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Sunday, April 19, 2015

Progesterone, Hormones Follow Up!

This blog post is about hormones!!  That's right. Progesterone, estrogen, cortisol, testosterone, your thyroid, and the entire endocrine system are all linked. This blog is to help everyone. I have a friend who has "hypothyroidism".  That's what the doctor said anyway.  She thought she did not produce enough thyroid hormone. After doing some research, and seeing her symptoms, I believe the diagnoses was incorrect.  Hypothyroidism can not account for all of her symptoms - like dry eye for example . . . I think she has estrogen dominance, like I do.  I went ahead and purchased some progesterone cream from eBay and began to use it. I also gave her some.

Her reaction to the progesterone cream all but proved it. She came to me, "I stopped yelling at my kids." She looked at me, "And I no longer want to yell at them. Now I realize how much I have been yelling. This cream . .  I feel so much calmer."

Hormones all have a direct effect on your system. They are varied and they are all important to note. Here I give you common symptoms, your possible solutions and of course how to test them on yourself. I implore you to google all of these things, especially your symptoms. You know what your symptoms are, and the internet is full of information about it.

Estrogen Dominance causes:
* Insomnia
* Foggy thinking
* Memory loss
* Dry eyes (I even had to get special eye drops!)
* Bloating
* Depression: Anxiety - yelling
* Fatigue - agitation
* Allergies: asthma, hives, rashes, sinus congestion, sinus infections!
* Mood swings
* Cold hands and feet
* Hair Loss
* Headaches
* Hypoglycemia
* Unpredictable menstruation
* Magnesium deficiency
* Irritability - Withdrawl from people because they all irritate you!
* Sluggish metabolism - Sluggishness makes you cranky
* Decreased sex drive
* Zinc deficiency

Hypothyroidism causes similar symptoms, but they aren't the same:
* Fatigue
* Increase sensitivity to cold
* Constipation
* Dry skin
* Unexplaned weight gain
* Puffy face
* Muscle weakness
* Hoarse throat (sore throat)
* Pain, stiffness or swelling of the joints
* Hair loss/thinning hair
* Depression
*Impaired memory

I have found SOME solutions for this. The primary solution for estrogen dominance is of course progesterone. Estrogen and progesterone work in a very close relationship to each other. Estrogen levels should exist slightly above progesterone levels, but if they are too high it causes all kinds of problems. Without the progesterone to help balance it, you'll have issues.

But you need relief now?!
Temporary solutions (ie, Today without a doctor!), for this problem can be:
* No more caffeine - Even only one cup of coffee per day could increase estrogen levels, and more than four cups of coffee raised the level 70 percent higher.
* No more carbs - Studies showed a reduction in estrogen levels of women who gave up  carb/high fat foods.
* No more sugar - Instead of fatty and processed foods, opt  for fresh, whole fruits, vegetables and nuts.
* A vitamin (B-12 improves mood and energy, but too much and you can't sleep.)
* Natural food mood boosters: http://www.rodalenews.com/brain-food
* DHEA (1/4 of a 5 mg pill, taken only twice/week), DHEA will help to fix the foggy brain, irritability, mood and metabolism. However, it can raise testosterone levels. It will not fix dry eyes, headaches, sinuses, and other symptoms.

Your long term solutions:
* Eat to avoid estrogen - http://www.livestrong.com/article/16099-foods-reduce-estrogen-dominance
* Birth control pill (with more progesterone than estrogen)
* DHEA (Better for men. Can raise other hormones, so it may not work for everyone)
* Iron (If you are fatigued, you might be anemic also. Take some iron, but take it with food!)
* Mood Boosters!
* Stop taking in more estrogen - http://www.johnleemd.com/store/estrogen_dom.html

Remember that: Estrogen dominance displays as Hypothyroidism: http://www.webmd.com/women/hypothyroidism-underactive-thyroid-symptoms-causes-treatments

An endocrinologist or holistic doctor can test your hormone levels. 

PLEASE COMMENT WITH YOUR EXPERIENCES TO HELP ME BUILD THIS BLOG!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

randomly found this post. Some of these symptoms I've been having and I'm a guy. I wonder if it's something similar...

Ame said...

It is very much related to the different levels of hormones in your body. It sounds to me like you have high cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormones and it affects every human being. Are you:
Angry - Sarcastic
Tense - Argumentative
Frustrated - Demanding
Sad - Withdrawn
Impatient - Anxious
Defensive - Dissatisfied
(If ONLY this, then you have "irritable-men-syndrome". It's an overproduction of cortisol. You can treat it with DHEA. 1/4 pill twice a week)

However, if you have these symptoms:
Urination - difficulty, increased frequency.
Low libido
Fatigue
Depression
Adiposity (fat build-up/redistribution of fat)
Body hair reduced
Veins become less prominent
Balding
Tender breasts
Skin thinning
(If these are more specific, then you could simply have estrogen dominance as well. This is something that can happen in men and women! You could use progesterone cream, like I do, but you could also just try to raise your other hormone levels with some DHEA (again very tiny doses - you only need micro-grams of DHEA, not milligrams. A lot of people overdose themselves with it.)

If you don't want to order progesterone cream or have to take any pills, you can start with the DHEA. Again, make sure not to take too much. It can build up in your system . . . . Then, see how you feel in three weeks. You can get tested for low testosterone/high estrogen/high cortisol, but the culprit is our environment. In the US, it affects us all daily! (Editing my blog post above to include things that you can do.)

Anonymous said...

EcoDrink might help some because it makes it easier to stay hydrated and will help reduce bloating, has B 12 vitiman and magnesium. It also makes it it possible to hydrate without sugar.

Ame said...

Taking some kind of vitamin is absolutely helpful, and I'll agree that hydration is extremely important. This fellow didn't respond, but hopefully my tips help someone. I encourage people to get diagnosed for hormone imbalances.

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I am a bit funny, crazy, sometimes serious and usually wise. I'm very creative and artistic. However my greatest gift in life is common sense.