How to drink duphaston to maintain pregnancy. Taking duphaston in early pregnancy

The natural desire of any woman is to bear a healthy, strong and strong baby, who over time, with the help of his parents, will be able to become a self-sufficient person. But what psychological difficulties will those women have to face whose attempts to get pregnant are not crowned with success?

Multiple tests, examinations, experiences and nervous breakdowns. Fortunately, modern medicine is doing everything possible to ensure that not a single woman on the planet is deprived of the joy of motherhood. Doctors come to the rescue not only when it is necessary to help a woman realize her dream, but also when the dream has already come true. Maintaining pregnancy often becomes no less important a task than fertilization itself. And this issue must be approached with full responsibility.

Failure to carry a pregnancy to term may be due to the problem of decreased production of the hormone progesterone, which is necessary for the normal course of pregnancy. The hormone helps relax a woman’s smooth muscles and support the intrauterine development of the fetus.

If this hormone is not enough, the baby simply may not have enough comfortable conditions for normal development, and spontaneous abortion occurs. Most often, such problems can be encountered in the early stages, although it is less likely that this can happen in the second or third trimester. In the early stages, the placenta forms and the risk of losing the baby increases.

If you were diagnosed with progesterone deficiency in the first trimester of pregnancy, you need to try to do everything possible to restore this deficiency. As a rule. To treat such problems, doctors prescribe a drug such as duphaston. This is a source of the hormone dydrogesterone, which is a synthetic analogue of progesterone.

Why is duphaston prescribed during pregnancy?

Duphaston during pregnancy will help completely restore the lack of progesterone in the body. This could save your unborn baby's life. Moreover, its use does not pose any potential danger to the health of the expectant mother and her child. The drug reduces muscle contractions of the uterus and fights hypertension. Helps improve the condition of mucous membranes.

The drug is also used for problems such as endometritis. As is known. In the presence of the latter disease, the pregnant woman’s immunity begins to work hyperactively. So, he can even reject the fruit. To normalize the condition and prevent possible spontaneous miscarriage, using duphaston during pregnancy is an ideal option.

Please note that only your attending physician can prescribe a course of treatment with the drug. As a rule, duphaston is not taken later than the sixteenth week. During this period, the body is already able to independently support a small life within itself.

Sometimes the reception can be extended until the twenty-second week, but no more. Do not stop taking the drug abruptly under any circumstances. This may cause vaginal bleeding. It is necessary to stop taking it gradually, reducing the dose consumed daily and keeping it to a minimum.

The drug is contraindicated for people with hypersensitivity to its drugs, patients with Dubin-Johnson syndrome and rotor. If the expectant mother has problems with the cardiovascular system, you also need to be careful when using the drug. Diabetes mellitus, migraine, kidney disease and severe itching can often become an obstacle to treatment with duphaston.

The birth of a child and even conception itself do not always depend only on nature. In more than 50% of cases, she needs help. One way to do this is Duphaston during pregnancy. The drug is often prescribed at the planning stage. And when pregnancy occurs, it helps eliminate many of the risks associated with it.

Read in this article

What is Duphaston and why take it before conception?

This drug is an artificially created hormone progesterone, called dydrogesterone. In the female body, a similar substance is produced mainly in the second phase of the menstrual cycle. At this stage, progesterone is needed to prepare the cavity to receive a fertilized egg. The ovaries and adrenal glands are responsible for its production, but not all women perform their functions efficiently. Therefore, difficulties arise with the regularity of the menstrual cycle, and therefore with conception. In such cases, Duphaston is indispensable when planning pregnancy. Especially when age does not allow you to wait for the natural balance of hormones.

In addition to infertility, which is caused by progesterone deficiency, the drug is prescribed for endometriosis. This is another reason for infertility, because the lining of the uterus during the disease is not developed enough to receive an egg. Over the 6 months during which Duphaston is prescribed to stimulate conception, it is possible to restore the required amount of progesterone and the endometrium. The drug is taken from the beginning of the luteal phase of the cycle, 10 mg 2 times a day. But depending on the specific situation, the dosage may be increased.

