Progesterone Progesterone levels are low in children and postmenopausal women. Adult males have levels similar to those in women during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Blood test results should always be interpreted using the reference ranges provided by the laboratory that performed the results. Example reference ranges are listed below. Progesterone is produced in high amounts in the ovaries (by the corpus luteum) from the onset of puberty to menopause, and is also produced in smaller amounts by the adrenal glands after the onset of adrenarche in both males and females. To a lesser extent, progesterone is produced in
Pharmacokinetics of progesterone 800 mg/day vaginal progesterone (about 70 ng/mL and 12 ng/mL, respectively), although local progesterone levels in the uterus were 10 times higher with the vaginal route due to a uterine first-pass effect (around 1.5 ng/mL and almost 12 ng/mL, respectively). The duration of progesterone is extended by the intramuscular route due to a depot effect in which it is stored locally in adipose tissue, and can be administered once every 1 to 3 days. The half-life of intramuscular progesterone is significantly longer when it is injected into the gluteal muscles of the buttocks rather than the deltoid muscle of the