Diagnosis

Acupuncture Allergies Alzheimer's Disease Androgen Anxiety Disorders Asthma Atherosclerosis Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Bacterial Vaginosis Biofeedback Bipolar Disorder Birth Control Pills Blood Donation and Transfusion Breast Augmentation and Reduction Breast Cancer Breastfeeding Breast Reconstruction Caregiving Cervical Cancer Chiropractic Chlamydia Cholesterol Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Clinical Trials Colon Cancer Contraception Depression Diabetes Dry Eye Syndrome Eating Disorders Endometriosis Epilepsy Estrogen Fibroids Fibromyalgia Fitness Flu/Colds Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) Genetic Testing Genital Herpes Glaucoma Gonorrhea Health Insurance Heart Disease Hepatitis High Blood Pressure HIV/AIDS Homeopathy Human Papillomavirus Hypnosis Hysterectomy Incontinence Infertility Irritable Bowel Syndrome Legal Health Tools Liposuction Lung Cancer Lupus Macular Degeneration Medication Safety Menopause Menstrual Disorders Metabolic Syndrome Migraine Multiple Sclerosis Naturopathy Nonsurgical Aesthetic Procedures Nutrition Obesity Ocular Allergies Oral Health Osteoarthritis Osteopathic Medicine Osteoporosis Ovarian Cancer Overactive Bladder Pain Management Pelvic Organ Prolapse Pelvic Pain Peripheral Arterial Disease Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Pregnancy Premenstrual Syndrome Preparing for Surgery Progesterone Rheumatoid Arthritis Schizophrenia Scleroderma Sexual Dysfunction Sinusitis Sjogren's Syndrome Skin Cancer Skin Health Sleep Disorders Smoking Stress Stroke Substance Abuse Tai Chi Teen Health Thyroid Disorders Trichomoniasis Urinary Tract Conditions Urinary Tract Infection Uterine Cancer Varicose Veins Violence Against Women Vulvodynia Weight Management Yeast Infections Yoga

Synthetic or plant versions of progesterone may be prescribed under a variety of conditions. They are also occasionally used as a diagnostic aid to measure the effect of estrogen on women who have stopped menstruating but who aren't in menopause yet.

In what is called a "progestin challenge" test, a woman takes progestin pills for five or more days. When she stops taking the progestin, bleeding should begin if estrogen is present (the source of the bleeding is the estrogen-thickened endometrial tissue). If bleeding does not occur, then she isn't making enough estrogen.

Sometimes the progestin challenge test is used to make sure a woman has reached menopause. If estrogen status remains unclear, a blood test for levels of another female hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), may be ordered.

A progestin challenge test may also be done to identify postmenopausal women at high risk for endometrial cancer because they don't produce enough progesterone, particularly during postmenopausal hormone therapy. If the hormone therapy progestin dose is too low to make up for the estrogen part of the hormone therapy, the endometrium gradually builds up, a possible risk for uterine cancer.