Taking duphaston during pregnancy

The long-awaited two lines on the test do not mean complete achievement of the goal. This is rather an intermediate stage where there is still a lot of work to be done. During pregnancy, as well as during conception, you cannot always rely only on your own body. Lack of progesterone observed before conception can create many obstacles on the way to your goal and beyond.

The question of whether to drink Duphaston during pregnancy should be decided by a specialist. There may be several reasons for this.

Threat of interruption: can Duphaston remove it?

The fertilized egg is firmly attached to the uterus. But only subject to the required amount of progesterone. After fertilization, the body normally begins to intensively produce it for:

• Decreased contractility of the uterus. If her smooth muscles are too active, she will try to push the embryo out. Duphaston prevents this in the early stages of pregnancy.
• Formation of the mucous membrane of the organ. It must have a certain number of vessels for the formation of fetal tissue and placenta, which protect and nourish the embryo. If there is insufficient blood supply to these organs, there is a danger of oxygen starvation of the fetus, which prevents its normal development.

If there is a deficiency of natural progesterone, you can drink Duphaston during pregnancy and it is even necessary to do this in order to eliminate factors dangerous to the fetus and provide it with opportunities for development.

With chronic endometritis, when the uterine mucosa is inflamed, the likelihood of abortion increases due to the fact that the body perceives the fetus as something foreign that needs to be gotten rid of. In this case, Duphaston during early pregnancy blocks this reaction of the mother’s immune system, keeping it intact.

Pregnancy due to gynecological diseases and Duphaston

One of the most common gynecological diseases significantly complicates the course of pregnancy and is also dangerous with the possibility of miscarriage.

A benign tumor is characterized by frequent bleeding, which is very undesirable in this condition. During early pregnancy, Duphaston in a dosage carefully selected by a specialist can reduce the size of fibroids, as well as its effect on the body. It prevents bleeding, eliminating the fetal failure characteristic of this disease.

If there is an established increased risk of fetal failure, combined with a small amount of progesterone, the drug can reduce it by improving blood supply to tissues. And although the reasons for a non-developing pregnancy are not precisely determined, it is obvious that creating optimal conditions for the embryo will reduce its likelihood.

The opportunity to maintain a pregnancy with Duphaston should also be used by those who in the past have had the sad experience of miscarriage or premature birth, as well as the birth of children with developmental defects caused by progesterone deficiency.

How pregnancy manifests itself when using Duphaston

Pregnancy on Duphaston may show symptoms more actively before the delay than without taking the drug. Many women note that:

• increases to the point that the feeling of hunger becomes almost constant;
• there is a feeling of an enlarged abdomen, although there are no external manifestations of this;
• Pain in the chest occurs, and the feeling of fullness in the mammary glands also intensifies.

And although while taking Duphaston they are often pronounced, it is worth doing or conducting an analysis for hCG to be completely sure. The fact is that the drug can cause an adverse reaction in the body, which is similar to the symptoms of the first trimester. And hCG is synthesized by the body regardless of additional hormone therapy.

In the future, women describe the signs of pregnancy against the background of Duphaston as follows:

• Delayed menstruation. Here, you still shouldn’t delude yourself, since it also happens with hormonal imbalance. And the anxiety associated with waiting is itself a stress factor that can delay menstruation;
• Breast augmentation. If previously only increased sensitivity and pain were observed, now the size of the mammary glands has changed;
• More, caused by swelling of the tissues of the uterus and appendages characteristic of pregnancy;
• Quick tiredness, feeling of lack of sleep in normal mode. Pregnancy on Duphaston shows signs of this kind due to a direct dependence on the increase in progesterone levels. This can be compared to the sensations of premenstrual syndrome;
• Raising basal temperature. Problematic conception forces a woman to control it, so it’s easy to see from the chart that the indicator has increased to 37 degrees. This is exactly the temperature that is necessary for the development of the fertilized egg at this stage;
• Nausea and aversion to smells. In the morning, a woman experiences vomiting and dizziness. It is possible that new food preferences will appear when the nausea goes away.

When taking Duphaston, signs of pregnancy can be especially pronounced, due to the approaching balance of hormones to normal. But the appearance of bloody discharge and mild abdominal pain is possible. These symptoms are evidence of too low a dosage of the drug. It is necessary to consult a doctor and have it corrected or replaced with an analogue.

