I never had a scan done, but I do know the lining had built up purely by the type of periods I had as soon as I started using the Provera, and the types of periods I have had in the couple of years I've now been using it. I can't remember how long I was using the Utro for, but it would have been at least a year. I used it vaginally for between 10-14 days every month, and every month I had one of these "scanty" bleeds, which I thought must have been okay, but it obviously wasn't. I would also sometimes have spotting between periods, so this is another indicator. I have never had any spotting at all since using the Provera. So it bothers me when generalisations are made about Utro, when it clearly doesn't suit some women.
I'm always a bit reluctant to give my real opinions about Utro here because I know that a lot of people don't accept what I say about it, but there is a reason why it has never been approved for use here in Australia, and it's not because women here are being discriminated against. After all every other kind of HRT is probably more freely available here than what it appears to sometimes be in the UK (from what I've read here anyway). The reason is that Australia has a very rigid testing criteria when it comes to medications, and it's never been convinced (so far) of Utro's effectiveness. This is from the Australian Menopause Society website....
http://www.menopause.org.au/for-women/information-sheets/34-bioidentical-hormones-for-menopausal-symptomsProgesterone is very rapidly degraded in the human gut, liver and circulation so it has been difficult using oral therapy to maintain a level of progesterone sufficient to inhibit hyperplasia or prevent cancer in the endometrium. Progesterone can be absorbed through the skin but the amount circulating after a measured amount of progesterone cream has been applied to the skin, is insufficient to have any effect on the endometrial cells. There is some evidence that progesterone can be absorbed through the vaginal epithelium and through the buccal mucous membrane, but at present there are no reliable studies available to confirm that the amount absorbed from this source has a protective effect on the endometrium.
I know this information will probably be disputed, but I prefer to stick with Australia's rigid testing criteria, than trust the studies done in other countries where the standards may not be as high. It may be approved at some point, but it doesn't bother me one way or the other now. It's pretty easy and cheap to buy online anyway, for anyone who really wants to use it.