Please Help Me Balance My Hormones

[cindy]

I am new to this forum and started in the meet and greet thread. I found this thread and thought I should move my problem over here. I have very clear symptoms when I make a change in my hormone dose. I just don't know what the symptoms mean so, I keep going from feeling amazing to feeling miserable. I have no other health issues. My new idea is to post what I do with the doses and the symptoms I experience from the change.

I had a complete hysterectomy 1 1/2 years ago because of heavy periods.
I have a 50mg estrogen pellet March 18
I use compounded progesterone cream
I started with asthma after getting the pellet and I took a break from progesterone
I took a break from progesterone because my libido was too high and my breasts too full
When I stopped progesterone the libdo and breast fullness when away, but I got asthma
I have started back on the progesterone 5mg on April 15 at 5:45pm 2xs daily
The libido and breast fullness have returned and the asthma has improved but I feel out of balance now
I removed the .025 estrogen patch that I sometimes use to supplement the pellet at 9:30 am et (4-17)
I used 10 mg of progesterone at 6am
I will post again at 1:30 to note any changes because of the removal of the estrogen patch.
My major complaint is between 3am and 5am I wake up to a strange surge feeling. Sometimes this does not happen. I know it is hormone related. Also now I have asthma and feel off.

 

[Blossom]

I wonder if your doctor would be open to removing the pellet and switching your estrogen to a type you can control more yourself like a cream? I'm not sure how your relationship is with your doctor is but if it's decent maybe you can talk with him or her honestly. I would try that first since it sounds like a minor procedure is required to get the pellet removed. I've found some physicians you can talk to better than others. If you can't get anywhere with this doctor you may have to seek out someone willing to take the pellet out and work with you on a form of estrogen you can decrease more easily. Hopefully this doctor might be open to working with you on weaning it down. I personally think weaning the estrogen down is going to be an important step as well as adding Progest-e. Remember you are in charge ultimately not the doctor. It's your body and your life and if you chose to wean off estrogen a doctor should respect and work with you toward that goal. I'm sure others will be posting their experiences as well!

 

[cindy]

I feel better now. I started to feel the asthma cough coming back and used 5 mg of progesterone. The pellet is good for me. It is the only way to relieve my low estrogen symptoms. The pellet gives me the steady dose that I need. No other delivery has been able to do that. I am new to the pellet though and did not realize that it was still steadily increasing. Before the pellet, I was suffering like you can not imagine. Mine is a low dose. All the women I know use more than that amount. I think I will have to be careful to make sure that I dont skip progesterone. I will look into the progest-e.

 

[Blossom]

Thanks for the update. I'm glad your cough is better. You might find the general dietary guidelines useful if you haven't had a chance to review them. They are an excellent foundation for healing on a Peat inspired approach. Keep us updated.

 

[charlie]

It is the only way to relieve my low estrogen symptoms. .

Apologies if you said this before. Where you tested for estrogen? Did you also get your progesterone checked at the time?

 

[j.]

Apologies if you said this before. Where you tested for estrogen? Did you also get your progesterone checked at the time?

Apparently it's not good to test for estrogen, since serum estrogen doesn't reflect the amount in the body, and that prolactin is a better predictor of the amount of estrogen a person has.

 

[charlie]

Apologies if you said this before. Where you tested for estrogen? Did you also get your progesterone checked at the time?

Apparently it's not good to test for estrogen, since serum estrogen doesn't reflect the amount in the body, and that prolactin is a better predictor of the amount of estrogen a person has.

Right. Thank you for clearing that up for me.

 

[Blossom]

Cindy, Please consider doing more reading about Peat's views on estrogen. I know how you feel about it now because I too felt that way myself at one point. I didn't really know what to say earlier when you replied about the estrogen pellet and it is not my place to try to discourage you in any way. In your meet and greet I mentioned that Peat believes estrogen increases rather than decreases with age and menopause. A very integral part of Peat's work is his research on the negative effects of estrogen. He really does expose the truth about estrogen that has been suppressed in 'medicine'. Just the fact that you have developed asthma is telling in itself. Progesterone is necessary to balance estrogen of course but IMHO it will only compensate so much when you have a steady supply of estrogen from the pellet going into your system. Getting adequate nutrition is vital but please, please, please read more on his estrogen stance. It has been a life changer for me. I'm afraid that if the pellet stays in long term you may be setting yourself up for a constant battle in dealing with the negative consequences it brings. I'm just saying this as one woman to another who has been down the medical estrogen treatment road. I can't say what is right for you but please learning more can never hurt.