Signs of pregnancy after Duphaston may be smoother than without taking the drug. This is explained by the equalization of hormonal levels, which improves well-being. Of all the available initial symptoms of pregnancy, toxicosis is the least likely to occur. Some women, when taking duphaston, feel a “wolfish” appetite and an unprecedented elation. All other signs will appear one way or another.

Features of taking Duphaston

Despite the fact that the drug replaces a natural substance, it cannot be used arbitrarily; there is a risk of further disrupting hormonal levels. Taking Duphaston in the early stages of pregnancy may not be limited to this time and last up to 20 weeks. But more often it ends at 4 months, since the further formed placenta is able to produce the hormone itself.

How to drink Duphaston during early pregnancy is determined by the gynecologist in a specific case. It depends

• Degree of progesterone deficiency;
• Circumstances preceding pregnancy (abortion, premature birth, miscarriages);
• Age;
• The body's reactions to the components of the drug.

Factors currently observed are also taken into account. The most significant of these is the threat of interruption. If it persists for a long time, Duphaston is taken in the same amount in the early stages of pregnancy, but the dosage can be up to 40 mg per day. This is 4 tablets for the same number of doses.

When maintaining pregnancy using the drug, it is necessary to regularly monitor hormone levels. It becomes known from analyzes. Based on the results, the specialist may change his opinion about how to drink Duphaston in the early stages of pregnancy. It is important to maintain a normal level of progesterone, and not accumulate it “in reserve,” so the dosage can be reduced.

How to safely stop taking the drug

Some try to do this as soon as they find two stripes on the test, considering the task of the drug completed. But abruptly interrupting the intake can negate all the efforts made so far. A sudden cessation of the hormone entering the body is a stress that can cause heavy bleeding and terminate the pregnancy.

How to stop Duphaston during pregnancy is decided by the doctor. In any case, this will be a gradual reduction in the dose so that the reproductive system adapts painlessly. If you take half a tablet less every day than the previous day, there will be no negative reaction.

But this cancellation scheme cannot be considered universal, since the individual characteristics of a particular woman can interfere with its implementation. Therefore, it is necessary to discontinue Duphaston at the end of early pregnancy under the supervision of a specialist, as well as to take it all this time.

Can Duphaston cause harm?

When they fear harm from using the drug, they primarily mean the side effects of Duphaston during pregnancy. You should not expect any other negative effects from its use. The drug is safe for the fetal endocrine system; it begins to form later. The use of the product by many women has revealed that it may be accompanied by:

• Migraine-type headaches;
• Allergic manifestations;
• Malfunction of the liver, manifested by abdominal pain, jaundice, general malaise;
• Decreased hemoglobin;
• Excessive breast sensitivity, especially in the nipple area;
• Itchy rashes on the skin.

There are also factors that do not allow you to take Duphaston; the instructions for pregnancy include the following:

• Severe damage to the liver and cardiovascular system;
• Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus;
• Epilepsy.

What women who took it say about duphaston

Duphaston in the early stages of pregnancy receives favorable reviews from most women. Many have had a child, and more than one, only thanks to taking this drug, since problems with female hormones are common. Comparing Duphaston with a drug with a similar action, Utrozhestan, many argue that the first is more effective and has fewer side effects.

Most women who took the drug did so when there was a threat of miscarriage. Others got rid of placental insufficiency and oxygen starvation of the fetus.

Some are sure that the pimples and excess weight that appeared on the skin were caused by taking the product. But long-term observations demonstrate that this is sometimes characteristic of the “interesting situation” itself, and is not associated with the drug.

Duphaston during pregnancy in the early stages should not be considered a panacea for any complex cases. But according to statistics, the drug increases the chances of normal pregnancy by 2 times.

It is important to strictly monitor the intake and withdrawal of Duphaston, without neglecting other necessary conditions for a healthy pregnancy.

Before taking any medications, you should consult a specialist doctor. There are contraindications.

The abstract indicates that Duphaston contains the active ingredient , as well as excipients: corn starch, lactose monohydrate, methylhydroxypropylcellulose, dye, magnesium stearate, anhydrous colloidal silicon dioxide.

