Re: Question about periods? ()

[Guest guest]

,

I will def. get back on it as soon as I am stable on HC a little

longer....don't want to upset anything. I know the last time I took

it, I had horrible depression and went hyper with my Armour. I did a

little checking and that happens sometimes for the first month or

so....your body reacts negatively at first but, to stick it out. So,

I will go back on it. I took it many years ago and did just fine on

it back then. (before hypo. dx' though) And, I do remember it easing

my periods back then. You described my periods exactly! I call them

my silver dollar clots! Yucky!! And, I have cramps into my 5th day

even. Very long, very heavy, very painful. Mostly on my right side

too. I am going to have a hormone panel done next month so will see

where I stand.

Maybe it would be better to start the P. cream during my next cycle

instead of waiting until my Armour is up there again? hmmmm, that

way I can avoid any hyper feelings if I were on more Armour, like

before? What do you think?

Dana

> >

> > Hi everyone!

> >

> > I was wondering if having a heavy period can stress the

Adrenals?

> I was hoping my period would be better but, it probably hasn't been

> > enough time yet.....do heavy, painful periods get better with

> > continued HC support?

> >

> > Also, is it important to stress dose during periods? I am not

> having any shaking or anything but, am more tired today and my

temp.

> is down. (starting temp. was 97.1!) My temp. usually is 97.8-97.9

> when I awaken. I am having really bad cramps and is it's usual

> heaviness and clotty (sorry so graffic!lol)....so was just

wondering

> what experience's you all have had. I know that I will need to

> start on progesterone cream soon but, wanted to first be stable on

> HC. (I had a reaction to prog. cream in the past & went hyper)

> >

> > I also think the low temp. could be hypo creaping back in so have

> > just raised by 1/4 Armour for past few days....

> >

> > All in all I am STILL MUCH BETTER since reaching 22.5 mg. of HC.

> >

> > Thanks!

> > Dana

>

[Guest guest]

Hmmm...that sounds like a good idea. If you were on your maximum dose

of Armour later & started P, you might find yourself having to adjust

down.

Since you just adjusted down your Armour to do the HC, this sounds

like a good time to try again. Also, P converts to cortisol, so the P

may help with your adrenal issues.

Standard P cream supplementation is 20-25mg/day from day 14-28. If

you have the cream that's in a pump applicator, that's usually 1

pump. The jar types, I think it's usually 1/4tsp. Maybe a 1/2tsp,

depending on the manufacturer. Check the instructions.

I found after doing this a while that it wasn't enough for me. My P

level was still in the crapper & I have low cortisol. I'm now on 2

pumps (40mg) a day every day, except when I have my period. Then I do

1 pump. My old P regime had certainly helped with some hypo symptoms,

but I noticed the extra difference this made after about a month. My

skin became much softer. I may adjust the P back down in the future,

once my thyroid, adrenal et al are stabilized, but this is working

very well for me now.

P buildup is gradual, so you could certainly monitor your symptoms as

you go & cut back Armour or P if you feel hyper again.

> Maybe it would be better to start the P. cream during my next cycle

> instead of waiting until my Armour is up there again? hmmmm, that

> way I can avoid any hyper feelings if I were on more Armour, like

> before? What do you think?

>

> Dana

[Guest guest]

Hmmm...that sounds like a good idea. If you were on your maximum dose

of Armour later & started P, you might find yourself having to adjust

down.

Since you just adjusted down your Armour to do the HC, this sounds

like a good time to try again. Also, P converts to cortisol, so the P

may help with your adrenal issues.

Standard P cream supplementation is 20-25mg/day from day 14-28. If

you have the cream that's in a pump applicator, that's usually 1

pump. The jar types, I think it's usually 1/4tsp. Maybe a 1/2tsp,

depending on the manufacturer. Check the instructions.

