I wanted to let you know how much I’ve enjoyed reading your answers. I am a pharmacist who frequently works with patients with high cholesterol and often have to explain certain things to patients about their diet. I am always looking for new ways to help encourage patients to stay on a healthy balanced diet and find that resources like your website are incredibly helpful.
I do want to clarify something about Depo-Provera. Because it is a progestin, it does not seem to confer many benefits to your cholesterol profile. Estrogen, on the other hand, has been shown to reduce LDL (low-density lipoprotein), increase HDL (high-density lipoprotein), not much decreasing of triglycerides and sometimes may actually increase triglycerides in some women. In women who take low-dose estrogen (such as Premarin 0.625 milligrams for hormone replacement therapy after menopause) along with a progestin (like Provera 2.5 milligram tablets), the progestin may actually block the beneficial effects of estrogen on cholesterol.
Thanks for the feedback. I frequently tell visitors to ask their pharmacist about various prescribed and over the counter drugs.
You might also want to encourage your patients to contact a registered dietitian at their doctor’s clinic or local hospital for more info about lowering cholesterol. Explaining a nutrition therapy to lower cholesterol is more than just a list of what to eat or not eat. Patients need help on how to integrate their likes and dislikes as well as help with what constitutes a balanced eating plan.
Several online sources I checked said that Provera is available as oral tablets in 5 to 10 milligrams of exogenous progesterone for 5 to 10 days (brand names Amen, Curetab, Cycrin, Prodoxy-10, Progesterone, Provera). These sources also state that there is an aqueous suspension for intramuscular administration for endometrial or renal cancer in dosages of 400 milligrams to 1,000 milligrams of medroxyprogesterone acetate per week or that 150 milligrams every 3 months can be injected for contraception.
