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I picked up a book yesterday in the grocery store that is turning out to be VERY interesting. What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About (TM) : Premenopause, Balance Your Hormones and Your Life from Thirty to Fifty It has an incredible wealth of information about hormones and their effects on the body, and what effects imbalances can cause. I haven't finished the book yet, but I'm thinking that perhaps the major PMS I've suffered from since my mid 20's might be due to low progesterone levels. As soon as I finish the book, I'm going to try some of the remedies in the book and see if I can stay sane for a whole month at a time!

Here's a particularly good reader review of this book over at Amazon.com:

Quote:

OH MY GOD! ALL women should buy this book NOW!, September 27, 2002
Reviewer: A reader
This book has an UNBELIEVABLE amount of vital information regarding women's health. It should be renamed "What Your Doctor Is NOT Telling You About Your HEALTH!". For years I have suffered with PMS.. irritability.. foggy thinking.. mood swings.. severe anxiety.. at age 32 I suddenly gained 50 lbs all around my stomach and upper body.. lost my cycle for 6 months.. headaches.. severe exhaustion.. short breath.. and tingling hands and feet. These things came pretty much out of the blue and hit me like a ton of bricks. I had just moved to a very polluted city and suspected that was the problem.


The DR. tested and said I was going through early menopause. AT 33 YEARS OLD. Most everthing had to do with HRT (drugs drugs drugs) My general mistrust of western medicine sent me to accupuncture and chinese herbs which cured me about 75% back the the vibrant woman I used to be. Wanting to be back 100%, I found this book and it has been a godsend. It is so detailed, it's like reading a fine medical journal but VERY easy to understand. It scientifically attributes PMS, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, INFERTILITY, CANCER (breast and reproductive), CYSTS AND FIBROIDS, among other things to the imbalance of hormones, mainly an estrogen dominance. It scientifically attributes estrogen dominance PRIMARILY TO THE EXCESS OF ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS (Xenohormones as they're called) causing sensitivities in all of us women AND men. It explains why taking antidepressants or synthetic hormones or birthcontrol will NEVER cure you of these symptoms and sometimes cause worse things and it gives very detailed scientific evidence and studies of the different aggrivators of hormonal imbalance namely synthetic hormones (birthcontrol pills, HRT), and other cancer causing substances FOREIGN to the body.



There's information on how DRUG COMPANIES SPENDING BILLIONS OF DOLLORS ON ADVERTISING controls how your Dr. will respond to your health issues. How the media takes a very passive role when it comes to drug companies (notice how many drug ads on tv) and why they are constantly piping out information regurgitated by the drug companies. Why it's in your dr's best interest to hand you drugs and do unnecessary surgeries instead of get to the bottom of your health issues.

Throughout the book Dr. Lee and Dr. Hanley tell you many things, one of which is how using NATURAL non-synthetic progesterone cream, food changes, adding vitamins can help reverse these symptoms, balance your life and bring you back to health.

If you're the kind of woman who doesn't like to just take a pill and not ask any questions as to WHY these problems are happening in such epidemic proportions and WHY doesn't the Dr. give you real reasons why you need a hystorectomy, what causes infertility, why your dr. is so big on just handing out pills without getting to the real cause, then THIS BOOK IS DEFINITELY for YOU, YOUR SISTERS, YOUR MOTHERS, YOUR FEMALE FRIENDS. We must take an active role in our health and this book will DEFINITELY help us do that. Thank my lucky stars for this book!

It sounds like this book is just what I've been needing. Have needed for the past 15 years, actually! Estrogen dominance can be caused either by excess estrogen, or low progesterone to balance the estrogen, and the list of problems caused by estrogen dominance is long and scary. I think everyone who is a woman, or anyone who lives with or associates with one should read this book!

Of course, my recommendation may be a bit premature, as I haven't actually finished the book yet, but it's looking to be really helpful, and the number of positive reader reviews on Amazon.com is quite encouraging.

Maria,



I think I will buy this book. (happy dance)

At 37 I swear I have had many many symptoms of pre-menopause, and the doctors do one of two things, I am either depressed and its a mental thing (which its not, after they run tests and find out its a physical thing) or its not as bad as I say it is and I am hypocondriac.

