# question about hormone imbalance



## zjandosmom (Dec 13, 2004)

Anyone have any experience with this? I know I am having problems and my mw put me on the pill. That made everything worse. I can't live like this but don't know what to do. I have an appt with my GP set up but I am already getting anxious just thinking about the 2 weeks following ovulation.
Any help is appreciated.
thanks,
k


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## saimeiyu (Aug 13, 2007)

I'm not a big fan of going to BCP first before trying to do anything else.

But I can't help you without knowing what exactly is your hormone imbalance? There's about a million and one things that could mean.


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## MaerynPearl (Jun 21, 2008)

Yeah, we have a lot of hormones... and they can be high or low... what specifically is imbalanced and in what way?


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## zjandosmom (Dec 13, 2004)

Sorry, I am pretty sure I am having estrogen 'surges'. My mw thought I was having big highs and then lows of estrogen. I am thinking low progesterone too. I am having horrible migraines right before my cycle that last 3+ days, unexplaned weight gain in my middle, bleeding up to 5 days before my period, horrible mood swings. These things are making my life miserable. I feel good the 2 weeks following my period and now I am starting to get anxious after I ovulate because I know what is coming. It's awful. My family is really getting the short end of me lately. My period of ruling my life and not in a good way.


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## saimeiyu (Aug 13, 2007)

Oh, Ok. What you're talking about sounds like "classic" PMS type stuff. It's often caused by calcium and magnesium imbalances or deficiencies.

Do you take a vitamin supplement that has both calcium and magnesium? In what dosages for each?


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## zjandosmom (Dec 13, 2004)

I do take calcium and magnesium, can't remember the dosage and too lazy to go check. I take 2 magenesium capsules at night. My symptoms are much more severe than PMS.....thanks for trying though. I have an appt Fri with our GP.


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## MaerynPearl (Jun 21, 2008)

weight gain around the middle sounds more like high progesterone than low...


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## saimeiyu (Aug 13, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *zjandosmom* 
I do take calcium and magnesium, can't remember the dosage and too lazy to go check. I take 2 magenesium capsules at night. My symptoms are much more severe than PMS.....thanks for trying though. I have an appt Fri with our GP.

Oh, duh-- I don't know why I didn't think of this before --do you have PMDD? Have you heard of it? premenstrual dysphoric disorder. It's like PMS times a million.

Quote:

Here are the symptoms that make up the diagnosis of PMDD. All of the symptoms do not need to be present, and they may vary from month to month. At least 5 are required to make the diagnosis, including at least one of the first four.*

1. Very depressed mood, feeling hopeless
2. Marked anxiety, tension, edginess
3. Sudden mood shifts (crying easily, extreme sensitivity)
4. Persistent, marked irritability, anger, increased conflicts
5. Loss of interest in usual activities (work, school, socializing, etc.)
6. Difficulty concentrating and staying focused
7. Fatigue, tiredness, loss of energy
8. Marked appetite change, overeating, food cravings
9. Insomnia (difficulty sleeping) or sleeping too much
10. Feeling out of control or overwhelmed
11. Physical symptoms such as weight gain, bloating, breast tenderness or swelling, headache, and muscle or joint aches and pains
http://pmdd.factsforhealth.org/

The symptoms need to be bad enough to screw with your life to be considered PMDD.
Use of regular birth control pills is usually a bad idea with PMDD, but there are a few types that can be used to safely keep the symptoms under control. There's also a couple of FDA-approved drugs for it. (Serafem comes to mind).

Most things in connection with this haven't really been thoroughly studied, but most clinicians tend to follow the general guidelines for PMS, since they're related. (Like PPD and PPP are related-- one is the "mild" form and the other is the "severe" form.)
There is some limited hope for nutritional and lifestyle remedies, but again, they haven't been well studied.
Many midwives will tell you to take Vit. B-6 100-200 mg, plus 1200 mg calcium plus 200-400 mg magnesium, or tell you to find yourself some Optivite. All of this has been studied in PMS, but not so much in PMDD. Additionally, there has been some suggestion that Vitex (chaste tree berry) might be useful in treating it, as well.
Good diet and exercise are also highly recommended. If you don't work out 3-5 days a week, you might want to start.

If you've never considered acupuncture, you might want to at least see if there are any practitioners in your area that you could afford/see. Some insurance plans cover it. There's not a lot of research in acupuncture specifically for this, but I've heard some good anecdata.









I hope you can figure out what's wrong and find the best way to treat it.


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## zjandosmom (Dec 13, 2004)

ahhh, that does all sound a bit too familiar. But only during my period. It starts about 5 days before throw in a few days of migraines and bleeding (after sex but before period begins) and you have me. About 4 days into my period the 'fog' lifts and I begin to feel myself again...except for the roll in my middle. I am on B-6 (250),B-2 (100), vit D (2,000) and Mag (120 x2). The pill made everything worse...won't do that again. I will look into accupuncture. I am already feeling anxious about my next cycle. I just finished my cycle last Sunday. I hate this.

I also do Pilates 4-5 days a week.


