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Progesterone Cream Advice

by Elizabeth
(Minneapolis )

Dear Wray,

I am 20 years old and since I've been 14 my periods have always been irregular. From 14 to 18 they would come with a 33 to 38 day cycle. When I was 18 I lost almost 30 pounds during that year through a healthy diet and exercise. After this weight loss I lost my period and did not have it for several months. I was put on birth control to try and get the period. It worked and was on it for a few months. It made me sad, gain weight, and was just a bad experience. I went off of it and still did not get a period. I was then diagnosed with PCOS and was told to go back on the birth control. At this time I had begun gaining unexplained weight. I work out 6 days a week and eat extremely well. It did not add up. The birth control once again caused me to gain insane amounts of weight and I had lots of water retention. I also was very emotional. I stopped the birth control after starting my period a week into the pack during the third month. I have been seeing a holisitic docotor now who did a saliva test. I had normal levels of estrogen but very low levels of progesterone.

Since then I have done two months of herb cycling and got my period twice. I have just started a progesterone cream and am almost 3 weeks in. I am still gaining weight and now am up to 20 pounds in 9 months. I work out still and eat even better than before. However I have had a huge positive shift in my emotions. It has felt like a fog has been lifted and I am mostly happy. I do have some more emotional days but it is no longer dominating my thoughts.

I am just wondering if there is anything diet wise you can help me with and also when will the progesterone cream start to take over? I just want to go back to how I was.

Also how do caffeine and alcohol affect the progesterone cream effectiveness. Being in college makes these two stimulants hard to get away from, however I am totally willing to make a change if it will help me return to normal!

Thank you for your help and I look forward to hearing back from you!

Comments for Progesterone Cream Advice

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Mar 17, 2013
 Progesterone Cream Advice
by: Wray

Hi Elizabeth I find it extraordinary this almost paranoia amongst the medical profession in making a woman have a period. Yes the pill will cause one, but so what! There's nothing normal about it, just filling a woman with synthetic hormones, which prevent the normal cycle occurring. And stopping ovulation and the production of progesterone. It doesn't get behind the cause either. All Contraceptives have the potential to harm too. PCOS is caused by oxidative stress, large amounts of antioxidants are needed to reverse it, and it can be. You mention normal oestrogen, low progesterone, but what about testosterone, as that's normally high. And your ratio of P:E2 do you know that? I'm glad the progesterone has helped your moods, but how much are you using? You'll need at least 200mg/day if not more. The water retention is caused by oestrogen, progesterone is an excellent diuretic, given to Traumatic Brain Injury victims to reduce or prevent oedema. Caffeine is a diuretic too, but you'd need to drink 5-7 cups of coffee. Coffee does have antioxidant properties. Both oestrogen and testosterone cause Insulin Resistance, which is often present in PCOS. IR causes weight gain, so too do oestrogen and testosterone. If bound to SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin) testosterone and oestrogen become inactive, progesterone raises levels of SHBG, see here, so preventing the rise of free testosterone and severe PMS. SHBG drops if sugars are eaten, even those found in all grains, legumes, processed milk and sweet starchy fruits and vegetables. Fructose, sucrose and glucose, reduce SHBG by 80, 50 and 40% respectively, see here. Thereby allowing testosterone/oestrogen to rise. It's best to avoid all the foods and sugars mentioned. Wine and beers contain carbs, so it's best to avoid those too. Plus alcohol affects hormone levels in women, see here and here. It decreases progesterone levels and increases androgen levels, both the total testosterone and free testosterone become higher. Continued below
Mar 17, 2013
 Progesterone Cream Advice Part 2
by: Wray

Hi Elizabeth Testosterone is notorious at increasing visceral fat, which causes abdominal fat gain, see here and here. The lowered progesterone, higher testosterone probably accounts for the increased risk in breast cancer risk among women, see here and here. Higher testosterone is also associated with an increased risk for insulin resistance and heart disease, see here. Sugars and large meals also drop progesterone levels, see here. Plus insulin drops levels too, see here. This means SHBG also drops, testosterone rises, another vicious cycle. So yes, diet is very important, we do have a page on Nutrition. It gives links to three excellent ways of eating, depending on preference I've given the three. There is a forth diet which is not on our web page yet. It's called the Ketogenic diet, and in it's strictest form is very difficult to adhere to. But this is usually only used for people with epilepsy and cancer, which it does help. The reason being it reduces glucose levels to the barest minimum, and the body uses ketones for energy. It's a very high fat, moderate to low protein and very low carb. Only the good fats should be used, i.e. MCT oil, coconut oil, butter, olive oil or macadamia oil. The first three are saturated fats, the other two mono-unsaturated fats. The best is the MCT oil, an extract from coconut oil. The body converts the fatty acid into ketones, in fact the brain does better on these than glucose. MCT oil forms ketones more efficiently than the other oils. The diet varies from a 4:1 ratio of fat to protein/carb down to a 1:1 ratio which is the easier to follow. The best and clearest explanation I've found of the 1:1 is this web site on the Basic Ketogenic Diet. It would be an excellent one to follow for the PCOS, as this is always associated with a destabilised blood glucose. Finally please have a vitamin D test done, as this is the most important antioxidant there is, cells malfunction if levels are low. Plus a lack reduces the benefits of progesterone. Take care Wray

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