline profile
before supplementing any hormones.   Otherwise, you could end up tweaking
the wrong direction and make things worse instead of better.

Theola