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Liza- Mari

by LizaMari
(Pretoria South Africa)

Good day

I'm 30 years old and I have 2 children aged 4 and 2 - since my 2nd son was born I gained a lot of weight gain and Extreme PMS symptoms. I went to a Medical doctor specialising in endocriniology. He diagnosed me with: prediabetes (was put on Glucopahage), Vit D deficiant (5000mg a day), Iron deficiant (Chelafer) and natural progesterone cream 20mg a day from day 14-28. I also have adrenal burnout (put me on a formula for that as well). I am also Factor 5 which means I have a blood clotting disorder.

Needles to say the PMS got worse after starting the progesterone cream - untill I read your site - I have increased the dose to 200mg a day from this month - but I am still having EXTREME PMS and Estrogen dominance symptoms. It is affecting my family - I have cried through the whole weekend....

My husband wants me to get on antidepressants ASAP - we just can not take it anymore... Should I ask my GP for a description for antidepressants to help me through this time or must I just push through? How long will can it take to feel better?

I am crying all the time. I am tired all the time. I am extremely irritated - I just can not cope anymore - I have 2 small children who needs me... And worse of all my husband thinks I'm not trying hard enough to loose weight and that is why Im feeling so bad. But I am just too tired to exercise...

I don't know what to do anymore - the doctors also imply that Im not trying hard enough and Im just so tired and depressed all the time. Thank you for your reply.

Comments for Liza- Mari

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Sep 11, 2012
 Keep going!
by: Kaylana

Dear Liza-Mari,
First of all, you are not alone! There are millions of women out there who are suffering just like you. I was one of them - until I made some very key changes in my life.

You should seriously consider a 'wheat-free/grain free' diet. All phytoestrogens increase your estrogen levels in two ways (that I know of). They prevent the estrogen the liver has labeled for excretion to be removed from the body. It frees it and sends it back into the body. The damage this causes is being largely studied.

Wheat also encourages the change of other hormones *into* estrogen. Cutting out *all* grains will also help with your diabetic situation.

Dr. Davis, author of "Wheat Belly" has had wonderful success helping people with multiple conditions like you. He is only just beginning to see the connection to estrogen dominance that Wray discusses so thoroughly here.

There are wonderful sites out there to help with the diet changes. The Weston A. Price site contains some amazing insights into nutrition. Be prepared to be challenged. (However, I just saw that their site has been attacked and they are re-writing it. Argh! Try it later.)

Remember to keep going. Healing takes time. Your body didn't suddenly become what it is now. It was an unseen gradual process and reversing it will take time too. But, be encouraged! It *does* happen!

(Ps. This was written while three little ones were demanding an early breakfast. The stress of that used to put me into a rage. I'm so thankful I can sit here calmly and write. I sure hope it made sense! :-)
Sep 11, 2012
 Lisa-Mari
by: Wray

Hi LisaMari You haven't got PMS, you have post natal depression! I had it too, and it lasted 4 years, only because I thought it was normal. Like you I was so tired, in fact I had severe myopathy (muscle weakness), and there were times when I was so weak I couldn't pick up my daughter, a new born infant. It's not possible to exercise! I had crying spells, rages, depression and could sleep for hours and not feel refreshed. Depression after child birth can affect 25% of women. It ranges from the baby blues to post natal psychosis, which can result in infanticide. It's caused by the sharp drop in progesterone after the placenta is expelled. This organ was making over 400ng/ml per day during the last trimester of Pregnancy. We normally make 5-20ng/ml per day in our luteal cycle, the follicular phase it's less than 1ng/ml. The sharp drop from 400ng/ml to less than 1ng/ml is too much for some women. The progesterone does need to be replaced, but not at the laughable amount of 20mg/day! This doesn't even raise it to luteal phase levels. It barely raises it to those in the follicular phase, when the ovaries are not making progesterone. I go into this on our page about Progesterone Misconceptions. But I must add here I'm pleased he even thought about giving it to you. But amounts of 500mg/day, often more are needed. Dr Dalton would go up to 2400mg/day for her patients with post natal psychosis, see here. It's needs to be used daily too, forget about following any cycle, this will never raise levels up. Plus each time you stop the progesterone will crash and oestrogen will rise. I'm interested your doctor diagnosed you as pre-diabetic, i.e. you have metabolic syndrome. There's more info on our page about Insulin Resistance. Glucophage is not needed, as there are many nutrients which can reverse the condition. Besides it reduces vitamin B12 levels, see here. Has he given you any to prevent this? Low vitamin D in pregnancy can cause gestational diabetes, maybe this is what he picked up, see here. But I'm delighted and surprised he checked your vitamin D and gave you an adequate dose too. Do you have the result, as I would like to know it. If it's very low you need more than the 5000iu's per day. If you were breast feeding it means your child is low in vitamin D too. Please have a blood test done on him. It's vital for a growing child. Continued below.
Sep 11, 2012
 Liza- Mari Part 2
by: Wray

