Hello all.
I am going to try to do a condensed version of what got me to give Peat a try.
I am 34 years old. I have always had regular menstrual cycles, every 28 days since I started at 16. They were very painful the first 2 days, but did not give me problems other than that. They lasted 6-7 days. I also had IBS problems for as long as I can remember.
When my cycle came back after my second child about 3 years ago, it started coming every 21 or so days and was very heavy. I asked my midwife and she said our cycles change as we age and that was that. In January of 2011 I had to take antibiotics for a sinus infection that wouldn't go away. The regular antibiotic didn't help so my doctor put me on z-pack. An hour after the first dose I had horrible gallbladder attack symptoms and was admitted to the hospital twice, ended up being there for nearly a week. After many tests they couldn't find anything wrong. After I came home I started eating a "healthy" diet, lots of whole grains, veggies, forcing my 64 ounces of water down, cutting out all fast food and most sugar. I felt fantastic until July when I started having cramps from ovulation until menses. I took too many Advil and gave myself ulcers. A gastro doctor treated that and I started eating mostly paleo, went too low carb then started having major anxiety, depression, heart palpitations, head zaps, back pain, lots of stuff associated with menopause except no hot flashes. I went to a gyn and she suggested SSRIs or birth control; I said no thanks. She sent me for blood tests which showed normal estradiol, high FSH (23.3) and LH (64.3), and normal TSH (0.97). She said it looked like I was going into early menopause. I asked her if I could try prometrium and she was onboard, she gave me 12 tablets to take from day 14-25. The problem was that my cycle has been lengthening, from 28 days, to 38, to 49. Another problem is I feel ok during the latter half of my period, but awful during the first part, when you're not supposed to take progesterone.
This last cycle I felt so awful I started a progesterone cream, just 10 mg once at night, on day 8. It made me feel a little better. On day 14 I started taking 10 mg progesterone in the morning and my 200 mg prometrium at night. (I know most of the prometrium is destroyed and we only get about 10% after it goes through the liver.) A couple days later I got my order of progest-e and started taking probably 5 drops 4 times a day plus the one tablet of prometrium. I felt better but still not normal.
I started incorporating Peat's philosophies about a month ago. I eat mashed potatoes or white rice with practically every meal, with butter and cheese melted on top. I eat meat 2x per day, usually beef or lamb but sometimes poultry. I eat shrimp or white fish for the other meal. I drink 2 cups of salted OJ mixed with mineral water throughout the day. I eat 2 cups of fruit, usually cherries or blueberries. Sometimes I put cream on them, but the majority of my dairy comes from cheese as I get headaches when I drink milk. I'd say I get about 15-20 grams of protein from cheese every day. I eat several squares of dark chocolate every day. I have tried cutting out the starch but I am already underweight (5'7", 110 pounds my whole life, dipped down to a scary 102 while paleo, never had an eating disorder), and haven't been able to keep my weight up without it at this point. Eggs give me stomach problems so I don't eat many. I am supplementing with 125 mg of magnesium at night, doing Epsom foot soaks a couple times per week, plus the progest-e. Oh, and also vitamin D since I tested very low on that.
I'm confused about what else I should do. I feel like I can function right now, but I'm on day 27 of my cycle and usually feel pretty good at this point. I am dreading the next cycle. Should I keep dosing the progesterone everyday for a couple months? Should I try something else like pregnenolone? Should I mess with my thyroid? From what I've read of Peat he seems to think anything under 1 or 2 for TSH is good. My hands and feet sometimes get cold, my pulse seems to always be 72, I don't think I've ever had a problem with my temperature, but I've never taken it consistently, and don't think I can take it now since I'm taking the progesterone, right? Just not sure what else to try from here. I feel like I could deal with the other things OK, but the depression and anxiety is nearly debilitating.
I am going to try to do a condensed version of what got me to give Peat a try.
I am 34 years old. I have always had regular menstrual cycles, every 28 days since I started at 16. They were very painful the first 2 days, but did not give me problems other than that. They lasted 6-7 days. I also had IBS problems for as long as I can remember.
When my cycle came back after my second child about 3 years ago, it started coming every 21 or so days and was very heavy. I asked my midwife and she said our cycles change as we age and that was that. In January of 2011 I had to take antibiotics for a sinus infection that wouldn't go away. The regular antibiotic didn't help so my doctor put me on z-pack. An hour after the first dose I had horrible gallbladder attack symptoms and was admitted to the hospital twice, ended up being there for nearly a week. After many tests they couldn't find anything wrong. After I came home I started eating a "healthy" diet, lots of whole grains, veggies, forcing my 64 ounces of water down, cutting out all fast food and most sugar. I felt fantastic until July when I started having cramps from ovulation until menses. I took too many Advil and gave myself ulcers. A gastro doctor treated that and I started eating mostly paleo, went too low carb then started having major anxiety, depression, heart palpitations, head zaps, back pain, lots of stuff associated with menopause except no hot flashes. I went to a gyn and she suggested SSRIs or birth control; I said no thanks. She sent me for blood tests which showed normal estradiol, high FSH (23.3) and LH (64.3), and normal TSH (0.97). She said it looked like I was going into early menopause. I asked her if I could try prometrium and she was onboard, she gave me 12 tablets to take from day 14-25. The problem was that my cycle has been lengthening, from 28 days, to 38, to 49. Another problem is I feel ok during the latter half of my period, but awful during the first part, when you're not supposed to take progesterone.
This last cycle I felt so awful I started a progesterone cream, just 10 mg once at night, on day 8. It made me feel a little better. On day 14 I started taking 10 mg progesterone in the morning and my 200 mg prometrium at night. (I know most of the prometrium is destroyed and we only get about 10% after it goes through the liver.) A couple days later I got my order of progest-e and started taking probably 5 drops 4 times a day plus the one tablet of prometrium. I felt better but still not normal.
I started incorporating Peat's philosophies about a month ago. I eat mashed potatoes or white rice with practically every meal, with butter and cheese melted on top. I eat meat 2x per day, usually beef or lamb but sometimes poultry. I eat shrimp or white fish for the other meal. I drink 2 cups of salted OJ mixed with mineral water throughout the day. I eat 2 cups of fruit, usually cherries or blueberries. Sometimes I put cream on them, but the majority of my dairy comes from cheese as I get headaches when I drink milk. I'd say I get about 15-20 grams of protein from cheese every day. I eat several squares of dark chocolate every day. I have tried cutting out the starch but I am already underweight (5'7", 110 pounds my whole life, dipped down to a scary 102 while paleo, never had an eating disorder), and haven't been able to keep my weight up without it at this point. Eggs give me stomach problems so I don't eat many. I am supplementing with 125 mg of magnesium at night, doing Epsom foot soaks a couple times per week, plus the progest-e. Oh, and also vitamin D since I tested very low on that.
I'm confused about what else I should do. I feel like I can function right now, but I'm on day 27 of my cycle and usually feel pretty good at this point. I am dreading the next cycle. Should I keep dosing the progesterone everyday for a couple months? Should I try something else like pregnenolone? Should I mess with my thyroid? From what I've read of Peat he seems to think anything under 1 or 2 for TSH is good. My hands and feet sometimes get cold, my pulse seems to always be 72, I don't think I've ever had a problem with my temperature, but I've never taken it consistently, and don't think I can take it now since I'm taking the progesterone, right? Just not sure what else to try from here. I feel like I could deal with the other things OK, but the depression and anxiety is nearly debilitating.