I found after doing this a while that it wasn't enough for me. My P

level was still in the crapper & I have low cortisol. I'm now on 2

pumps (40mg) a day every day, except when I have my period. Then I do

1 pump. My old P regime had certainly helped with some hypo symptoms,

but I noticed the extra difference this made after about a month. My

skin became much softer. I may adjust the P back down in the future,

once my thyroid, adrenal et al are stabilized, but this is working

very well for me now.

P buildup is gradual, so you could certainly monitor your symptoms as

you go & cut back Armour or P if you feel hyper again.

> Maybe it would be better to start the P. cream during my next cycle

> instead of waiting until my Armour is up there again? hmmmm, that

> way I can avoid any hyper feelings if I were on more Armour, like

> before? What do you think?

>

> Dana

[Guest guest]

Hmmm...that sounds like a good idea. If you were on your maximum dose

of Armour later & started P, you might find yourself having to adjust

down.

Since you just adjusted down your Armour to do the HC, this sounds

like a good time to try again. Also, P converts to cortisol, so the P

may help with your adrenal issues.

Standard P cream supplementation is 20-25mg/day from day 14-28. If

you have the cream that's in a pump applicator, that's usually 1

pump. The jar types, I think it's usually 1/4tsp. Maybe a 1/2tsp,

depending on the manufacturer. Check the instructions.

I found after doing this a while that it wasn't enough for me. My P

level was still in the crapper & I have low cortisol. I'm now on 2

pumps (40mg) a day every day, except when I have my period. Then I do

1 pump. My old P regime had certainly helped with some hypo symptoms,

but I noticed the extra difference this made after about a month. My

skin became much softer. I may adjust the P back down in the future,

once my thyroid, adrenal et al are stabilized, but this is working

very well for me now.

P buildup is gradual, so you could certainly monitor your symptoms as

you go & cut back Armour or P if you feel hyper again.

> Maybe it would be better to start the P. cream during my next cycle

> instead of waiting until my Armour is up there again? hmmmm, that

> way I can avoid any hyper feelings if I were on more Armour, like

> before? What do you think?

>

> Dana

[Guest guest]

I had all the symptoms of estrogen dominance along with hypo so I

used progesterone cream for three months beginning in late summer

(for two weeks out of the month) and when I did saliva testing at the

end of September my results were:

Cortisol:

> 7-8 11 Depressed (13-24)

> 11-12 3 Depressed (5-10)

> 4-5 2 Depressed (3-8)

> 11-Mid 2 Normal (1-4)

> Cortisol Burden 18 (23-42)

>

> DHEA 2 Depressed (3-10)

>

> Estradiol 20 (7-20)

> Progesterone >1000 (65-500)

> Free Testosterone 19 Normal (8-20)

>

My progesterone is certainly not converting into cortisol. I wonder

why the build up and the low cortisol and DHEA along with it. What

actually facilitates progesterone conversion to cortisol? Do you

know? (I need to research that!) I also have irregular extremely

heavy periods and saw no change in that with progesterone usage. I

self treated with progesterone cream because I thought my cycle

problems were due to being estrogen dominant and low progesterone

since I am 51 years old. According to the saliva tests I didn't need

any extra. It's very confusing.

Dianne

>

> Hmmm...that sounds like a good idea. If you were on your maximum

dose

> of Armour later & started P, you might find yourself having to

adjust

> down.

>

> Since you just adjusted down your Armour to do the HC, this sounds

> like a good time to try again. Also, P converts to cortisol, so the

P

> may help with your adrenal issues.

>

> Standard P cream supplementation is 20-25mg/day from day 14-28. If

> you have the cream that's in a pump applicator, that's usually 1

> pump. The jar types, I think it's usually 1/4tsp. Maybe a 1/2tsp,

> depending on the manufacturer. Check the instructions.

>

> I found after doing this a while that it wasn't enough for me. My P

> level was still in the crapper & I have low cortisol. I'm now on 2

> pumps (40mg) a day every day, except when I have my period. Then I

do

> 1 pump. My old P regime had certainly helped with some hypo

symptoms,

> but I noticed the extra difference this made after about a month.