 

[cindy]

Thank you for your responses. I had a good night last night. Earlier in the day yesterday, I removed my .o25 patch which lowered my estrogen. I felt fine until about 4:00. I started coughing again. I used 5mg of progesterone and I soon was better. I went to bed at 9:30 when I used another 5mg of progesterone. I also took 2 Benedryl. I slept until 5:00am. After I woke. I started coughing some. I used 5mg of progesterone and soon I was fine. It is 8:45 and I feel balanced and am not coughing. It seems that I am fine as long as I dont take a break from the progesterone. Blossom, I have no way to produce my own estrogen. I have no overies and I have a flat belly. I have no fat in which to produce estrogen. I think that is why I cannot tolerate fluctuation in estrogen or progesterone. I dont have any stored in fat that I can utilize. I seem to burn through both estrogen and progesterone very quickly. So, I feel like I am on a rollercoaster if I dont have a controlled steady dose. Also I have read that a flat belly in a woman could be a sign that testosterone is not being converted to estrogen because of lack of an enzyme. It is rare, but so is a flat belly and fit looking body in a 54 year old woman who doesnt work out at all. I get teased. They say I would be a good lab rat because my response is so fast. I have a lot of energy. Especially in the morning. I eat whatever I want. I am not only not typical but the opposite of my friends my age. If I didnt have estrogen replacement, I am sure I would not live very long. My symptoms when estrogen gets low or is not steady are so severe and unusual that I have heard "i never heard of that," several times. But when I started on estrogen I became better than "normal" again. I hope it does increase with age. I am afraid that I dont have any means for it, though. I am so unusual, I think I need someone as knowledgeable as Ray Peat to really figure me out.

 

[Blossom]

You could write to Ray Peat if you are interested to see if he is doing consultations at this time. I consulted with a scientist from his website links page named Benedicte Mai Lerche at biochemnordic.com. Believe it or not I do understand the weight issue. I was only 95 pounds and you could see my sternum and every rib on my chest and thorax. It was very unsightly to me and I can relate to how disturbing it feels. I'm glad you have found some relief with progesterone. Thanks for the update.

 

[cindy]

Thank you Blossom. You were a lot thinner than I am. Do you have ovaries? I would like to be free of estrogen. How did you do it? I thought I couldn't beacause I don't have enough fat, but you did.

 

[Blossom]

I have one ovary. The other ovary and my uterus was removed about 8 years ago. It was a real rollercoaster right after the surgery for a few months and then it seemed my one remaining ovary came out of shock and started working again for about 4-5 years. In hindsight I'm sure I was low in progesterone but I never really knew what was going on because I seemed to have so many issues that medicine couldn't figure out. The fact that I had a prolactinoma within a year of the time of the partial hysterectomy would point to high estrogen or at least not enough progesterone to balance estrogen. I'm looking back now and everything is starting to make more sense. I was never your typical person that would be considered estrogen dominant by appearance. I think that's really mostly a flawed point of view. I have an aunt who is into alternative medicine and she once commented that I was obviously not estrogen dominant because of my thinness and lack of curves. Having too much estrogen can be like being on cocaine where you are over stimulated and wired. Stopping the estrogen was the best thing I ever did for myself besides discovering Peat's work. Peat's view is that we are designed to tolerate being stimulated intensely but briefly by estrogen. I was getting a consistent dose day in and day out with no break whatsoever and I think that was damaging for me. I believe that my ovary works again after over 6 months on Progest-e and I probably do get stimulated intensely but briefly by my own bodies estrogen monthly like I did before the surgery. I feel the whole approach has restored me to a much better level of functioning than I had even 10 years ago. Even if I didn't have an ovary our adrenals and other tissues still produce estrogen. I actually proactively try to keep my estrogen levels low and I've honestly never felt better.

 

[Blossom]

I suppose I didn't answer the question of 'how did I do it?' I started weaning off the estrogen before discovering Peat. I noticed when I went camping and forgot to take it I felt better. After a couple of similar experiences I finally made the connection that the estrogen really was making me feel worse. I was lucky to have cream I could control the dosage with easily so I just systematically cut back. After discovering Peat's work I was able to fully understand how something that was supposed to be so good for me really wasn't good after all. I'm glad I listened to my instincts on the estrogen.

 

[Light]

You could write to Ray Peat if you are interested to see if he is doing consultations at this time. .

Hi @Blossom,
I wanted to contact Ray for a consultation and wasn't sure how to do it, is it through his regular email?
Also I wasn't sure how to offer payment or how much to offer,or should I wait for him to bring it up?
Do you have any experience with that too?
Thank You

 

[danishispsychic]

and let's not forget about the xenoestrogens.....

 

[Blossom]

Hi @Blossom,
I wanted to contact Ray for a consultation and wasn't sure how to do it, is it through his regular email?
Also I wasn't sure how to offer payment or how much to offer,or should I wait for him to bring it up?
Do you have any experience with that too?
Thank You

I believe @DaveFoster had a phone consultation with him at one point and could give you better input than me. I’ve only emailed him three times.

 

[Light]

I believe @DaveFoster had a phone consultation with him at one point and could give you better input than me. I’ve only emailed him three times.

Okay, Thanks

 

[DaveFoster]

Okay, Thanks

I interviewed him for a research project. I'd just email him and ask.

 

[Light]

I interviewed him for a research project. I'd just email him and ask.

Yeah, I guess i'll just do that,
Thanks Dave

 

[DaveFoster]

Yeah, I guess i'll just do that,
Thanks Dave

Alright, no problem.