alywest
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- Joined
- Apr 19, 2017
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Wherever I look (besides Ray Peat and RP inspired people's writings) there is this tendency to make progesterone out to be the thing that causes all the miserable aspects of PMS and pregnancy.
According to one article I read the rise in progesterone during the last two weeks of the month before menstruation is what causes breast tenderness and mood swings. In a normal cycle, progesterone is low during the first two weeks while estrogen increases. During that second week you're supposed to feel super horny and then you ovulate which brings estrogen down and the progesterone levels rise.
In a normal woman who actually has healthy levels of the hormones (as seen above) I would think PMS wouldn't exist, however we all know that estrogen dominance is a thing and that is why the rise in progesterone levels doesn't counteract the fact that estrogen levels are still high when they're actually supposed to drop below estrogen during the second two weeks. So how can "they" say that it's progesterone's fault? Are they saying that a healthy woman is supposed to suffer PMS symptoms, that that is natural and healthy?
Then if you read the typical pregnancy article, progesterone is blamed for the fact that we are constipated and have severe headaches. If that's true, then how come when I take progesterone orally my headaches go away? It says in one particular article: "Progesterone also causes relaxation of blood vessels, which can lead to increased blood flow to the brain, and severe headaches and migraines."
It goes on to say: "According to the Mayo Clinic, an increase in progesterone during pregnancy can be associated with negative mood swings such as depression. The unstable levels of hormones such as progesterone can lead to mood swings in pregnant women. Because progesterone causes relaxation of smooth muscles, it also affects the smooth muscles of the nostrils, and leads to congestion seen with stuffy nostrils."
According to this chart progesterone is relatively low during the first trimester (when most of the morning sickness and headache symptoms occur) so how on Earth are they still saying that it's progesterone's fault? Clearly hGC is the culprit at least behind the nausea and headaches that are during those first 12 weeks. Besides that progesterone and estrogen remain pretty even until labor when progesterone has to drop in order for contractions to occur. And that in itself should be a clue as to how evil estrogen is (if you've ever experienced contractions.) It's like being electrocuted over and over again, it's pretty much unbearable for most women,, and I would guess that the women who are able to tolerate labor are the ones who probably maintain a steadier level of progesterone until the end.
Obviously the progesterone has to drop enough to allow for contractions to occur, but there must be a certain ratio that is maintained allowing for a woman to tolerate the pain. Sometimes epidural is what allows a woman to relax enough to even have the baby as some women who attempt a drug free birth can't make any progress (baby doesn't move down the birth canal.) If there was a certain ratio of progesterone injected I wonder if epidural wouldn't be totally necessary. I'd be willing to experiment with progesterone during labor. Once you're in full on labor it's happening no matter what so progesterone isn't going to stop the birth from happening.
Progesterone relaxes the muscles. Has anyone else ever heard of a muscle relaxer causing headaches? That is just absurd. I think this is an issue with the medical establishment wanting to ensure that estrogen continues to be looked at as a good thing, but women in general should be standing up to this nonsense and saying that we want the facts and not some filtered down bull**** that tell us that we should be loving our estrogen and hating the progesterone.
According to one article I read the rise in progesterone during the last two weeks of the month before menstruation is what causes breast tenderness and mood swings. In a normal cycle, progesterone is low during the first two weeks while estrogen increases. During that second week you're supposed to feel super horny and then you ovulate which brings estrogen down and the progesterone levels rise.
In a normal woman who actually has healthy levels of the hormones (as seen above) I would think PMS wouldn't exist, however we all know that estrogen dominance is a thing and that is why the rise in progesterone levels doesn't counteract the fact that estrogen levels are still high when they're actually supposed to drop below estrogen during the second two weeks. So how can "they" say that it's progesterone's fault? Are they saying that a healthy woman is supposed to suffer PMS symptoms, that that is natural and healthy?
Then if you read the typical pregnancy article, progesterone is blamed for the fact that we are constipated and have severe headaches. If that's true, then how come when I take progesterone orally my headaches go away? It says in one particular article: "Progesterone also causes relaxation of blood vessels, which can lead to increased blood flow to the brain, and severe headaches and migraines."
It goes on to say: "According to the Mayo Clinic, an increase in progesterone during pregnancy can be associated with negative mood swings such as depression. The unstable levels of hormones such as progesterone can lead to mood swings in pregnant women. Because progesterone causes relaxation of smooth muscles, it also affects the smooth muscles of the nostrils, and leads to congestion seen with stuffy nostrils."
According to this chart progesterone is relatively low during the first trimester (when most of the morning sickness and headache symptoms occur) so how on Earth are they still saying that it's progesterone's fault? Clearly hGC is the culprit at least behind the nausea and headaches that are during those first 12 weeks. Besides that progesterone and estrogen remain pretty even until labor when progesterone has to drop in order for contractions to occur. And that in itself should be a clue as to how evil estrogen is (if you've ever experienced contractions.) It's like being electrocuted over and over again, it's pretty much unbearable for most women,, and I would guess that the women who are able to tolerate labor are the ones who probably maintain a steadier level of progesterone until the end.
Obviously the progesterone has to drop enough to allow for contractions to occur, but there must be a certain ratio that is maintained allowing for a woman to tolerate the pain. Sometimes epidural is what allows a woman to relax enough to even have the baby as some women who attempt a drug free birth can't make any progress (baby doesn't move down the birth canal.) If there was a certain ratio of progesterone injected I wonder if epidural wouldn't be totally necessary. I'd be willing to experiment with progesterone during labor. Once you're in full on labor it's happening no matter what so progesterone isn't going to stop the birth from happening.
Progesterone relaxes the muscles. Has anyone else ever heard of a muscle relaxer causing headaches? That is just absurd. I think this is an issue with the medical establishment wanting to ensure that estrogen continues to be looked at as a good thing, but women in general should be standing up to this nonsense and saying that we want the facts and not some filtered down bull**** that tell us that we should be loving our estrogen and hating the progesterone.