My

> skin became much softer. I may adjust the P back down in the

future,

> once my thyroid, adrenal et al are stabilized, but this is working

> very well for me now.

>

> P buildup is gradual, so you could certainly monitor your symptoms

as

> you go & cut back Armour or P if you feel hyper again.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

There are so many pathways that can be taken in the conversion

process. I'm a firm believer in supplementing what you need to

supplement. If your cortisol is low then supplement cortisol. If

your dhea is low then supplement dhea. I think there are too many

things that can go wrong if you are relying on one thing to convert to

something else. That's probably part of the reason we are sick in

the first place

Lynda

Re: Question about periods? ()

>I had all the symptoms of estrogen dominance along with hypo so I

> used progesterone cream for three months beginning in late summer

> (for two weeks out of the month) and when I did saliva testing at

> the

> end of September my results were:

>

> Cortisol:

>> 7-8 11 Depressed (13-24)

>> 11-12 3 Depressed (5-10)

>> 4-5 2 Depressed (3-8)

>> 11-Mid 2 Normal (1-4)

>> Cortisol Burden 18 (23-42)

>>

>> DHEA 2 Depressed (3-10)

>>

>> Estradiol 20 (7-20)

>> Progesterone >1000 (65-500)

>> Free Testosterone 19 Normal (8-20)

>>

>

> My progesterone is certainly not converting into cortisol. I wonder

> why the build up and the low cortisol and DHEA along with it. What

> actually facilitates progesterone conversion to cortisol? Do you

> know? (I need to research that!) I also have irregular extremely

> heavy periods and saw no change in that with progesterone usage. I

> self treated with progesterone cream because I thought my cycle

> problems were due to being estrogen dominant and low progesterone

> since I am 51 years old. According to the saliva tests I didn't need

> any extra. It's very confusing.

>

>

> Dianne

>

[Guest guest]

There are so many pathways that can be taken in the conversion

process. I'm a firm believer in supplementing what you need to

supplement. If your cortisol is low then supplement cortisol. If

your dhea is low then supplement dhea. I think there are too many

things that can go wrong if you are relying on one thing to convert to

something else. That's probably part of the reason we are sick in

the first place

Lynda

Re: Question about periods? ()

>I had all the symptoms of estrogen dominance along with hypo so I

> used progesterone cream for three months beginning in late summer

> (for two weeks out of the month) and when I did saliva testing at

> the

> end of September my results were:

>

> Cortisol:

>> 7-8 11 Depressed (13-24)

>> 11-12 3 Depressed (5-10)

>> 4-5 2 Depressed (3-8)

>> 11-Mid 2 Normal (1-4)

>> Cortisol Burden 18 (23-42)

>>

>> DHEA 2 Depressed (3-10)

>>

>> Estradiol 20 (7-20)

>> Progesterone >1000 (65-500)

>> Free Testosterone 19 Normal (8-20)

>>

>

> My progesterone is certainly not converting into cortisol. I wonder

> why the build up and the low cortisol and DHEA along with it. What

> actually facilitates progesterone conversion to cortisol? Do you

> know? (I need to research that!) I also have irregular extremely

> heavy periods and saw no change in that with progesterone usage. I

> self treated with progesterone cream because I thought my cycle

> problems were due to being estrogen dominant and low progesterone

> since I am 51 years old. According to the saliva tests I didn't need

> any extra. It's very confusing.

>

>

> Dianne

>

[Guest guest]

Lynda - You have a good point! It's much easier to treat what your deficient in,

than to sometimes treat the root cause. You could be at it forever, but there is

sometimes an easy answer for some things.

