• If you have been using standard estrogen replacement, Dr. Lee recommends that you cut it at least by one half immediately and eventually to 0.3mg/day (0.03mg/day by patch) or lower. If you experience breast fullness, it is too high. Unless you are small built or thin, you can eventually stop estrogen if you so desire because the body's fat, muscle, and skin cells can produce estrogen from its precursors produced in adrenal cortex and ovaries. Estrogen is a very important hormone and it is not good idea to deny your body what it needs, but if your body can produce adequate level of estrogen, it is best to gradually reduce the dosage to avoid acceleration of bone resorption. If symptoms such as hot flashes, palpitations, and headaches occur, it is a sign you are reducing it too much too fast.
• If you have been using fake synthetic progestins in addition to estrogen, stop using it immediately. They interfere with natural progesterone by blocking the progesterone receptors. (only prescription "natural progesterone" pills currently available is Prometrium (100mg, 200mg), all others such as Provera, birth control pills, HRT are not natural to human body.)
• If you have been using testosterone: Testosterone shares some of the progesterone's functions, but it does not provide all the benefits of progesterone. As the mother of all steroid hormones (progesterone is a precursor of testosterone), progesterone have many more important roles that testosterone cannot provide.

Before menopause or too young for menopause
Whether your problem is menstrual cramping, irregular periods, PMS, or other symptoms of estrogen dominance and progesterone deficiency, the basic idea is to supplement progesterone during the time your body would normally produce progesterone, which is between day 12 and 26 counting from the onset of bleeding. However, low dosage of progesterone (below 10 mg of progesterone or 1/8 tsp. of the cream per day) used during the week preceding ovulation is beneficial to the body. It can reduce the risk of ovarian cancer, ovarian cysts, and endometriosis.

To avoid breakthrough bleeding triggered by sudden drop of progesterone level, apply the progesterone cream twice a day and gradually increase the dosage for the each 2 or 3 weeks duration (for example, from 1/8 tsp. the first week, 1/4 tsp. the second week, 1/2 tsp. the rest).

Important: It may take up to 3 months before you can achieve hormone balance. Due to the complex nature of the interactions between estrogen and progesterone your estrogen dominance symptoms may worsen at first.

• If your period is irregular and bleeding starts before day 26, stop using it, and start counting up to 12 (or 5) again.