Release form

The product is available in the form of 10 mg tablets No. 10, biconvex, round in shape. White tablets have beveled edges and are coated. On one side of the tablet there is an engraving “ S"above the sign" 6 ", on the other hand - a risk and a sign " 155 "on both sides of it. In total, the blister contains 20 tablets, one blister is placed in a cardboard box.

Pharmacological action

The active component of the drug dydrogesterone is an analogue of natural . Duphaston is a hormonal drug.

Under the influence of this medicine, thermogenesis is not disrupted in a woman’s body, so basal temperature can be measured to determine ovulation. The product does not affect metabolic processes in the body or liver function. Dydrogesterone is very similar in properties and structure to natural progesterone. However, the drug does not provoke the side effects that occur when taking a number of synthetic progesterones. Wikipedia indicates that this drug does not have androgenic, estrogenic, anabolic, thermogenic, or corticoid effects. As a component of hormone replacement therapy for Medicine provides a positive effect on a woman's lipid profile. But if estrogens have a negative effect on the blood coagulation process, then dydrogesterone has no effect on coagulation.

When taken orally, there is a selective effect of dydrogesterone on , which helps prevent the high risk of developing endometrium or carcinogenesis, provoked by increased production of estrogen. The medicine does not have a contraceptive effect. During treatment, the drug does not affect ovulation. Menstruation also continues as usual when taking the medication. A woman can become pregnant with dydrogesterone and keep during treatment with the drug, since during the treatment there is no negative effect on the fetus. There is a selective effect on progestin receptors of the uterine mucosa. It does not affect the ovulation of the follicle. There is no masculinizing or virilizing effect.

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics

After oral administration, dydrogesterone is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract; after 2 hours the highest concentration of the active component in the blood is observed. The degree of binding to blood proteins is 97%. 56-79% is excreted from the body by the kidneys; a day after administration, about 85% is excreted from the body; the entire excretion process is completely completed after 72 hours. Present in urine mainly in the form glucuronic acid conjugates .

There is no data on changes in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the active component in people who suffer from kidney disease. Does not accumulate.

Indications for use

Why Duphaston tablets are prescribed depends on the diagnosis and treatment regimen determined by the doctor.

Currently, the following indications for use of the drug are determined:

• Lack of progesterone in the body (for infertility associated with luteal phase deficiency, with threat or habitual loss of the fetus, with , disorders of the monthly cycle, amenorrhea of ​​secondary origin).
• As part of hormone replacement therapy (during menopause, it is used to neutralize the proliferative effect of estrogens on the mucous membrane of the uterine cavity when using estrogens; during surgical castration).

Thus, tablets are prescribed for dysfunctional uterine bleeding, when , with a corpus luteum cyst, with endometritis, with .

What else the medicine is prescribed for, when it is prescribed, and what the dosage should be, you should ask your doctor.

Contraindications

There are contraindications for taking Duphaston.

First of all, you should not take tablets if you are highly sensitive to dydrogesterone or to other components of the medicine, as this may harm the woman’s body.

The tablets should be prescribed with caution to women who have suffered from symptoms during pregnancy before.

There is no data on the negative effects of dydrogesterone on people who suffer from chronic form.

Side effects of Duphaston

During the reception process, some side effects of Duphaston may be observed:

• immune system: hypersensitivity (very rare);
• hematopoietic system: hemolytic anemia (isolated cases);
• nervous system: , ;
• hepatobiliary system: minor liver dysfunction, which may cause weakness, jaundice, abdominal pain;
• reproductive system : breakthrough bleeding when taken (rare), prevented by increasing the dosage of the drug; the sensitivity of the mammary glands may increase;
• subcutaneous tissue, skin: itching, (rare), (very rarely);
• general disorders: peripheral (very rare).

If any of the above symptoms occur, you should tell your doctor that this side effect is occurring.

Instructions for use of Duphaston (Method and dosage)

The drug is prescribed according to an individual regimen, both when planning pregnancy and for gynecological diseases. It doesn’t matter how you take it, before or after meals.

