Progesterone Caused Bad Effects For This Woman - Peat Perspective?

Bluebell

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May 24, 2013
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I'm thinking of starting progest-e for the first time, but I came across this article. This poor woman got clots, severe nausea, very high heart beat, and other issues, from taking just 20-30mg a day (I'm assuming she cycled on and off according to Lee's book which she mentions following):

"The symptoms during those six months of illness as I rebounded from
the cream are almost too many to list, but they include: severe nausea
and vomiting, gastro-intestinal problems (marked heartburn, bouts of
diarrhea, and bouts of constipation), uncontrollable shaking, acne and
extremely oily skin, hirtuism, depression, anxiety, tingling/burning
sensations on the back of my arms, neck, and head, insomnia, hyper-
sensitivity to medications and foods, hot flashes, and serious withdrawal
symptoms."

http://www.bmj.com/rapid-response/2011/ ... ogesterone

I am wondering what she did wrong from a Peat point of view. I want to avoid that kind of result myself.

Some possible red flags ...

- she took it transdermally (but I doubt it would make that much difference to create such a bad outcome)

- the issue of transdermal progesterone hanging around in the fat and releasing constantly is mentioned but again I don't think that would cause such severe symptoms, more likely it would just stop her period.

- the form of progesterone (soy or wild yam, how it's processed etc) - I didn't think this was such a big difference to cause such symptoms

- she has hypothyroidism - could this be the issue? The progesterone making thyroid hormones go through the roof? But then should we all make sure our hypo is 100% gone before attempting progest-e? And in any case the symptoms don't seem to match exactly to hyperthyroidism or thyroid storm.

- she took the Pill in the past - but it sounds like she only took it for less than a year, and many Peat followers used to take it too and it was never highlighted as a problem to have this history

- she didn't get a blood test to show low progesterone. but ... so many Peat-following women don't get one either, we just go on symptoms. It's not like we advise each other it's a must to get a test.


I would be very interested to hear your comments, thank you!
 

SaltGirl

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Oct 18, 2013
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The big problem with progesterone is that it blocks certain things. These things are stuff like aldosterone. Now, lowering aldosterone is good, but people forget that aldosterone tends to help the body retain certain things, such as Calcium, Sodium, and if I recall correctly, Copper. This is why we eat so much salt as we are trying to lower aldosterone through the right signalling pathways(ie. not taking shortcuts).

There was also an earlier thread about Vitamin C and how one member of the forum saw her needs for Vitamin C raise considerably thanks to Progesterone.

There are probably countless other factors that play into this. I know that I have to cycle the progesterone, but during those times my need for certain minerals grows much higher.
 

schultz

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Without knowing this woman and the product she was taking, it's hard to figure out what was actually caused by the cream she was taking.

One thing Ray has mentioned is that taking progesterone can cause the thyroid to unload its colloid over the course of several months. So it can put a person in a hyperthyroid state, and if they aren't expecting it, apparently it can scare them (though Ray says usually people feel pretty good in a hyperthyroid state).

It's hard to tell with these people what is causing the problem because it seems like everything they do is damaging. The body is complicated.
 

Peata

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I'm guessing, but maybe it wasn't high enough dose to do much but cause more estrogen symptoms. I've read more than once that if you don't take enough progesterone to flush out the excess estrogen then the estrogen will just cause the bad symptoms. If you keep on the progesterone long enough it would eventually be fine I guess, but some recommend starting with high doses of progesterone to deal with the estrogen all at once (not those exact words, but the same idea). I know I didn't see good results with Progest E until I took high doses all month long. I did that for 2 or 3 months starting last April. I didn't keep it up though because it was a lot of $ and taking Progest E. And I wanted to fix the problem if I could rather than have to rely on that supplement all the time. But it did fix many of my estrogen issues (not long term though, as when I went off the high dose Progest E, many of them came back)

severe nausea and vomiting, acne and extremely oily skin, hirtuism, depression, anxiety, insomnia

at least those symptoms were the same I would get on the bcp, especially the high estrogen ones I was on sometimes. And even after the pill, would still get them, as what I consider estrogen dominant symptoms
 

schultz

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"We also noticed that my "resting" heart rate was going through the
roof. One day when I had been on the cream about two months, we stopped
at a blood pressure machine, and my heart rate (while wandering
aimlessly around a store) was over 120! There were several times when
my heart felt like it was pounding out of my chest. I kept putting this
down to thyroid trouble. As a doctor in LA told me later, "Yes, no
wonder you were losing weight...at the expense of your heart!"

Sounds like she became hyperthyroid, at least for some of the time.
 
OP
Bluebell

Bluebell

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Yeah it does sound like there were probably multiple factors involved for her. Some of her symptoms do sound like hyperthyroid, and the clots make me suspect estrogen.
 

LUH 3417

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I know this is an old thread but just wanted to chime in. I took high dose progest E for a month timing it around my cycle as advised. I didn't like the way it made me feel so I stopped.

A few days ago I woke up with really sore breasts and decided to try progest E again. I didn't change much about my diet besides adding the progest E. the past 4 nights since taking it, I've been waking up 4-5x a night to urinate and have been constipatied, so having crazy dreams probably due to increased serotonin. Could it be that progesterone blocking aldosterone made the frequent urination come back with a vengeance? This was a major issue for me before discovering RP and now it's back and ruining my sleep.
 

artlange

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for best results estrogens in your environment should be reduced as much as possible. Commercial soap, shampoo, etc often have estrogens that may cause problems. ProgestE is not a magic bullet, it does need some help with other reductions of estrogen. I use a few drops per day for prostate. I also have changed my soap and laundry detergent to low estrogen type. I supplement with NDT and have good sleep. I wake up less often during the night if I refrain from drinking liquids after 8PM.
 

LUH 3417

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for best results estrogens in your environment should be reduced as much as possible. Commercial soap, shampoo, etc often have estrogens that may cause problems. ProgestE is not a magic bullet, it does need some help with other reductions of estrogen. I use a few drops per day for prostate. I also have changed my soap and laundry detergent to low estrogen type. I supplement with NDT and have good sleep. I wake up less often during the night if I refrain from drinking liquids after 8PM.
I use baking soda and vinegar for laundry and basic castille soap. I'm not looking for a magic bullet just stating that progesterone is not always agreeable with everyone as per my experience.
 

dookie

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I think progesterone can convert to estrogen. So many women complain of getting fat and bloated from it. I just don't believe the story that it is "detoxing the estrogen". If the detox keeps lasting, month after month, getting worse and worse, obviously that theory is wrong
 

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