Lynda wrote:

There are so many pathways that can be taken in the conversion

process. I'm a firm believer in supplementing what you need to

supplement. If your cortisol is low then supplement cortisol. If

your dhea is low then supplement dhea. I think there are too many

things that can go wrong if you are relying on one thing to convert to

something else. That's probably part of the reason we are sick in

the first place

Lynda

Re: Question about periods? ()

>I had all the symptoms of estrogen dominance along with hypo so I

> used progesterone cream for three months beginning in late summer

> (for two weeks out of the month) and when I did saliva testing at

> the

> end of September my results were:

>

> Cortisol:

>> 7-8 11 Depressed (13-24)

>> 11-12 3 Depressed (5-10)

>> 4-5 2 Depressed (3-8)

>> 11-Mid 2 Normal (1-4)

>> Cortisol Burden 18 (23-42)

>>

>> DHEA 2 Depressed (3-10)

>>

>> Estradiol 20 (7-20)

>> Progesterone >1000 (65-500)

>> Free Testosterone 19 Normal (8-20)

>>

>

> My progesterone is certainly not converting into cortisol. I wonder

> why the build up and the low cortisol and DHEA along with it. What

> actually facilitates progesterone conversion to cortisol? Do you

> know? (I need to research that!) I also have irregular extremely

> heavy periods and saw no change in that with progesterone usage. I

> self treated with progesterone cream because I thought my cycle

> problems were due to being estrogen dominant and low progesterone

> since I am 51 years old. According to the saliva tests I didn't need

> any extra. It's very confusing.

>

>

> Dianne

>

---------------------------------

Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta.

[Guest guest]

Lynda - You have a good point! It's much easier to treat what your deficient in,

than to sometimes treat the root cause. You could be at it forever, but there is

sometimes an easy answer for some things.

Lynda wrote:

There are so many pathways that can be taken in the conversion

process. I'm a firm believer in supplementing what you need to

supplement. If your cortisol is low then supplement cortisol. If

your dhea is low then supplement dhea. I think there are too many

things that can go wrong if you are relying on one thing to convert to

something else. That's probably part of the reason we are sick in

the first place

Lynda

Re: Question about periods? ()

>I had all the symptoms of estrogen dominance along with hypo so I

> used progesterone cream for three months beginning in late summer

> (for two weeks out of the month) and when I did saliva testing at

> the

> end of September my results were:

>

> Cortisol:

>> 7-8 11 Depressed (13-24)

>> 11-12 3 Depressed (5-10)

>> 4-5 2 Depressed (3-8)

>> 11-Mid 2 Normal (1-4)

>> Cortisol Burden 18 (23-42)

>>

>> DHEA 2 Depressed (3-10)

>>

>> Estradiol 20 (7-20)

>> Progesterone >1000 (65-500)

>> Free Testosterone 19 Normal (8-20)

>>

>

> My progesterone is certainly not converting into cortisol. I wonder

> why the build up and the low cortisol and DHEA along with it. What

> actually facilitates progesterone conversion to cortisol? Do you

> know? (I need to research that!) I also have irregular extremely

> heavy periods and saw no change in that with progesterone usage. I

> self treated with progesterone cream because I thought my cycle

> problems were due to being estrogen dominant and low progesterone

> since I am 51 years old. According to the saliva tests I didn't need

> any extra. It's very confusing.

>

>

> Dianne

>

---------------------------------

Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta.

[Guest guest]

Lynda - You have a good point! It's much easier to treat what your deficient in,

than to sometimes treat the root cause. You could be at it forever, but there is

sometimes an easy answer for some things.