Duphaston tablets, instructions for use

The indicated dosage regimens are indicative only. To prescribe a treatment regimen and determine how long the pills can be taken, the doctor must take into account the symptoms of the disease and the phases of the monthly cycle. The daily dose of the medicine should be divided into 2-3 doses, tablets should be taken at equal intervals.

Duphaston for endometriosis prescribed in a dose of 10 mg of dydrogesterone 2 or 3 times a day. How to take Duphaston for endometriosis depends on the doctor's prescription. You need to take the product from days 5 to 25 of the cycle or do it without a break. It should be borne in mind that only the attending physician can prescribe Duphaston for endometriosis. Reviews from doctors on the Internet or any medical forum with information about treatment should be taken only as information for reference.

Duphaston for conception during infertilityprogesterone genesis prescribed from 11 to 25 days of the monthly cycle. You should definitely find out from a specialist how to take Duphaston for conception. As a rule, treatment lasts for 3-6 months. How to take Duphaston to get pregnant, how much you need to drink to get pregnant, depends on the woman’s diagnosis and the individual characteristics of her body.

If there is a delay after taking the pills and others appear while taking the drug, treatment should continue, and the dose should be equal to that prescribed for habitual pregnancy loss.

If a woman has threatened miscarriage or habitual pregnancy loss , it is advisable to use the medicine only if there is clear evidence of endogenous progesterone deficiency. Women with threatened abortion are advised to take a single dose of 40 mg of dydrogesterone, followed by 10 mg every 8 hours for a week. Then the dose is gradually reduced. But if the threat of miscarriage arises again, the dose is increased. Application can be practiced until the 20th week of pregnancy. But more precisely, your doctor will advise you individually about which week to take the pills during pregnancy.

How to take when risk of early miscarriage , the doctor determines individually. As a rule, in case of recurrent miscarriage at the stage of pregnancy planning, Duphaston is taken from the 11th to 25th day of the cycle, provided that conception has occurred, the woman continues to receive the same dose. Further, after the 20th week of pregnancy, the dose should be gradually reduced.

Women suffering from PMS are prescribed 10 mg tablets from days 11 to 25, treatment lasts from 3 to 6 months.

Duphaston at delay in menstruation , at irregular cycle and other menstrual disorders are prescribed from cycles 11 to 25, 2 times a day, 20 mg. How to induce menstruation with Duphaston depends on the woman’s diagnosis. The doctor prescribes the drug for irregular cycles, determines how to take Duphaston to induce menstruation, how much to drink to induce menstruation. Whether it is possible to induce menstruation with amenorrhea depends on the correct treatment. As a rule, taking Duphaston in this case is combined with taking estrogen . This treatment should be practiced for at least three monthly cycles.

In case dysfunctional bleeding prescribe the drug 10 mg twice a day, for 5-7 days, combining the dose with 0.05 mg . In order to prevent the development of bleeding, tablets are prescribed at a dose of 10 mg in the period from 11 to 25 days of menstruation. The dose is combined with 0.05 mg of ethinyl estradiol (1 time per day).

If necessary hormone replacement therapy It is used in combination with estrogens. Continuous treatment involves taking 10 mg of the drug for 14 days during each monthly cycle. If necessary, the dose can be increased to 20 mg per day.

How to take Duphaston for endometrial hyperplasia , depends on what other drugs the doctor prescribes for treatment. As a rule, treatment of endometrial hyperplasia involves taking the drug at a dose of 10 mg from days 16 to 25 of the cycle.

How to take Duphaston for ovarian cyst , also depends on the appointment of the specialist. For ovarian cysts, treatment should continue for at least 3 months.

Treatment follicular ovarian cyst involves prescribing 10 mg of the drug 2 times a day. A similar dose per day is prescribed if treatment is carried out ovarian dysfunction , and also if diagnosed multifollicular ovaries .

If a woman misses a Duphaston tablet, then an additional dose should not be taken. You need to continue taking it with the next tablet. For convenience, you can count how many tablets are left in the Duphaston package and monitor the regularity of taking it.

For any diagnosis, you should not start drinking Duphaston without a doctor’s prescription.