Lets just say I have in one day and thought

I had a friend tell me the other day that joint problems were related to hormone production. I was complaining about how my shoulders hurt and I must of slept wrong, she looked at me and said it was probably a hormone imbalance, I looked at her and thought as many times as I have complained to my doctor about this problem and what has he done, ok first it was pills, then physical therapy, then more pills, then restricted movement, finally I just gave up and take tylenol....and not once did the word hormones come up....

Hey, the book might even be in libraries by now, it's 5 years old and popular enough to be found in the itsy, bitsy book section of a grocery store.

Here's a list of estrogen effects vs. progesterone effects straight out of the book:

Quote:

One of progesterone's most important and powerful roles in the body is to balance or oppose estrogen. When our progesterone levels are in balance, excess extrogen is beter handled. Some effects of excess estrogen as compared with the opposing effects when progesterone levels are adequate follow.

Estrogen Effects:...................................Progesterone Effects:
Creates proliferative endometrium..........Maintains secretory endometrium
Causes breast stimulation.......................Protects against fibrocystic breasts
Increases body fat.................................Helps use body fat for energy
Increases salt and fluid retention.............Acts as a natural diuretic
Causes depression & headaches..............Acts as a natural antidepressant
Interferes with thyroid hormone...............Facilitates thyroid hormone action
Increases blood clotting...........................Normalizes blood clotting
Decreases sex drive................................Restores sex drive
Impairs blood sugar control......................Normalizes blood sugar levels
Causes loss of zinc and retention of copper. Normalizes zinc and copper levels
Reduces oxygen levels in all cells..............Restores proper cell oxygen levels
Increases risk of endometrial cancer.........Prevents endometrial cancer
Increases risk of breas cancer..................Helps prevent breast cancer
Slightly restrains osteoclast function..........Stimulates osteoblast bone building
Reduces vascular tone..............................Restores normal vascular tone
Increases risk of endometrial disorders......Functions as precursor of corticosteroids
Creates progesterone receptors.................Increases sensitivity of estrogen receptors
Increases risk of prostate cancer...............Helps prevent prostate cancer

.....................................................................Allows embryo to survive

ETA, Ara, doctors are overworked and often intentionally emotionally distanced from their patients, and have an infuriating tendancy to treat human ailments from a purely mechanistic approach. They forget the mind that is attached to the ailment, and all it can do for it. I don't trust doctors much, and am always looking for ways around going to them for treatment. I am more than the sum of my parts! Emotions play a vast role in physical health, and most doctors I've ever encountered TOTALLY ignore that.

Well, ladies, I bin thru it...........I will soon be 61. Once you've been through menopause, you don't have periods any more. But you still have a lot of symptoms, and doctors were very eager to have all their women patients on HRT. I tried it for three months and then all the stuff about how bad it is came out and I stopped. The HRT hadn't really relieved the night sweats and hot flashes, anyway. There are a lot of things you can do to alleviate those, by cutting down on caffeine and alcohol (I am a VERY moderate drinker, and yet having only 1 small glass of wine with dinner made my life much more bearable than having 2).

About 12 - 15 years ago my doctor WENT for this stuff on progesterone. I was having all kinds of troubles, and she was sure it would set me right. She had been to several symposiums held by that very same Dr. Lee that wrote the book. I probably still have the monographs here somewhere. My doctor was really, really fired up about this and eventually ended up starting a "Life Extension" institute!

The short version is, after taking it for a year and spending all kinds of money, it did nothing. I mean, NOTHING to alleviate the symptoms I was having.

The other thing is, every woman over 35 and a lot of women younger than 35 ARE in pre-menopause. This is a fact of nature. 33 is NOT too young to be pre-menopausal. It doesn't much matter when you eventually stop having periods, pre-menopause just lasts longer the older you are. I was 58 lovely years old, if you can imagine. The sales clerks used to think I was buying that stuff for my daughter.....

I realize that many women have had relief of symptoms with progesterone. And many have not. It is not the panacea that Dr. Lee suggests, as I know from my own experience and the experience of many other women I know.