Lynda wrote:

There are so many pathways that can be taken in the conversion

process. I'm a firm believer in supplementing what you need to

supplement. If your cortisol is low then supplement cortisol. If

your dhea is low then supplement dhea. I think there are too many

things that can go wrong if you are relying on one thing to convert to

something else. That's probably part of the reason we are sick in

the first place

Lynda

Re: Question about periods? ()

>I had all the symptoms of estrogen dominance along with hypo so I

> used progesterone cream for three months beginning in late summer

> (for two weeks out of the month) and when I did saliva testing at

> the

> end of September my results were:

>

> Cortisol:

>> 7-8 11 Depressed (13-24)

>> 11-12 3 Depressed (5-10)

>> 4-5 2 Depressed (3-8)

>> 11-Mid 2 Normal (1-4)

>> Cortisol Burden 18 (23-42)

>>

>> DHEA 2 Depressed (3-10)

>>

>> Estradiol 20 (7-20)

>> Progesterone >1000 (65-500)

>> Free Testosterone 19 Normal (8-20)

>>

>

> My progesterone is certainly not converting into cortisol. I wonder

> why the build up and the low cortisol and DHEA along with it. What

> actually facilitates progesterone conversion to cortisol? Do you

> know? (I need to research that!) I also have irregular extremely

> heavy periods and saw no change in that with progesterone usage. I

> self treated with progesterone cream because I thought my cycle

> problems were due to being estrogen dominant and low progesterone

> since I am 51 years old. According to the saliva tests I didn't need

> any extra. It's very confusing.

>

>

> Dianne

>

---------------------------------

Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta.

[Guest guest]

It is true that if you find the cause and treat that others will follow. We

have a guy at the low Testosterone boards that is treating Ardenal Fatigue he is

do 10mgs. of HC just in the morning this is when he is low. He stated testing

and found his Pregnenolone was low and started taking 10mgs a day he felt so dam

good that he was able to drop the HC. I tested mine it's dam low so I started

on it and feel it big time. I am in the proccess of switching from Isocort to

HC I am for a week now doing 10mgs of HC in the morning and 2 pills of Isocort

at noon and dinner. My temps are leveled off at 98.5 to 98.7 now for a good

week never seen this doing a chart now for 8 months. I am thinking I will try

droping the Isocort at dinner and not replace it with 5mgs. of HC. I feel so

dam good I may not need to do HC at noon and dinner. A Dr. that helps guys with

low Testosterone on the boards has all his men on Pregnenolone says they are all

feeling much better. It converts not

cortisol. I feel it's worth a try.

Phil

http://www.myvitanet.com/preg.html

wrote:

Lynda - You have a good point! It's much easier to treat what your

deficient in, than to sometimes treat the root cause. You could be at it

forever, but there is sometimes an easy answer for some things.

Lynda wrote:

There are so many pathways that can be taken in the conversion

process. I'm a firm believer in supplementing what you need to

supplement. If your cortisol is low then supplement cortisol. If

your dhea is low then supplement dhea. I think there are too many

things that can go wrong if you are relying on one thing to convert to

something else. That's probably part of the reason we are sick in

the first place

Lynda

Re: Question about periods? ()

>I had all the symptoms of estrogen dominance along with hypo so I

> used progesterone cream for three months beginning in late summer

> (for two weeks out of the month) and when I did saliva testing at

> the

> end of September my results were:

>

> Cortisol:

>> 7-8 11 Depressed (13-24)

>> 11-12 3 Depressed (5-10)

>> 4-5 2 Depressed (3-8)

>> 11-Mid 2 Normal (1-4)

>> Cortisol Burden 18 (23-42)

>>

>> DHEA 2 Depressed (3-10)

>>

>> Estradiol 20 (7-20)

>> Progesterone >1000 (65-500)

>> Free Testosterone 19 Normal (8-20)

>>

>

> My progesterone is certainly not converting into cortisol. I wonder

> why the build up and the low cortisol and DHEA along with it. What

> actually facilitates progesterone conversion to cortisol? Do you

> know? (I need to research that!) I also have irregular extremely

> heavy periods and saw no change in that with progesterone usage. I

> self treated with progesterone cream because I thought my cycle

> problems were due to being estrogen dominant and low progesterone

> since I am 51 years old. According to the saliva tests I didn't need

> any extra. It's very confusing.

>

>

> Dianne

>

---------------------------------

Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta.