Overdose

There is no information about an overdose of the drug. If a high dose was taken accidentally and the patient experiences discomfort or nausea from the tablets, the stomach should be lavaged and symptomatic therapy should be carried out.

Interaction

When taking liver microsomal inducers simultaneously ( , Phenobarbital) it is possible to accelerate dydrogesterone and reduce the effect.

There is no evidence of incompatibility with other drugs.

Duphaston and can be prescribed in parallel, most often when planning pregnancy. Proginova is an estrogen drug.

Duphaston and prescribed in combination for the treatment of infertility. Clostilbegit is a non-steroidal anti-estrogen that stimulates ovulation.

Borovaya uterus and Duphaston - the compatibility of these drugs is controversial. There is information that the herbal medicine boron uterus in combination with Duphaston can provoke bleeding.

Terms of sale

They are sold in pharmacies by prescription; patients are given a prescription in Latin.

Storage conditions

The manufacturer stipulates that tablets should be stored at a temperature of no more than 30 °C, in a dry place.

Best before date

5 years. After this period it should not be used.

Special instructions

If Duphaston is used in combination with estrogens, caution must be exercised in patients suffering from diseases of the blood vessels, heart, kidneys, , , migraine. Also carefully prescribed for liver diseases.

If a woman is prescribed a drug for the purpose of hormone replacement therapy, a series of studies must be carried out before starting, and later regular mammography examinations must be carried out. It is important to take into account all contraindications. The doctor must clearly examine the patient's medical history. During HRT, the tolerability of such treatment should be monitored at certain intervals. There is a possibility of breakthrough bleeding in the first months of therapy. If such bleeding also occurs after a course of treatment, the woman needs to undergo an endometrial biopsy to exclude malignant processes.

Duphaston should not be taken by those who suffer from lactase deficiency, galactose deficiency or malabsorption syndrome.

Does not affect the ability to drive a car or operate precision machinery.

If you regularly experience discharge while taking pills, you should tell your doctor about it.

Since Duphaston is synthetic progesterone , it can replace the natural hormone progesterone, for which Duphaston is prescribed to pregnant women, as well as women during pregnancy planning. How to drink Duphaston to get pregnant is determined by your attending physician. When asked whether this drug suppresses ovulation, experts answer unequivocally in the negative. How this medicine affects ovulation depends on the frequency and duration of its use.

Women often wonder if the drug can cause delayed menstruation , or how to drink to induce menstruation. It should be understood that the regulation of menstruation is ensured by the production of estrogen and progesterone in the body. Often a woman notes that her period has not started if there is a lack of progesterone in the body. If the ovaries do not produce enough progesterone for any reason, a course of Duphaston is prescribed. If your period does not come after taking Duphaston, you should do it. Provided that there are no periods after discontinuation of the drug, and the woman is not pregnant, she should definitely consult a doctor. The reason for scanty periods after the drug may be a lack of estrogen, late ovulation, or changes in the uterus.

It should be borne in mind that by using Duphaston to induce menstruation “for convenience”, without a doctor’s prior prescription, although a woman induces menstruation, she risks disrupting the functions of the hormonal system. As a result, after uncontrolled treatment, a woman sometimes complains that she has heavy periods after taking pills or that her periods take a long time.

Therefore, the answer to the question whether Duphaston can be taken without a doctor’s prescription is clear: this should not be done.

Another question that interests women: do they get better from Duphaston? Namely, does it make you gain weight if you take it for a long time? Since the active substance of the drug is synthetic progesterone, when asked whether it makes you fat, experts answer in the negative.

Duphaston's analogues

Level 4 ATX code matches:

Any substitute for Duphaston must be approved by your doctor. What can replace this drug depends on the patient’s diagnosis and the individual course of the disease. An analogue in composition is the drug , other drugs with similar effects are drugs , progesterone in ampoules , etc. The price of Duphaston analogues may be slightly lower.

Utrozhestan or Duphaston - which is better?

A comparison of these drugs indicates that both drugs have similar indications for use. But it’s not difficult to determine what the difference is: Utrozhestan, unlike Duphaston, contains natural progesterone from plant materials. Which is better - Duphaston or Utrozhestan - during pregnancy can only be determined individually. But Utrozhestan also has a sedative effect on the body. Sometimes both drugs are prescribed simultaneously during pregnancy.

