mild acne and dosing info

athena7

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Sep 3, 2014
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Hi everyone, I am new to the forum and just started progest E 9 days ago. I have been trying to follow the diet, actually for a long time now way before I started the progesterone. I do not drink milk though, only eat small amounts of hard cheeses like the kerrygold dubliner and sometimes Nancy's cottage cheese. Dairy does not agree with me yet(the lactose part that is). I have been doing the gelatin and collagen hyrosylate for months and love it(my skin looks way more vibrant). Trying to do fruit throughout the day which is hard because I generally have not done much fruit or anything with sugar. I've been eating medjol dates too. I do cheat with nut butters because I love them and they go so well with fruit and dates. Probably gonna try and cut out the nuts because they could be causing me breakouts :cry: I have been eating coconut oil for years and love it, also the best quality grass fed butter and ghee.
Today I woke up feeling very PMS'y and had five little pimples all over my chin(the hormone area). Am I doing too much progesterone or should I do more? I cannot handle breaking out as I work in the skin care industry and give people advice all day about their skin! Also I have been feeling heavy where as I usually feel fit and active. I'm eating less carbs, pretty much no grains but can see that I have more cellulite and fat on my stomach and thighs. And even though I am hungry I feel full. Just like what pregnant women talk of. According to Dr. Peter Eckhart any phytoestrogens, especially on the skin can cause this effect(way higher absorption), and when progesterone is added in it can exacerbate this until phytoestrogens are removed. The thing is is that I have been cutting out phytoestrogens one by one for many years and still am not improving. I have the worst menstrual cramps ever, mild persistent acne, PMS-hardcore, severe anxiety and digestive troubles. I have done every cleanse and diet known to man...year after year and still no relief. Also every herb and supplement you can think of. This is getting long so I guess my main question is....should I continue this dosing schedule of 4-5 drops on my gums 3 times a day for 21 days and then wait to see if I get a period and then just continue in the luteal phase next cycle? My cycle is not regular this month because out of sheer desperation I let my doctor talk me into the fact that I needed birth control. She said it would be the only thing to stop my skin issues and the horrendous period pains and I tried it for 2 and a half weeks before giving up due to the awful side effects. So, it messed with my once perfect cycle....although cramps have been terrible for the last 15 years and nothing has ever helped that besides birth control in the past but I'm not touching that stuff anymore. Any advice from all of you knowledgeable people would be great. I appreciate the support and hope to fix myself soon once and for all. I think 15 years of suffering is enough so I hope following Ray Peat's advice along with progest E will provide much needed relief. I just don't know if I need more or less because it doesn't seem to be effecting me that much...still the same ol symptoms as always. I know I need to give it 3 months but shouldn't I get some relief in the meantime?
 

Katty

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I know your main question is about the progest-e dosing... and I don't have any guidance for you on that part (I took progest e for a long time a couple years ago-- I didn't have the best experience with it, but nothing was working for me at the time because I wasn't eating enough food).
But, in terms of cramps, the things that have helped me are taking thyroid hormone and eating tons of carbs, focusing on simple sugars. When I started a re-feed last fall, I was eating around 375g of carbs every day for about a month or so-- the imbalance of carbs to my protein and fat did seem to cause some problems, but my cramps that month were pretty much non-existent. I was also taking thyroid at the time, and my cramps had already gotten better with the thyroid meds, but I'd still get some minor pains with menstruation... but that month of 375g of carbs per day, no cramps. You might check and see if you are eating enough food in general. I ate low calorie (and low carb) for many years and had horrible cramps. Eating more food and carbs helped that issue.
Also, if you were recently on the birth control (even if you're off it now), it may take a little while for your body to re-set. So you may want to keep your progest at the same dose for now and see what happens in a cycle or two. It must be frustrating to have the skin problems when that's your line of work, but unfortunately there are rarely any quick fixes with re-gaining health.
 
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athena7

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Thank you Katty! I don't know why I have it in my head that carbs are so bad. I guess I'm scared I will get diabetes or that it will make my skin break out more due to higher insulin causing more oil production. I am going to have such a hard time with this but I am going to try and eat more carbs. With the thyroid supplement, I am hesitant as I have hyperthyroid symptoms usually but it's confusing since they are almost the same as hypo. I get really hyperactive, hypersensitive, sweat easily and stay pretty hot except at night time(the opposite of most people). Also anxiety and heart palpitations. I do take Lugol's iodine and take spirulina/chlorella and eat nori daily so I probably get more then enough thyroid nourishment but if things do not improve then I am open to trying something more. Will gaining weight help me keep my progesterone up? One of the ways they try and sell progesterone is saying it burns the fat that estrogen is storing but it seems like to keep progesterone up you need to eat more food high in simple sugars and salt, both which gain weight for me.
I can't even tell you how happy I would be to have a period without horrendous cramps and to not break out with my cycle every single month since it leaves hardly any recovery time and diminishes my joy.
So far I am not really feeling the progesterone effects besides feeling lazy and heavy but its not really helping inflammation or anxiety or my skin. I started spotting today and am confused but think I will stick with it until the time of the month I should be getting my period. Thanks so much for your advice.
 

Blossom

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RP said in an interview with Mary Shammon that kelp and other sources of excess iodine suppress the thyroid and that iodine should not be used as a treatment for hypothyroidism. It might be worth experimenting with discontinuing the Lugol's iodine and the seaweeds in your diet to see if that helps. Eating seafood from the sea (not farmed) is a good way to get adequate iodine.
 

Katty

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athena7 said:
Thank you Katty! I don't know why I have it in my head that carbs are so bad. I guess I'm scared I will get diabetes or that it will make my skin break out more due to higher insulin causing more oil production. I am going to have such a hard time with this but I am going to try and eat more carbs. With the thyroid supplement, I am hesitant as I have hyperthyroid symptoms usually but it's confusing since they are almost the same as hypo. I get really hyperactive, hypersensitive, sweat easily and stay pretty hot except at night time(the opposite of most people). Also anxiety and heart palpitations. I do take Lugol's iodine and take spirulina/chlorella and eat nori daily so I probably get more then enough thyroid nourishment but if things do not improve then I am open to trying something more. Will gaining weight help me keep my progesterone up? One of the ways they try and sell progesterone is saying it burns the fat that estrogen is storing but it seems like to keep progesterone up you need to eat more food high in simple sugars and salt, both which gain weight for me.
I can't even tell you how happy I would be to have a period without horrendous cramps and to not break out with my cycle every single month since it leaves hardly any recovery time and diminishes my joy.
So far I am not really feeling the progesterone effects besides feeling lazy and heavy but its not really helping inflammation or anxiety or my skin. I started spotting today and am confused but think I will stick with it until the time of the month I should be getting my period. Thanks so much for your advice.

I was afraid of carbs too. But eating sugar (along with enough calories in general) actually makes me feel calm and happy, which was a nice change =) You definitely might experience weight gain. I certainly did. But it seems when people are under-eating, rebound weight gain is inevitable. Fat seems to be protective somehow, especially for people who have been low carbing or low cal for a long time.

I second what Blossom had to say about the iodine. You might be suppressing your thyroid. Or overdoing it with all the supplements. The excess sweating could be a high cortisol issue--- small, frequent meals with enough sugar could help in suppressing the cortisol issues.
 

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