06/06/2026
Your bloating after starting progesterone isn’t random. There’s a real reason it happens — and most prescribers never explain it.
Progesterone relaxes smooth muscle. That’s actually good for your gut when levels are balanced. Low progesterone is one reason women in perimenopause deal with constipation and GI problems that nobody connects to hormones.
But here’s the part that gets missed. When you take an oral capsule, it hits your gut before it ever reaches your bloodstream. That same smooth muscle relaxation slows gastric emptying. Food moves slower. You bloat. You get constipated. And most women think something is wrong with them — or that progesterone isn’t for them.
It’s a dose and delivery problem. Not a you problem.
Save this if you’re on progesterone or thinking about starting it. Send it to someone who needs to hear it.