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Progesterone works but need help

by SCM
(New York City)

As I am not sure which events are linked, I have put down
everything that might be relevant in chronological order.

All the problems have manifested on the left side only.

1956 -Birth- 10 month term. Slightly twisted pelvis and left shin about 3/8 inch longer than right.

1967- 11 years old- fibroid tumor in left breast removed and biopsy (benign), large boil in left groin (only one ever)

1972 - Age 16- First menses regular? (every two months), painless, periods with a maximum of 5 days light flow.

Age 16- 24 Ortho birth control pill. Slight weight gain, but 28 day periods, light flow.

1981 - Age 24 began a diet almost strictly macrobiotic
(continued this and then into very conscious health diet till now- only bottled water, very little red meat...)

Age 24 - 43 regular painless, periods with a maximum of 5 days light flow.

1999 (age 43) - First and only urinary tract infection. Beginning of ongoing condition of irregular periods, extended menstrual bleeding with clotted material, burning stinging pain in left leg from groin to back of knee

Medication: initially for urinary tract infection: antibiotic - one course, follow up with water and cranberry juice.

*Medication for menstrual related symptoms: Emrita progesterone cream, elimination of all caffeine from diet, herb mixture- 2 drops daily (19 part fenugreek, 13 part saw palmetto, 13 part dandelion, 13 part red raspberry, 13 part violet, 12 part fennel, 7 part wild yam, 4 part damiana, 4 part don quai, 3 part black cohash, 3 part blessed thistle.

There were two things suspected- fibroid tumors and peri-menopause.

2002 - Age 45
During menses a fibroid tumor was passed (size of green grape) The tissue was sent for pathology. It was determined to be fibroid.

* Medication continued
(This treatment finally caused the periods to be more regular- between 25- 27 days apart with 5 days of flow.)

Since that time the left breast and uterine fibroids come and go at will and vary in size. They also show up in my left breast as well. (although I did drink a heck of a lot of Saki on my honeymoon in Japan in 06)

2007 Recently - Last February my period stopped for 3 months.
This has never happened before. They been regular since. (My mother experienced menopause at 57, I am 51). The leg pain has increased yearly. I have also noticed it seems to be linked to my ovulation cycle.

Last month I noticed for the first time, that if I put my progesterone cream directly over the area of my leg/groin with the most pain, it almost instantly eases it. Nothing else has done this. The leg and groin pain is significantly worse when I lie down or recline with my leg up.

Last year I also noticed swelling in my left calf intermittently, and calf and foot cramping. In general, now the entire left leg is always just a little thicker than the right. This is new. Very very heavy bleeding and a great deal of pain on first few days of menses.

The fibroids I believe are beginning to affect my digestive system and kidneys/bladder. I am assuming this because they do take up space they are crowding the intestine and the bladder. At times I have to urinate desparatley with almost no warning, and judging by wasted elimination, the regularity and ease of this seems to be controlled by the size of the fibroids as well. I have always had an issue with water and salt retention. It is far worse now.

Great difficulty in losing weight. (I am talking about 10lbs. I have always weighed between 118 and 120 - now I am always fighting to stay under 130.

Even though this seems like a detailed list, please understand that the two issues that concern me are:

1. Whether these fibroids are causing damage to my internal digestive organs, and

2. Whether the leg pain is something to really worry about. It is progressively getting more and more painful and taking up more and more of an area of my leg, although I can still function. is this linked to my birth defect, or is it linked to the fibroids or are they both irritating the other?

I don't know if the two are directly linked or linked because they are near each other. One seems to be a gynaecological issue or hormonal, the other possibly an orthopaedic or neurological issue.
I am sure part of it has something to do with menopause, but part of me thinks that I may have always been short on progesterone, and this could be a big part of the problem.

I have looked briefly into PCOS, OHSS and there are a couple of fertility doctors that I am considering seeing. I have these fibroids checked every year - but the leg stuff- I don't even know where to start with that.

Truth told, after I regulated my periods, and the effect lasted for several years, the vigilance of using my regimen lapsed.

I am now trying to restructure a new regimen because as of this writing, my last menstrual flow started 21 days ago, the bleeding for the first 5 days was a flood, it diminished for about 12 days - but didn't stop and started flowing heavily again two days ago. Point is, I have been bleeding for 21 days straight. Almost black, and now with little clotty bits.

