Pharmaceuticals/Chemicals
Progesterone (Vaginal)
Also called Vaginal P4
Vaginal progesterone is commonly used to support the womb lining during fertility treatment. Readers usually want to understand the gel or insert schedule, discharge and when treatment ends. The product and fertility plan determine those answers.
Dosage & duration
US fertility-product examples; not generic HRT or pregnancy self-treatment guidance.
Endometrin · US ART label
Product label- Dose
- 100 mg per vaginal insert
- How often
- Two or three times daily, starting the day after egg retrieval
- How long
- Up to 10 weeks total treatment
Current label indication is ART support in infertile women under 35. The clinic sets start and stop dates; this is not ten weeks added after any positive test.
Sources: 1
Crinone 8% · ART supplementation label
Product label- Dose
- 90 mg per vaginal application
- How often
- Once daily for progesterone supplementation
- How long
- If pregnancy occurs, the label allows continuation 10–12 weeks, until placental autonomy
The label uses twice daily for a separate replacement context with partial or complete ovarian failure. Match the prescribed indication.
Sources: 2
Vaginal progesterone
Fertility support in daily life
-
Support during fertility treatment
It is used to support implantation and early pregnancy, without guaranteeing pregnancy.
-
Residue can happen
Crinone gel can leave discharge; appearance alone cannot show how much hormone was absorbed.
-
Gel and inserts differ
Crinone and Endometrin have different schedules, so use the clinic’s actual product and stop date.
Why use the vaginal route?
Fertility treatment may need extra progesterone support after egg retrieval or during a planned transfer cycle. Vaginal products deliver it without a daily muscle injection. That convenience is balanced against local irritation, discharge and fitting repeated doses into the day.
Is discharge a sign the dose failed?
Crinone’s label describes small white globules from accumulated gel, including after use has ended. Appearance alone cannot show how much hormone was absorbed. Do not repeat or stop doses based only on residue; ask the fertility team about bleeding, pain, unusual odor or other concerning changes.
Why the stop date is individual
The Endometrin and Crinone schedules are not identical, and transfer protocols vary. A treatment duration and a pregnancy’s gestational age are different clocks. Follow the clinic’s actual stop date rather than copying someone else’s timeline or changing treatment after one blood result.
What the timing plot cannot settle
The plot does not measure delivery to the womb lining or tell whether implantation support is adequate. It cannot convert an oral capsule into an equivalent vaginal amount.
Model details: Progesterone (Vaginal) · relative timing
Compare timing and buildup for this compound. The values are not blood concentrations or a measure of strength.
Shows a relative timing scenario; absolute blood concentrations are not calibrated.
Timing assumptions and sources
Crinone 90 mg label terminal absorption-limited timing only; intrinsic elimination 5–20 min. Do not call 34.8 h elimination of circulating progesterone.
One 1 mg input peaks at 1 relative unit after a single dose. Other amounts scale proportionally; overlapping doses add when accumulation is on. Different compounds use separate relative scales.
- Timing half-life used
- 34.8 hours
- Absorption half-life assumed
- 1.410823 hours
- Reference amount for the relative scale
- 1 mg
- The faster rate is inferred to match the 6.8 h source-scoped peak time; absorption half-life 1.4108234300580222 h is a mathematical shape parameter, not separately measured.
- A single 1-unit input has a peak of 1 relative unit; scaling and repeated-dose addition are mathematical assumptions. This normalization is independent of the example dose.
- One-compartment using 34.8 h terminal tail overpredicts AUC 2.44-fold and daily peak 40.8 vs observed 15.97.
- 19.8% relative bioavailability already embodied in Cmax; not an extra scale.
- Gel/capsule/insert and local uterine action are not interchangeable.
- Wang et al 2019: hard and soft micronized progesterone
Utrogestan oral 169.53 and vaginal 12.30 are steady-state observations after 200 mg twice daily 10 days; different products/routes had different PK. Abstract concentration units conflict with tables, so use the tables and original assay context.
- Crinone FDA label Tables 1–2
Single 90 mg gel:Cmax 14.87 ng/mL, Tmax 6.8 h, AUC 0–96=296.78, h 34.8; repeated 90 mg daily peak 15.97, twicedaily 14.57;45 mg and 90 mg have similar exposures.
progesterone-vaginal-relative-timing-2026-10 · version 1
Common questions
Can I switch from inserts to gel at the same milligrams?
No direct milligram equivalence is established here. Formulation, schedule and indication need to match the clinic’s plan.
Can I use other vaginal medicines at the same time?
Check with the clinic or pharmacist. Endometrin’s label warns that other vaginal products may alter progesterone release and absorption.
Sources Labels, studies and notes behind this guide
Catalog evidence: Human clinical trials. This describes the type of evidence, not a clinical review of every claim.
Summary and fact source checks: 2026-10-07. This records source checking, not medical review of the whole page.
Notes on the quick facts
- Main purpose
- Used as part of a fertility-treatment programme, not proof that pregnancy will occur.
- Everyday issue
- Gel residue is possible; new bleeding or concerning symptoms still need assessment.
- Product matters
- Do not swap milligrams or routes without checking the plan.
- 1. Endometrin — US prescribing information
Current label: 100 mg vaginally two or three times daily, starting day after oocyte retrieval up to10 weeks total; current indication specifically infertile women under 35 in ART. Other vaginal products may change absorption.
- 2. Crinone — US prescribing information
8% gel:90 mg daily for supplementation, twice daily for replacement in partial/complete ovarian failure; if pregnancy occurs may continue10–12 weeks until placental autonomy. White discharge may reflect gel buildup.
- 3. Wang et al 2019: hard and soft micronized progesterone
Utrogestan oral 169.53 and vaginal 12.30 are steady-state observations after 200 mg twice daily 10 days; different products/routes had different PK. Abstract concentration units conflict with tables, so use the tables and original assay context.
- 4. Crinone FDA label Tables 1–2
Single 90 mg gel:Cmax 14.87 ng/mL, Tmax 6.8 h, AUC 0–96=296.78, h 34.8; repeated 90 mg daily peak 15.97, twicedaily 14.57;45 mg and 90 mg have similar exposures.
- 5. Crinone US prescribing information
Vaginal gel: 4% delivers 45 mg, 8% delivers 90 mg; indication and regimen vary with purpose.
- 6. Oral and vaginal micronized capsule PK study
Randomized open-label study in postmenopausal women; hard and soft capsules had product/route-specific kinetics. Not evidence of universal gel/insert equivalence.
Related compounds and examples
Related compounds
Progesterone (Oral)
Oral micronized progesterone is often paired with estrogen to protect the womb lining. People also ask about sleep because it can cause drowsiness and has been studied for menopausal symptoms. Those are different reasons for treatment, with different schedules.
Estradiol Topical (EstroGel)
Estradiol gel is used to ease menopausal hot flushes and other low-estrogen symptoms without a pill or injection. The practical choices are the exact pump product, the daily skin routine and whether a separate progestogen is needed.
Estradiol Cypionate
Estradiol cypionate provides estrogen through an injection rather than a daily pill or gel. It is used for low-estrogen symptoms and in feminizing hormone care; the reason for treatment determines the dose and schedule.