Hi LisaMari Low vitamin D causes depression too, see here, here, here, here and here. And here and here. Low vitamin D predisposes to weight gain, see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. Low vitamin D causes muscle weakness, see here, here and here. So too does a lack of progesterone, see here and here. Continued below.
Sep 11, 2012
 Liza- Mari Part 3
by: Wray

Hi LisaMari Unfortunately the first paper doesn't even have an abstract, but this is a short paste from the full paper I bought....... "We report about a 41-year old woman who was suffering from a general muscle weakness since her early childhood....From July 1998 until July 1999 the patient was treated with progesterone suppositorium 0.4 g once a day from the 14th to the 25th day of the menstrual cycle. In July 1999 her gait had improved significantly and she could get up from a chair more easily, even her ability to walk up and down stairs had improved....Progesterone dosage was increased from 400 mg to 600 mg. In January 2001 the patient reported enthusiastically about the improvement she had gained from progesterone-therapy. The patient reported a clear increase in strength in all affected muscle groups resulting in dramatic functional improvement." Finally a lack of vitamin D reduces the benefits of progesterone. We do have a page on Anxiety, it gives a list of nutrients which help. Please consider these in preference to the antidepressants. The only way you are going to heal is to have time out. Someone should take care of the children for you, take care of you too. You need as much rest as you can get, with no work looking after family at all. You need to use far more progesterone, get your vitamin D levels up fast, plus take the healing nutrients and rest and sleep. Please contact Joy, our distributor in South Africa via her website here. She can advise on the nutrients, progesterone and any questions you might have. And I'm happy to answer questions too. Take care Wray
Sep 11, 2012
 Keep going!
by: Wray

Hi Kaylana Your input is always so good, bless you for encouraging Lisa-Mari. It's a wonder my daughter still talks to me! I was in such a frustrated rage on day I threw her fold up pram at her, aged 2. Luckily missed, as my co-ordination had gone too! How I wished I'd known about progesterone then. Take care Wray
Sep 12, 2012
 Thank You thank you thank you
by: Lza-Mari

Thank you Kaylana and Wray for your honest and sincere answers! I will contact Joy in South Africa for further help with the nutrients.

I'm just baffled that no specialist / medical doctor could give me such helpful information in the past 2 years of hell I have gone through....

PS: You asked about my Vit D - it was 23 when tested 3 months ago.
Sep 12, 2012
 Thank You thank you thank you
by: Wray

Hi Liza-Mari Bless you for the kind words! I know you will come right, and not with drugs either. It's not a quick fix, but we're all here to help and encourage you. Your vitamin D is extremely low, and I would advise taking about 20,000iu's per day for a month, then reduce to 10,000iu's for the next month, then down to 5000iu's for the next. At the end of the 3 months please have another test done. If it's still not high, repeat the protocol above until it is. But Joy can advise you. And please don't forget to have your child tested. If you're reluctant to as he's so young, please give him 1,000 iu's vitamin D per day for every 12 kg of body weight. There's more info on Dr Cannell's site the Vitamin D Council. These are other sites you could look through GrassrootsHealth, and Birmingham Hospital. Blood levels should be 70-100ng/ml (175-250nmol/L) and not the 30ng/ml (75nmol/L) most labs and doctors regard as adequate. The minimum daily dose should be 5000iu's per day, although the latest research indicates it should be 10,000iu's per day, see here. Take care Wray

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