Could use some help with Progest e dosage

[Saracatt]

Hi everyone,

So I've been peating for maybe 6 weeks now. I have had a lot of positive results.

My history:

10+ years of chronic inflammation/pain, gut issues, food intolerances, hormonal imbalance, and fatigue.

I'm coming off of low carb, but I was never able to stick to it. I would go low carb for a while, and then inevitably cave and start eating sugar again. After reading the information here, and some other sources, I can now see that maybe was a good thing! My body's instincts were overriding what I was trying to impose on it.

Changes I've made:

I've pretty much cut out starch, and I'm grain free for the most part. This really helps with the gut issues.
I'm eating more calories. I never used to be hungry. I was around 1500 or less/day. Now I'm above 2000.
I'm eating lots of dairy, a carrot salad daily, oysters, eggs, liver gelatin and once in a while grass-fed beef for protein, butter and MCT oil, and a little olive oil once in a while. Lots of fruit, some honey for sweetening, and OJ. Lecithin-free chocolate. I'm starting to experiment with some potatoes and veggies once in a while. I've pretty much cut out PUFA.

When I track it, I'm around 50% carbs, 25% fat, 25% protein.

I'm supplementing with Progest e (lots - depending on symptoms), vitamin K, Calcium, D, and a B vitamins, and charcoal at bedtime some days.

Improvements I've seen:

I can eat dairy!!! I took the plunge about two weeks in, and I am shocked that I can eat so much dairy without so much as a gurgle. Dairy used to cause a severe reaction.

I used to have constant abdominal pain. It worsened around my period (severely - to the point of vomiting). This is mostly gone. I think I had a lingering ovarian cyst from being on the Mirena IUD years ago, but the Progest e has made a difference.

I got through the last period with almost no PMS. At first, I think I wasn't dosing enough Progest e, and I was getting emotional, so I kept taking it as symptoms came up, even if that was every 20 minutes. I now have a feeling of well-being and calm that I haven't had in at least 10 years - I tend to be anxious - and I got through the last period without debilitating cramps. (This used to lay me up for up to 3 days at a time when it was bad.)

Hardly any headaches. I found this forum after searching for information on headaches. I was getting headaches before my period that lasted for 2 weeks. Cutting out the PUFAs seems to have solved this quickly, but I don't completely understand why. The few times I have had something PUFA laden, I have gotten a headache again. I may have triggered this by following the SCD diet and eating lots of nuts. I've stopped that.

Increased body temp: I'm generally in the low 98s now. I was below 97 sometimes when I started tracking it. I think I pushed to hard at first with supplements, experimenting with aspirin and B vitamins, so I have backed off of that to make it easier on myself.

Less brain fog: I've known that I had chronic gut issues for a while now. The brain fog would get so bad that I could barely do my job.

Gums stopped bleeding with vitamin K.

I can get to sleep, and sleep all through the night. I used to get wired at night, even though I was tired.

I was losing weight at first, but I wasn't eating enough calories. Now I have put it back on, but I'm not gaining, even though I am eating sugar, and that is a wonderful thing!

I am much more relaxed about what I am eating. I decided to stop counting the calories and just eat. I used to be obsessed with food, but I have let go about the guilt over it, and just feel like I am nourishing my body.

Where I need help:
.
Still have a chronic infection/brain fog, although this has improved. I think I've put all of the pieces together, and my problems were caused by bad diet ->gut infection->overwhelmed liver->hormone imbalance. I'm not sure where the inflammation fits in.

I still have a lot of body pain and joint pain, but I think this will improve with time. I am considering going on an antibiotic for the gut issues. I have had infections confirmed through CDSAs in the past.

What worries me right now though is still issues with my cycle. Although I feel much better mentally, and the pain has gone away, my cycle is off. I was always very regular - every 25 days. It came 3 days early this time, despite the Progest e, and on the 4th day, it was as though my period started again. This has happened in the past. The other improvement here is that the flow is much lighter. It had gotten to the point that it was extremely heavy.

Does anyone here have experience fixing hormonal issues with Progest e? I'm thinking right now, I should keep taking it, and see if the symptoms improve. It is just worrisome to have such a strange cycle.

Thanks for listening, and I'd appreciate any suggestions.

It would be so nice to find a doctor that understand these things, but I am afraid to go to them anymore. I've had so many bad experiences, and usually just end up worse off than when I started, or at least talked out of doing whatever is helping me.

Sara

 

[tara]

Hi Saracatt,
I'm glad you are having so many improvements.

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/96231/ I got through the last period with almost no PMS. At first, I think I wasn't dosing enough Progest e, and I was getting emotional, so I kept taking it as symptoms came up, even if that was every 20 minutes. I now have a feeling of well-being and calm that I haven't had in at least 10 years - I tend to be anxious - and I got through the last period without debilitating cramps. (This used to lay me up for up to 3 days at a time when it was bad.)

Fantastic. I had debilitating dysmenorrhea in my twenties - extreme pain + dizziness, nausea and vomiting etc. Such a relief when it goes.

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/96231/
What worries me right now though is still issues with my cycle. Although I feel much better mentally, and the pain has gone away, my cycle is off. I was always very regular - every 25 days. It came 3 days early this time, despite the Progest e, and on the 4th day, it was as though my period started again. This has happened in the past. The other improvement here is that the flow is much lighter. It had gotten to the point that it was extremely heavy.

I don't know exactly what will work for you with using progest-e or other methods to balance hormones, but I'll mention a couple of observations and speculations I've had about myself. I don't expect you would react exactly the same as I did. I can't claimed to have solved my key issues, but I think I've had some improvements. I'm afraid I'm slack about record keeping, and my memory isn't as reliable as I'd like, so I don't have as good data as may be useful.

IIRC, I used several drops of progest-e 5x a day for many months. I was not measuring carefully, eventually just squirting some on gums and letting it sit in mouth as long as poss. I'm around 50 yrs - not yet menopausal but probably approaching soon. I think you are younger? I continued to menstruate, a little lighter and shorter than previously, and not completely regular in intervals. Every now and then I'd forget a dose. Every now an then I'd take a few extra large doses to try to stave of a migraine. Early this year I reduced to a smaller amount, measured so it's a pretty similar amount each time, and just twice a day. After a few months I figured it might be time to try doing it more cyclicly, and see if I would be OK with only supplementing for half the month. I cut down to just once a day. Then my period trickled on at a low level for 10 days or more. I upped the dose to twice a day and it stopped. I tried lowering again. I had a couple of months with no menstruation - not like me at all. Now I'm back up to twice a day again.

I speculate, but not sure, that when I was using unmeasured largish amounts, and occasionally forgetting, my levels were probably somewhat irregular. I think when there is enough progesterone around, a drop in levels can trigger menstruation - I suspect that such drops, as an interaction of my natural cycle and my irregular supplementation, may have been triggering menstruation at somewhat irregular intervals.
When I cut down to twice a day and measured more carefully, I expect it was enough to keep the cycle functioning, and regular enough not to have so many random drops. Then when I tried to go down even lower, it may not have been enough to support a regular cycle - either to initiate menstruation regularly, or to stop it in a timely manner. It could also be that I'm getting effects from natural perimenopause.

In the meantime, I'm planning to continue with twice a day and see how things go.

I think I recall someone quoting Peat as saying that if we are going to use progest-e throughout the month, it's better to have a regular amount. Don't know where that is, though. I know some people dose it as they feel the need, and at times that's what I've done too. I wonder if this could be relevant for you?