[Guest guest]

It is true that if you find the cause and treat that others will follow. We

have a guy at the low Testosterone boards that is treating Ardenal Fatigue he is

do 10mgs. of HC just in the morning this is when he is low. He stated testing

and found his Pregnenolone was low and started taking 10mgs a day he felt so dam

good that he was able to drop the HC. I tested mine it's dam low so I started

on it and feel it big time. I am in the proccess of switching from Isocort to

HC I am for a week now doing 10mgs of HC in the morning and 2 pills of Isocort

at noon and dinner. My temps are leveled off at 98.5 to 98.7 now for a good

week never seen this doing a chart now for 8 months. I am thinking I will try

droping the Isocort at dinner and not replace it with 5mgs. of HC. I feel so

dam good I may not need to do HC at noon and dinner. A Dr. that helps guys with

low Testosterone on the boards has all his men on Pregnenolone says they are all

feeling much better. It converts not

cortisol. I feel it's worth a try.

Phil

http://www.myvitanet.com/preg.html

wrote:

Lynda - You have a good point! It's much easier to treat what your

deficient in, than to sometimes treat the root cause. You could be at it

forever, but there is sometimes an easy answer for some things.

Lynda wrote:

There are so many pathways that can be taken in the conversion

process. I'm a firm believer in supplementing what you need to

supplement. If your cortisol is low then supplement cortisol. If

your dhea is low then supplement dhea. I think there are too many

things that can go wrong if you are relying on one thing to convert to

something else. That's probably part of the reason we are sick in

the first place

Lynda

Re: Question about periods? ()

>I had all the symptoms of estrogen dominance along with hypo so I

> used progesterone cream for three months beginning in late summer

> (for two weeks out of the month) and when I did saliva testing at

> the

> end of September my results were:

>

> Cortisol:

>> 7-8 11 Depressed (13-24)

>> 11-12 3 Depressed (5-10)

>> 4-5 2 Depressed (3-8)

>> 11-Mid 2 Normal (1-4)

>> Cortisol Burden 18 (23-42)

>>

>> DHEA 2 Depressed (3-10)

>>

>> Estradiol 20 (7-20)

>> Progesterone >1000 (65-500)

>> Free Testosterone 19 Normal (8-20)

>>

>

> My progesterone is certainly not converting into cortisol. I wonder

> why the build up and the low cortisol and DHEA along with it. What

> actually facilitates progesterone conversion to cortisol? Do you

> know? (I need to research that!) I also have irregular extremely

> heavy periods and saw no change in that with progesterone usage. I

> self treated with progesterone cream because I thought my cycle

> problems were due to being estrogen dominant and low progesterone

> since I am 51 years old. According to the saliva tests I didn't need

> any extra. It's very confusing.

>

>

> Dianne

>

---------------------------------

Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta.

[Guest guest]

Also, the regimen of taking Progesterone only from Day

14-28 is old hat, uninformed, and beginning to change

as women and doctors realise that women make

Progesterone EVERY day of our cycle, because we need

it for much more than just our reproductive organs,

even though those also still need it from Day 1-14 as

well.

Many women take it every day of their cycle. Some like

me even take it for preventative reasons even through

their period week, if they have a history of

excessively heavy bleeding.

Quite a few women now are going to a schedule of

taking it all month long and take a break for the week

of their periods. They follow what the body's natural

output would be, taking less during Days 1-14, and

more on Days 14-28 to match what their body would

normally put out if it were able to.

Progesterone is needed by our adrenals, our blood

vessels, our hearts, the myelin sheaths on our nerves,

etc. and it makes no sense to deprive ourselves of it

for half the month, when our bodies would normally be

making it on those days too, before we hit the

menopause years.

--- jtb14789 wrote:

> Hmmm...that sounds like a good idea. If you were on

> your maximum dose

> of Armour later & started P, you might find yourself

> having to adjust

> down.