I also suspect that we are all getting hormones from many sources. Think of all the birth control pills and the hormones that get passed into the sewer systems of the world and thence into the water and food. Some states allow farmers to feed dairy cattle hormones to boost milk production, and some beef is also given hormones. It varies from state to state.

Myself, I was and am very, very reluctant to take any hormones, whether estrogen or progesterone. I could never tolerate the Pill, even that much extra estrogen messed me up. And as I say, the HRT didn't much help and has now been proven dangerous.

I would be cautious. Progesterone MAY help, and I hope it does. But truthfully, I think a proper diet, and healthy lifestyle are more important. Stay away from caffeine and alcohol, women simply cannot metabolize alcohol as men APPARENTLY can. I suspect men do more damage to their bodies with alcohol than people think, even moderate drinkers.

As to the much maligned Hysterectomy: I didn't have one. When I was 45 it was recommended to me and I refused, having suffered through two quite serious abdominal surgeries in my mid-thirties. But I can tell you this: I wish I'd had it. From 45 to 58 I put up with the most miserable and horrid periods you can imagine. I NEVER had any problems when I was younger, but at 45 it was like a Bad Switch was turned on. I tried a lot of things but in the end, a hysterectomy would have eliminated the misery.

I know that a lot of "unnecessary" hysterectomies are done. Had I had one, it would have fallen into that category, but then, everyone's idea of "necessary" is different. Some women may opt for it without having tried hard enough to mend matters in a different way, but there ARE cases where it is the simplest cure for a very common problem. Not removal of the ovaries, just the uterus.

However, that has nothing to do with the Progesterone issue. Sorry for the side-track.

WOW, vison! You went until 58 for menopause! Cool! My mom went through it at 45, I believe... so I imagine my turn will come sooner than later.

I've always been unbalanced with the hormones, but never had any good info on what to do about it. I did know that my PMS is vastly helped by taking evening primrose oil, and now, thanks to this book, I know the exact chemical reasons why! There is a so much knowledge here that is helpful to me, even if I never dared try the progesterone.

Did you know, for instance, in the beginning and ends of your childbearing capable years, you don't always ovulate each cycle? And, if you fail to ovulate you will still have your period due to the estrogen level fluxuation, but the progesterone is not produced nearly as much as normal, so that any PMS symptoms you are prone to have will be vastly aggravated that cycle.

That in itself is worth the cost of the book to me. It's pretty obvious to me when I ovulate, and I know I didn't last month, and my PMS was miserable this last cycle.

Now that I know to pay attention to ovulation, I can know ahead of time how much intervention is needed to prevent PMS murderous rages. I am always careful about taking the evening primrose oil, because I don't want to take it unnecessarily and throw something out of whack, so I usually wait until I have an episode of unreasonable rage to start taking the pills.

This is understandably hard on my family. I will now watch for signs of ovulation, and keep a calendar and if ovulation is missed, then I'll take EPO as a preventative, with progesterone standing by in case the EPO isn't enough.

Anyway, the PMS info is valuable to anyone who suffers from it.

That looks like a intresting book, Maria!

And with regards to the other... I'm just glad my mum was zapped by her chemo and surgery a few months before I started... two such PMS sufferers I have never seen! We have the most terrible fights as it is... imagine if we'd had our pre-menstrual week at the same time!

*~Pips~*

I don't have to imagine. I have two daughters and am almost on the same cycle as the one who PMSs worst. *shudder* That's part of my motivation for getting mine under better control. I've been seriously considering giving her EPO next time around, despite my misgivings with fiddling with a teenager's hormones. Her hormones are already badly out of whack. I'm beginning to think the EPO can only help.

I read somewhere that when women live together, their menstrual cycles begin to coincide. I don't know if that's true or not.

I think progesterone helps some women, for sure. It didn't help me, that's all.

Years ago our family doctor said to me, "Any woman whose cycle is as regular and simple and painfree as yours is a very healthy woman."
I think he was right, because I was always very healthy. And I could have gone ahead on calendars for ten years marking down the dates I could expect my period.

