Menopause Discussion > All things menopause

Progesterone intolerance OR not enough estrogen? Advice please!

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Ladybt28:
Hi Misstowers - yes my body loves sunlight and hates the winter but I have been on very high strength vitamin D 5,000iu which a doctor recommended when he told me I had fibromyalgia (which I am pretty sure I don't just I had very lax muscles due to lack of oestrogen causing the aches and pains) but to be honest it doesn't really seem to make any noticeable difference.  I wonder if the oral spray absorbs better though instead of going through the stomach?

I think your own balance will be a little harder to achieve because of your own hormones and unlike us post meno people maybe you need to vary your does of oestrogen through the month - I'm sure a pattern will emerge - like when you are jittery or when you have PMT or when you think the progesterone is causing problems.  I think I read in post a while back - sorry cant remember where or when but she upped her oestrogen to counter progesterone problems for a few days a month and then dropped it again when she wasn't on the oestrogen - she said it provided better balance and she just added what she thought her body was asking for rather than stick to a strict regime of same oestrogen dose etc every single day.  She said it helped to deal with her own fluctuating hormones - bit of a faff I know but it may be the answer to the roller coaster?

Misstowers:
Xjb it's so hard isn't it, the original gyno consultant I saw told me it is a hard balance to achieve, but I guess you need to have the progesterone in order to have a period so you don't build up the lining in the womb...

I have also considered completely coming off hrt and seeing what happens but I'm worried about returning to night sweats, brain fog, low mood and complete loss of libido which is where I was at before I started HRT!!! It's such a difficult one, damned if you do, damned if you don't... this is why I'm considering moderate amounts of both, rather than overloading my system.
Good luck with the specialist this afternoon, let us know what they say.

Ladybt28, I think the spray is better, and more goes into your system, but ultimately it may not be the cause of your muscle pain as you say and you are on a high dose anyways... If you go privately I think they can test your testosterone levels and will prescribe gel if you need it. Thanks for the reco on the other post, I'll look for it, but I think the Estrogen gel doesn't have immediate effects, it takes a while to build up in your system, so I won't feel the effect of having less on bad days until some weeks later...? Right now I'm ready to try anything!

I have to say that I've never been on a forum before, even with my babies, but just writing her has been really helpful, so thanks!

Ladybt28:
Yes Misstowers - the oestrogen does take a while to build up unless you are very very sensitive which some women report - a minimum of 3 months is always required for everything to settle into some sort of pattern - even if it isn't a beneficial pattern if you see what I mean.  What I meant was that once you actually have a clear idea of what is happening which will take a good 3 months maybe 4 - then you could start playing around a little with the doses to even out the peaks and troughs.  I know it sounds a long time but I have read that sometimes it is 6 months for women in peri before they can get some sort of levelling out.

Hurdity:
Hi there Misstowers - just to say I am VERY  sceptical of all of this stuff on the web about "supporting" various organs etc, and sites persuading you that you need all of these supplements etc to counteract all the negative stuff. I mean I've never heard that about oestrogen - except that yes estrone is stored in fat so the fatter women are the more oestrogen they will have and this provides a reservoir for estradiol in the body. NOT a reason not to lose weight as the health benefits of lower fat are immeasurable! Personally I wouldn't get any of those things - flax magnesium and milk thistle but concentrate on getting a really good diet full of natural ingredients, cook from scratch, get outside, take exercise, reduce alcohol etc  lose weight if necessary - and you should really notice the benefits and will help your health longer term.

Inceindentally if you want to even out the fluctuations between oestrogen and progesterone, as you are still young there are combined cotraceptive pills that are like HRT but only have a few tablet free days - they give you oestrogen but supporess your cycle. These tablets are called QLAIRA  and ZOELY. Just a thought - and then you could transfer to regular HRT when you get older. Obviously these are tablets not transdermal but maybe worth thinking about if it's the hormonal fluctuations that are causing you the most symptoms as it can be very difficult to dampen down thse with regular HRT if your cycle is still strong?

Hurdity x

Misstowers:
Hi Hurdity,
Thanks for the suggestion I will speak to the consultant about them. They did try me on the contraceptive pill first but after 5 months , I came off as it wasn't working. Then I went onto HRT. But I haven't come accross the ones you mention so I'll ask about them. It makes sense that it would better to switch my cycle off completely and replace with the pill, but in practice it didn't help my symptoms of night sweats etc and my libido disappeared! I think I was on Lucida or something like that.

Re vitamins etc I'm an active person and run, I eat really well as me or my husband cook most nights from scratch, BMI is well within the proper range and I drink within recommended levels (mostly!),  I do think that vitamins and supplements help me with certain things, certainly lots of Vitamin B and high doses of vit C have helped my immunity to viruses etc so I'm going to give the milk thistle etc a shot, can't hurt I suppose - it's all from a high street pharmacy and I'm not paying for expert advice etc, I too am wary of that! It's not for everyone though I understand.

Just really want to give my body what it needs, hormonally as well as nutritionally, and to get to the bottom of what needs adjusting so I can feel normal again.

Ladybt28 I see what you mean and will ask about that too when I return to the clinic.

Thanks for all your help ladies!

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