>

> Since you just adjusted down your Armour to do the

> HC, this sounds

> like a good time to try again. Also, P converts to

> cortisol, so the P

> may help with your adrenal issues.

>

> Standard P cream supplementation is 20-25mg/day from

> day 14-28. If

> you have the cream that's in a pump applicator,

> that's usually 1

> pump. The jar types, I think it's usually 1/4tsp.

> Maybe a 1/2tsp,

> depending on the manufacturer. Check the

> instructions.

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

Want to start your own business?

Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business.

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[Guest guest]

I had exactly the same high progesterone reading as you (>1000) when

I took the test after being on P cream for a while. I stopped 3 days

before the test. My cortisol was low all day long too, except for the

morning. So no, the cream I was supplementing wasn't all going to

cortisol.

I did not feel any symptoms of high P. On the contrary, my levels

still felt low. My NP did blood tests & they showed my P was still

very low, even when supplementing. I doubled up on the cream & it

helped. I just posted some info on the difference in interpreting

saliva vs blood tests. It addresses why you see these highs in saliva

when you're not really high.

I have to do more research into the conversion process, but I wonder

if most of it is getting sucked up by our low P needs & there's not

enough leftover to influence cortisol.

If your periods are still heavy & irregular, my thought would be that

you're still not supplementing enough for your body's needs. How much

are you taking? I was on 20mg (1 pump) 1x/day from days 14-28. I went

up to 2 pumps day (40mg) every day, except during my period (1 pump).

Are you taking cream or pill form? OTC or compounded? How are you

applying it? Just trying to eliminate product or application issues.

I'll go pull up that saliva testing info now & post it as a separate

thread. Look for it there.

>

> My progesterone is certainly not converting into cortisol. I

wonder why the build up and the low cortisol and DHEA along with it.

What actually facilitates progesterone conversion to cortisol? Do

you know? (I need to research that!) I also have irregular

extremely heavy periods and saw no change in that with progesterone

usage. I self treated with progesterone cream because I thought my

cycle problems were due to being estrogen dominant and low

progesterone since I am 51 years old. According to the saliva tests I

didn't need any extra. It's very confusing.

>

>

> Dianne

[Guest guest]

I was using Progesta-Care and applying one pump (20 mg)twice a day

two weeks out of the month and did this for 3 months. I applied to

different parts of my body and alternated sides each time.

I took the saliva tests a few weeks after the last application. I

have not used the cream since my tests were done in late September.

Pat on the Natural Hormones and Health forum told me to stop the

progesterone cream until my levels went down to normal, that for some

reason my body was holding onto the cream even though it is normally

short lived in the system.

I have never had blood tests done to check serum levels. My GYN would

not do it since I was still having periods. I thought the GP I went

to in April was going to but she ran FSH and LH tests instead.

Dianne

>

> I had exactly the same high progesterone reading as you (>1000)

when

> I took the test after being on P cream for a while. I stopped 3

days

> before the test. My cortisol was low all day long too, except for

the

> morning. So no, the cream I was supplementing wasn't all going to

> cortisol.

>

> I did not feel any symptoms of high P. On the contrary, my levels

> still felt low. My NP did blood tests & they showed my P was still

> very low, even when supplementing. I doubled up on the cream & it

> helped. I just posted some info on the difference in interpreting

> saliva vs blood tests. It addresses why you see these highs in

saliva

> when you're not really high.

>

> I have to do more research into the conversion process, but I

wonder

> if most of it is getting sucked up by our low P needs & there's not

> enough leftover to influence cortisol.

>

> If your periods are still heavy & irregular, my thought would be

that

> you're still not supplementing enough for your body's needs. How

much

> are you taking? I was on 20mg (1 pump) 1x/day from days 14-28. I

went

> up to 2 pumps day (40mg) every day, except during my period (1

pump).

>

> Are you taking cream or pill form? OTC or compounded? How are you

> applying it? Just trying to eliminate product or application

issues.