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## saimeiyu (Aug 13, 2007)

Yeah, that's sounds right for PMDD. Part of the diagnosis is also that you feel fine and awesome the week AFTER your period, but the week before is when you hit the crappiness.

See if you can add in the calcium and vitex and hopefully it will do something positive for you. Do you do any cardio in addition to the Pilates? maybe walking or something?

I hope you're able to get it under control. Maybe you could take some of the info from the website to your GP to discuss.


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## zjandosmom (Dec 13, 2004)

That link you put in was good, thank you. I am actually looking for a treadmill on Craigslist as I figured I needed to up my game! I will be mentioning to her what I have read and see what she has to say. Thank you for your help.


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## Pookietooth (Jul 1, 2002)

Sounds like PCOS, actually, which can definitely cause all kinds of havoc. See:
http://www.soulcysters.net/
http://www.pcosupport.org/


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## zjandosmom (Dec 13, 2004)

Got this 'diagnosis': estrogen toxicity, low progesterone with a touch of fatigued adrenals. I am to take a supplement called Breast Health, 800+mg of magnesium, adrenal support supplement, and progesterone from ovulation to period. I am hopeful that this will work. I am to give it 2 cycles and touch base with her again. Crossing my fingers!!


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## MaerynPearl (Jun 21, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *msnikki* 
Yes Vitex is good. I took vitex for about 2 months, I think they recommend you take it longer but I stopped because I started feeling better. My period got shorter and better using vitex. I took the liquid by Herb Pharm. I got it from Whole Foods, cost about $11 a bottle, the bottle will last a little over 2weeks.

You should research Vitex before taking it. I google and read about this stuff for about a month.

usually, if you take a supplement to feel better and it works... you should keep taking it.


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## zjandosmom (Dec 13, 2004)

Had to update...I am about 2 days from my cycle and am feeling better everyday! Normally at this point I would be b#@chy beyond belief. I have lost a bit of weight in my middle already! I am so hopeful that I won't have a migraine tomorrow and really hoping my period isn't as heavy as it's been. The magnesium I am taking is a powder form that I mix with hot water.

I eat a roughly 90% organic diet and any meat is hormone/steroid free. I am very careful about what we eat. I cannot tell you all how much better I feel and everyday it's a little better. I had been feeling not myself for a long time. My energy is coming back and I feel more 'clear' in my head. I am soooo







! I







my dr! Never thought I'd say that!

Hope this will help anyone else going through the same thing. I just can't believe the difference in how I feel. Wow.


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## GearGirl (Mar 16, 2005)

That's great!!! Can you give a little more detail on your supplements?


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## zjandosmom (Dec 13, 2004)

Sure, I am on a supplement called Breast Health (1 3x a day), Adrenal Support (2 2x a day), progesterone (1 at night from ovulation to period only), I also take Vit D (2000 Iu's once a day) and I am to try to get my magnesium intake up to about 800mg (with mag if you take too much you just poop it out, sorry if TMI). I ordered the supplements as rec by my Dr from this site: https://www.emersonecologics.com/default.aspx.

So far no migraine!!!!! I always have a migraine the day before my period begins. So hopeful that I won't get one!

Hope this helps someone else.


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## TonyaW (Dec 5, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MaerynPearl* 
weight gain around the middle sounds more like high progesterone than low...

I thought weight gain around the middle was a symptom of low progesterone. Every list of symptoms I have read for low progesterone says weight gain around the middle or unexplained weight gain. I had a LPD about 5 years ago, since I haven't charted since then I don't know if i still do, but I always gain weight around the middle.


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## zjandosmom (Dec 13, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TonyaW* 
I thought weight gain around the middle was a symptom of low progesterone. Every list of symptoms I have read for low progesterone says weight gain around the middle or unexplained weight gain. I had a LPD about 5 years ago, since I haven't charted since then I don't know if i still do, but I always gain weight around the middle.

Yup, low progesterone.


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## Eastern Bluebird (Nov 16, 2009)

You may want to read the Dr. John R Lee MD books, such as "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause" and "Dr John Lee's Hormone Balance Made Simple". If you think you have adrenal issues, you may want to check out www.stopthethyroidmadness.com for adrenal info.


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## TonyaW (Dec 5, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *zjandosmom* 
Had to update...I am about 2 days from my cycle and am feeling better everyday! Normally at this point I would be b#@chy beyond belief. I have lost a bit of weight in my middle already! I am so hopeful that I won't have a migraine tomorrow and really hoping my period isn't as heavy as it's been. The magnesium I am taking is a powder form that I mix with hot water.

I eat a roughly 90% organic diet and any meat is hormone/steroid free. I am very careful about what we eat. I cannot tell you all how much better I feel and everyday it's a little better. I had been feeling not myself for a long time. My energy is coming back and I feel more 'clear' in my head. I am soooo







! I







my dr! Never thought I'd say that!

Hope this will help anyone else going through the same thing. I just can't believe the difference in how I feel. Wow.

Hi,

How did your GP test you to find out what problems you were having? How did your GP test for adrenal issues?

Thanks!


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