I have started a 30 day herbal liver cleanse.

I have a mammogram and ultrasound of the breast and uterine fibroids done every year.

What the heck do I do now?

thanx

SCM

Comments for Progesterone works but need help

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Jun 03, 2008
 Progesterone and fibroids
by: Wray

Hi SCM. There do seem to be two unrelated problems. One definitely hormonal, the other as you say, orthopaedic. First the orthopaedic one. I too have a twisted pelvis, I slipped on the wet bathroom floor at boarding school. This has made one leg appear shorter than the other.

Over the years I've been to many therapists, but the current treatment seems to be doing the trick. I'm having Integrated Bodywork done, which is slowly releasing the muscle spasms that hold it out of alignment. Maybe you could find a practitioner? The pain you're experiencing is probably due to a pinched sciatic nerve. If the Bodywork doesn't help, you could get orthopaedic advice.

Now the hormonal problem. It would appear you are definitely in peri-menopause. It doesn't necessarily follow that you would have menopause when your mother did. The average age for menopause is 51. The fibroids and fibrocystic breasts coming and going would be determined by the production of oestrogen and progesterone. Oestrogen and only oestrogen stimulates cells to grow, so both would get bigger during the follicular phase of your cycle. During the luteal or second phase of your cycle when progesterone is the dominant hormone, they would recede.

I don't believe the fibroids are damaging your digestive organs, but would certainly put considerable pressure on them, hence the problems you are experiencing. The pressure could possibly be adding to the pain in your leg. Unfortunately fibroids do cause considerable blood flow and for much longer than normal. With increasing age, coupled with peri-menopause with high oestrogen/low progesterone levels they will only get worse.

Progesterone does reduce the size, helps the excess blood flow, but will not regulate the cycle, which it can do if younger. Cycles in peri-menopause become ever more erratic, sometimes 2 weeks apart, sometimes 3 months apart, blood flow varies from very light to flooding, sometimes it flows for a short time, sometimes for very long. It's a difficult time! With the drop in oestrogen levels at menopause fibroids and fibrocystic breasts are no longer a problem, as they are absorbed back into the body. The liver cleanse is a very good idea. Take care Wray

Here are some useful references for you...

http://www.springerlink.com/content/u55n310ux104731q/
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v174/n4435/abs/174839
a0.html
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v177/n4506/abs/177478
b0.html
http://www.jci.org/99/12/2851?content_type=abstract
http://carcin.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/carcin;22/1
2/2049
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a7830540
61~db=all
http://www.menopausejournal.com/pt/re/menopause/abstract.00
042192-200512020-
00019.htm;jsessionid=G9vQGJ2FjtWkN4jXHSTKWdhfsgHhvxNMQ4
2LYWnHvhH1rXz7HjTG!-1465501618!-949856144!8091!-1
http://www.springerlink.com/content/ljg738652123wp67/
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/327/7406/101
Feb 28, 2009
 Help is Here!
by: Marilyn

I would recommend having your hormones checked. I think you need both bioidentical estrogen and progesterone in cream/gel form. It also sounds like you have a magnesium deficiency. Take 400 mgs of magnesium a day. This can be increased up to 1000 mgs. If you have loose bowels cut back a bit. Also, take 90 mgs of potassium and 2 - 500 mgs calcium pills a day, one at breakfast and one at dinner. This will take care of your leg pain. I would also recommend taking Carlsons lemon flavored Cod liver oil (for Vit D and omega 3) 1 tsp a day. I suspect you already take a good multivitamin, coenzyme Q-10, B vitamins plus 500 mgs B6.

Diet wise, be sure you're getting enough protein. You should have protein with every meal. Eat primarily protein and vegtables. Cut out starches, and sugar. Drink only water, tea, and vegetable juice, but mostly water and decaffeinated tea.

Take a 30 - 60 minute fast walk every day, and lift weights for 30 minutes every other day. Don't overdo.

Buy some books on hormone replacement. Uzzi Reese, or John Lee have some good ideas.

Smile, I guarantee this regime will fix everything that ails you!

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