That regularity held true. Some women just kinda peter out, but not me. I went like clockwork and then stopped. The month after my 58th birthday. I thought I was going to be in a record book or something!

I did try a "herbal" remedy once. Estrasoy. It worked for exactly three months, alleviating the hot flashes and night sweats. Then, it stopped working. And never worked again. Go figure.

Really, every single person I've heard on this subject will say watch the caffeine and watch the alcohol. Many other suggestions vary, but those two are always the same. Some people find that eliminating dairy products works, too. But I hardly use any dairy to start with, except yogurt.

I drink stuff with caffienne maybe twice a year, and about the same frequency for alcohol, and I still get serious PMS. If going through menopause is like PMS only worse, I'm in for a rough ride soon, because I'm already avoiding the worst triggers.

Very intriguing. We've discussed elsewhere the evening primrose oil. I am soooo happy to have found this stuff. I had terrible breast tenderness, and it has eliminated it. I take a maintenance dose, just one 1000 (?) mg capsule a day. I will increase it if need be, but I haven't had to recently. It seems that the maintenance dose is regulating it very well.

So, yes, I'm definitely interested in reading this book. I often wonder, though, if I have too much testosterone, and I wonder if I could somehow increase my estrogen/progesterone levels to counterbalance that. ??? I'll have to read the book to see if there are any suggestions to that end.

(I mean, there are advantages to having a healthy dose of testosterone in your bloodstream. But I'd like to see my skin clearer and hair less thin, and I think I'd trade a bit of that excess libido for those two things alone.)

Our library does have it, and I've just placed it on hold.


Lali

I'm halfway through the book, and have seen several statements that low estrogen will be addressed by the end of the book.

My head is swimming with chemical and metabolic info that I only half understand. I'm going to have to go over this again more slowly, and take notes or something, but right now I'm anxious to get the big picture.

I do the same thing when reading, Maria. What I really like to do is mark the heck out of the book I'm reading--highlighting things, underlining stuff, and making notes in the margin. You should see my Bible!



Lali

I must be very lucky. I'm 42 and childless and have never had any menstrual problems or severe PMS, apart from my early '20s, when a short course on the Pill sorted my periods out.

I keep on meaning to ask my birth mother when she started the menopause (we only met for the first time eight years ago!) but feel kind of shy about it.

I mean: next time I ring her (she lives in Northern Ireland) I'm not sure how to say, 'Well Mum and how are you and how's everyone else over there and by the way when did you start the menopause?'

Last time I tried to give blood, back in 1999, they told me my blood didn't have enough iron in it. Eating liver and drinking lots of red wine is supposed to help. Any excuse to quaff Merlot is fine by me.

I've been very lucky, in the gynae health department. Very lucky indeed.

Well, I have had problems with my hormones and cycle for years and years and years. When I was a teen, I used to actually blackout from my period, and it was so heavy that I was excused and sent home more than once from school for either distress or cramps or fainting. I shall not even mention the embarassment of the clothing issues, when using both tampons and pads!!

When I was a bit older, I did what everyone did, I went on the pill. But, the problems did not stop, although they were better. But, the biggest issues were not that I did NOT get periods, I got them twice a month for most of whenever I was on the pill. I switched to other methods after finally giving up on any form of the pill (over fourteen years ago), I still have breakthrough bleeding about once every three months or so. Some periods are just like Maria described - for a good week at least beforehand, I just am off - poor attention, physical discomfort, bloating, intestinal upset, and then bingo, usually that precipitates a very bad period, heavy bleeding, cramping, IBS, etc. I also notice that I tend to get sinus problems/ allergic reactions/ insomnia/ lethargy/ and just terrible mood swings. I am also going through the whole temperature regulation thing - I have days where I cannot warm up, and other days that I cannot cool down. My last exam confirmed what I already knew (pre-menopausal), but given my problems with the pill, and a possible link to breast cancer on the father's side, I turned down any offers of HRT.

I had to give up serious caffeine a few years ago, for stomach intolerance, and I still do drink alcohol, but only wine or seriously diluted mixed drinks. But, even then, I now notice that I am suceptible to the sugars and things, too much wine, fruits, and/or vegetables give me a proclivity to yeast infections and related skin disorders. And, the night sweats kicking in from time to time does not help this.