Which is better: Duphaston or Norkolut?

Norkolut is also used in gynecology. However, it has a different active ingredient – ​​norethisterone. This is a cheaper drug, but you can choose one or another drug only after consulting a doctor.

Prajisan or Duphaston - which is better?

Prajisan is a hormonal drug, an analogue of Duphaston. It has similar indications, but its cost is lower. But still, doctors do not recommend making a decision on replacing funds on your own.

For children

Not prescribed for children. The drug may be prescribed to teenage girls for irregularities in the menstrual cycle. How to take these pills correctly in case of cycle disorders in girls is determined individually by the doctor. After consultation, he determines whether it is possible to drink the drug during menstruation, and whether it is advisable to do so.

Duphaston and alcohol

Since the drug often has to be taken over a long period, many women are interested in whether it is possible to drink alcohol while taking Duphaston. There is no information about this in the instructions for the drug. At the same time, many reviews indicate that alcohol was consumed in small quantities. However, doctors warn that combining alcohol and hormonal drugs can negatively affect hormonal levels, liver function and provoke other negative phenomena. In addition, the effectiveness of the product when combined with alcohol is significantly reduced. For those who become pregnant on Duphaston, alcohol is strictly contraindicated.

Duphaston during pregnancy and lactation

The instructions indicate that the drug can be taken during pregnancy. Taking pills during pregnancy is possible in the early stages to prevent miscarriage. Therefore, Duphaston during early pregnancy is prescribed to women who previously suffered from a habitual abortion, or who had a frozen pregnancy. But, as a rule, the doctor recommends that such patients take Duphaston when planning a pregnancy. Whether the drug can be taken, how much to take and how to take Duphaston when planning a pregnancy, the doctor determines after the woman takes tests for progesterone. In the process of discussing the drug Duphaston during pregnancy, reviews from doctors indicate that this drug should be prescribed only after a comprehensive and thorough examination of the patient.

As a rule, during pregnancy planning, the drug is taken for 3-6 months. You need to drink the product from 11 to 25 days. But this scheme is relevant only for women whose monthly cycle is 28 days. The doctor will tell you how much to drink for a different cycle length.

It is also important to know how to stop taking this medicine during pregnancy. Provided that pregnancy occurs while taking the pills, Duphaston should continue to be taken. During gestation, the dosage is 20 mg of the drug per day (in two doses). You should also consider how to properly stop Duphaston during pregnancy. You should definitely consult your doctor about how to reduce the dose and until what week you take the pills. The withdrawal regimen during pregnancy involves taking the drug until the 20th week of pregnancy, but sometimes the period until which the medicine should be taken depends on the individual health status of the expectant mother. Some women are advised to stop as early as 16 weeks. But in any case, only a gynecologist should recommend in detail how to cancel Duphaston during pregnancy. You cannot be guided by the advice that other women write on forums or in reviews about the product. After taking and after stopping the drug, it is important to regularly monitor the woman’s condition. During pregnancy, in some cases, Duphaston and Proginova are prescribed simultaneously.

Often pregnant women are interested in how Duphaston affects the body as a whole, in particular, whether they get better from it. It should be noted that weight gain during pregnancy is a physiological process and is not associated with taking pills.

Conception, pregnancy, the birth of a healthy child - these natural events for most women remain just a dream for some. The inability to conceive, maintain a pregnancy, or carry a baby to term is often due to hormonal disorders, or rather, insufficient production of progesterone. For this pathology, duphaston is prescribed, a synthetic analogue of the hormone of the adrenal glands and the corpus luteum. The drug affects the woman’s body like progesterone.

Progesterone – “pregnancy hormone”

Progesterone, in interaction with estradiol, regulates the menstrual cycle. In the preovulatory phase, the follicle matures under the influence of estrogen. At the moment (release of the egg due to rupture of the follicle) and in the postovulatory phase, progesterone plays the “main violin”.