>

> I'll go pull up that saliva testing info now & post it as a

separate

> thread. Look for it there.

>

>

>

> >

[Guest guest]

Hi, Dianne,

I THINK it's 17-OH progesterone that you would need to check, but I'm

not sure. You can ask that at HHN. Pat will be able to comment. I

also think you can test that with saliva through Diagnos-Techs, which

you can do through Dr. (www.drmarkrhodes.com).

Warmly,

>

> I had all the symptoms of estrogen dominance along with hypo so I

> used progesterone cream for three months beginning in late summer

> (for two weeks out of the month) and when I did saliva testing at the

> end of September my results were:

>

> Cortisol:

> > 7-8 11 Depressed (13-24)

> > 11-12 3 Depressed (5-10)

> > 4-5 2 Depressed (3-8)

> > 11-Mid 2 Normal (1-4)

> > Cortisol Burden 18 (23-42)

> >

> > DHEA 2 Depressed (3-10)

> >

> > Estradiol 20 (7-20)

> > Progesterone >1000 (65-500)

> > Free Testosterone 19 Normal (8-20)

> >

>

> My progesterone is certainly not converting into cortisol. I wonder

> why the build up and the low cortisol and DHEA along with it. What

> actually facilitates progesterone conversion to cortisol? Do you

> know? (I need to research that!) I also have irregular extremely

> heavy periods and saw no change in that with progesterone usage. I

> self treated with progesterone cream because I thought my cycle

> problems were due to being estrogen dominant and low progesterone

> since I am 51 years old. According to the saliva tests I didn't need

> any extra. It's very confusing.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi - my understanding was from reading Dr. Lee was the 20mg. Is

there some other research out there that indicates otherwise?

http://www.johnleemd.net/articles/faq_01.html

" ...In a normally cycling female, the corpus luteum produces 20 to 30

mg of progesterone daily during the luteal phase of the menstrual

cycle...For premenopausal women the usual dose is 15-24 mg/day for 14

days before expected menses, stopping the day or so before menses....

For postmenopausal women, the dose that often works well is 15 mg/day

for 25 days of the calendar month....Dr. Lee recommends the creams

that contain 450-500 mg of progesterone per ounce, which is 1.6% by

weight or 3% by volume. This means that about 1/4 teaspoon daily

would provide about 20 mg/day... "

Yes, because of the half-life, I did split the 20mg dose (1/2

pump/day) when I was on 20mg. I had just left left it out for

brevity's sake .

>

> > Standard P cream supplementation is 20-25mg/day from

> > day 14-28.

> It's actually 20-25 mg. TWICE a day, not once. The

> average female before menopause makes about 40 mg. per

> day. (Unless pregnant when she makes much more.)

>

> Progesterone has a half life of 12-15 hours so the

> standard supplementation is 40 mg. per day divided

> into two doses, 12 hours apart.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi - do you have the links or research on that? I might want to

go over it with my NP.

Thanks!

>

> Also, the regimen of taking Progesterone only from Day

> 14-28 is old hat, uninformed, and beginning to change

> as women and doctors realise that women make

> Progesterone EVERY day of our cycle, because we need

> it for much more than just our reproductive organs,

> even though those also still need it from Day 1-14 as

> well.

>

> Many women take it every day of their cycle. Some like

> me even take it for preventative reasons even through

> their period week, if they have a history of

> excessively heavy bleeding.

>

> Quite a few women now are going to a schedule of

> taking it all month long and take a break for the week

> of their periods. They follow what the body's natural

> output would be, taking less during Days 1-14, and

> more on Days 14-28 to match what their body would

> normally put out if it were able to.

>

> Progesterone is needed by our adrenals, our blood

> vessels, our hearts, the myelin sheaths on our nerves,

> etc. and it makes no sense to deprive ourselves of it

> for half the month, when our bodies would normally be

> making it on those days too, before we hit the

> menopause years.

>

>