My whole body is just out of whack.

I should maybe try the primrose oil. I will read up on it. Also, I need to watch more so than ever what I put into my body in terms of how my body will react to it. I am thinking that I may need to give up some eating habits to get things under control. I do not eat candy/sweets in excess, but I know that I overdo it on fruit juices and other fruit products to make up for that. I love fresh fruits and salads, fruit yogurt, juice bars, etc. From what I understand, these sugars and natural yeasts can also be an issue.

What other supplements are good? I really need to overhaul my whole eating lifestyle. Being a single parent for the last five years has only ingrained my bad habits - too much already prepared food (aka fish sticks, hot dogs, chicken patties, frozen pizza, veggies, etc.) and too much bad fat and preservatives to boot. It all takes its toll, and I try to make fresh things as often as I can, but sometimes it just is not going to happen. I do not even know what is safe to eat and what is not any longer.

And, for what it is worth, I seriously believe that what so many of us grew up eating and doing in the past now is coming back to haunt us. One reason I am going to redo my vegetable garden again is that at least I know that it will be organic, we have well water that has always tested safe, and all I ever put into the soil are organic compounds like compost and manure, and labor intensive precautions such as weeding, slug traps, companion planting, soap sprays, etc. No chemicals, not even things that are reported safe like Miracle Gro.

You ought to read this book, Watcher. They emphasize balance in one's life more than any specific cure. You'll probably find something interesting in it, there is such a wealth of detail. And I knew lots of data already that they talked about, and I never caught them in a false statement even once. It's a good read.

There is also much information about hormonal links to cancer. The progestins (synthetic progesterone) that are given along with estrogen as part of HRT are not as effective as natural progesterone in preventing cancer. Estrogen encourages cell proliferation, progesterone limits it. You need both hormones to keep things in balance, and the synthetic progestins are poor mockeries of the real thing.

I'm trying progesterone cream this month. It seems to be keeping me from going into my depressive cycle that I get with PMS every month. From the symptoms they describe, I've been estrogen dominant all my adult life, and it's just getting worse as I age and start having non-ovulatory cycles.

An interesting fact: I read that estrogen acts as a neurological stimulant- so that in a system where you have too much estrogen, your brain neurons are in a constant state of over excitement, and will eventually wear out, possibly resulting in dementia or Alzheimer's... though the link has not yet been proven.

As some of you may recall, my WORST nightmares have involved me losing 20 year chunks of my memory (I've had two like that!) and with the recent fuzzy thinking I've had, I was beginning to think it would come true some day. The dreams may or may not have been a warning... but I notice that while I'm on progesterone, I'm thinking clearly again for the first time in months it seems! If the dreams were a warning, then they weren't very efficient, as there was no hint of the causal factors in my future ailment in the dream but they did serve to point out the emotional consequences of memory failure so that I took particular notice of that section of the book!

Another thing I'm doing after reading this book is to give up SUGAR. Sugar apparently acts like a drug on some people. I know I've joked before about being a sugar addict but this article points out some startling biochemical similarites in the brain about how hard drugs and sugar are processed and what opiates they release!

So, I'm quitting sugar, and it's HARD. I get such cravings! And walking through the grocery store is getting to be torture. Every sugary thing I see makes me I'm only giving up sucrose, though. Fruits are still game-- and I've convinced myself that honey is a different sort of sugar, but I have no basis for that assumption. I'm eating other carbs to try to make up for it, but nothing takes the place of sugar.

I think it's safe to say I'm one of the one's that sugar acts like a drug on.

The people who put the 'What Your Doctor May No Tell You' are awesome and I hope you enjoy the book. Haven't read that particular one but I used to subscribe to the e-newsletter that is produced by the What the doctors don't tell you Have a peek and look through some of archived topics they have on view. Their stuff is sterling - and well worth it

I also used to suffer quite badly from PMS, funnily enough, especially after giving birth (never was an issue before). For me, taking magnesium supplemements has really made a huge difference. Primrose never did the trick.