It is produced by the corpus luteum - the endocrine gland formed during ovulation. Progesterone prepares the uterine mucosa for implantation of a fertilized egg: the functional layer of the endometrium thickens and becomes loose. When pregnancy occurs, the corpus luteum hormone:

• prevents miscarriage by suppressing the activity (motility) of the smooth muscles of the uterus;
• prevents ovulation of newly formed follicles;
• prepares breast tissue for breastfeeding;
• promotes the formation of a mucous plug in the cervical canal;
• influences the psycho-emotional state of a woman, relieving excitement and providing a calming effect.

With the correct hormonal status, all these processes occur in a woman’s body “automatically”: conception, a normal pregnancy, the birth of a healthy baby. The slightest deviations or failures lead to insufficient progesterone production. Problems begin: inability to conceive, miscarriage. It is in such cases that gynecologists prescribe duphaston.

For more information about the effect of progesterone on the body of a pregnant woman, see the video review:

In what cases during pregnancy is duphaston prescribed?

Since duphaston contains dydrogesterone (a synthetic analogue of the corpus luteum hormone), the drug is indicated for repeated spontaneous abortions (miscarriages) and the inability to become pregnant due to insufficient progesterone production. In these cases, a synthetic analogue (progestagen) compensates for the lack of its own “pregnancy hormone”. Duphaston is prescribed only after determining the hormonal status. Please note: blood is donated “for hormones” after ovulation, that is, in the second phase of the cycle. It is advisable, in order to avoid errors, to additionally perform analysis in other laboratories and compare the results.

Can duphaston be taken for self-medication?

Uncontrolled use of duphaston without a thorough medical examination and determination of the level of hormones in the blood is fraught with an unpredictable reaction of the body. Don’t forget that the drug is hormonal, so arguments like “it helped Svetka get pregnant and will help me” or “I read it on my favorite forum” are not enough to risk your health. There are many causes of infertility, low progesterone levels are just one of them. Important: the wrong regimen for taking duphaston sometimes has the opposite effect: the tablets “work” as a contraceptive.

Taking duphaston

The dosage regimen is prescribed by the doctor, taking into account the phase of the menstrual cycle. Usually, at the stage of pregnancy planning, 1-2 tablets are prescribed from the 11th to the 25th day of the cycle for six months. If pregnancy occurs, continue taking the drug until the 16th week. At this time, the placenta is formed and the production of its own progesterone increases. If there is a history of spontaneous abortions, the drug is prescribed until the 20th week of pregnancy. In case of threat of miscarriage, take up to 40 mg (4 tablets) at a time, followed by a subsequent reduction in dosage.

When discontinuing duphaston, the daily dose is gradually adjusted in a decreasing manner. The individual dosage reduction regimen is determined by the doctor. Important: Do not suddenly stop taking the pills - this can cause bleeding and even miscarriage.

Taking duphaston during IVF

During IVF, duphaston is prescribed both to prepare the uterine lining for implantation of a fertilized egg, and to reduce the risk of fetal rejection (the drug blocks cells of the immune system).

Duphaston: side effects

The most dangerous side effect of duphaston is breakthrough bleeding, which can be controlled by increasing the dose of the drug. Possible renal dysfunction, nausea, and prolonged headaches. Duphaston is prescribed with caution:

How safe is duphaston?

Opinions about the safety of duphaston are divided. If domestic doctors are confident in the harmlessness of the drug and exclude its negative impact on both the mother’s body and the fetus, then their foreign colleagues think differently.

Duphaston has been discontinued in the UK. This is explained by the little-studied effect of dydrogesterone and the possibility of its teratogenic effect on the fetus (impaired embryonic development, congenital deformities)

Duphaston: pros and cons

To take or not to take duphaston? The question is complex, akin to Shakespeare’s “to be or not to be.” On the one hand, the drug helped many women forget the diagnosis of infertility and become the mother of a long-awaited baby. On the other hand, there is no guarantee that reports of the ineffectiveness of duphaston or its teratogenic effect will not soon appear. Therefore, one should be guided by the principle: “do no harm.” You should take the medicine only after examination, consultation with several specialists (gynecologist, gynecologist-endocrinologist) and complete confidence in the need to take this particular drug.

Clinical pharmacologist, doctor of the highest category Marina Sergeevna Nazarova