On sugar... you know, they say that there are 3 white death drugs: flower, sugar.. and the other stuff. There is another good article about it here.
_______________
Resident witchâ„¢ , presenting Paul Klee, Southern (Tunesian) Gardens

This isn't about hormones, but I wonder if anyone has any good advice on another matter.

Since I had my surgery, I have not been using a deodorant. At first I couldn't, of course, because of the incision under my arm, but now I am so very leery of using ANYTHING. The incision is healing well, but is still very tender. I put an aloe cream on it, which is very soothing, but of course, incision or no incision I still perspire.

What should I do? I've read that deodorants can cause all kinds of problems and now I'm a bit paranoid. Probably for no reason.

Around home it's okay, but when I'm out? I don't want to "offend", as they say!

Swab with isopropyl alcohol, Vison. That's what my family used to do way back when I was a teenager, and we had no money for specialized products like deodorant! Just a swab a day keeps the bacteria level down to the non-stinky level. It was the kind diluted for rubbing alcohol purposes that we used. I don't know what full strength would do. I still use it in emergencies, when we run out, or something.

Alandriel,
Magnesium helps me too, as well as the EPO... but nothing works as good as this progesterone cream!! I don't have to hold back the rage attacks, because there aren't any! I feel "normal", as in emotionally balanced. My breasts haven't gotten sore to the touch like they usually do this time of month, and I'm not hungry all the time. I worked hard outside today, all day, on just a smidgeon of food and I'm not hungry at all. I think the progesterone is actually helping me metabolize fat, as advertised! Not that I'm paranoid about my weight, but I am teetering on the edge of actual "obesity", and that is just uncomfortable! But anyway, I've always had problems USING my fat when needed. Even when I was breastfeeding, I'd lose the milk before my body would access those fat stores! And that's just not right. I managed to nurse my third child for almost a year, and I had to eat almost constantly in order to keep the milk flowing.

Anyway, so far- so good on the progesterone supplementation. In a few days, I'll need to stop taking it, and then my period will start- so they say. I'm going to start eating mostly organic food to try to eliminate environmental estrogen from my make up. Pesticides and herbicides have estrogen-like properties that can aggravate estrogen dominance. If I eliminate the environmental stuff, maybe I can stop taking the extra progesteron to counter the extra estrogen.



That article is a bit over the top, Alandriel! I agree that sucrose is bad, but not the other sugars. Your brain runs on glucose, they can't lump glucose in the same catagory as sucrose.

MariaHobbit wrote:

I don't know what full strength would do.

It would make you smell like a doctor's office and dry the hell out of your skin. It wouldn't be such a hot disinfectant though. For some reason you need some water mixed with the alcohol to effectively kill bugs. So stick with the diluted stuff for cleaning armpits and cuts.

MH: the article is a bit over the top I know but sometimes it's necessary to read across the wide spectrum to get a 'balance'

vison There's been plenty of scares in 2004 about possible links of deo-odorants to breast cancer. More often than not it's the manufacturers who fund studies, so....
Some facts remain though and they are:

- Laboratory tests on the tissues showed that chemicals called parabens - used by manufacturers as preservatives - had built up in the bodies of the breast cancer sufferers.

- the chemicals were in such a form as to suggest that they had been absorbed through the skin rather than transmitted through anything the patients had eaten, according to the study published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology.

- Parabens are used as preservatives in thousands of cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical products, but this is the first study to show their accumulation in human tissues. It demonstrates that if people are exposed to these chemicals, then the chemicals will accumulate in their bodies.

However, no definite link has been proved and further studies are ongoing (and that of course will take years). Thing is, I'd be careful. There are plenty of 'natural' alternatives available. For years I've been using floral waters and carry a small bottle around with me in summer or a stick made by Weleda, containing essential oils (rosemary, lavender, sage).
Not that I want to advertise the site, but here you can have a look at some alternatives. I'm quite sure that you'll be able to find these products in the US. A good chemist should be able to help (or google )

_______________
Resident witchâ„¢ , presenting Paul Klee, Southern (Tunesian) Gardens