For women - hormones

My great grandma and my grandma didn't do anything and they lived way into their 90's.

So I did progesterone to help me get over the very rough parts that I had for a couple of months. I was one of those women that would have been put in the looney bin because of menopause. My mental was horrible. I could handle the night sweats, the insomnia but not the mental stuff. I was so afraid.

So a couple of months on progesterone cream (made at a compounding pharmacy) and I slowly weaned myself off and I am fine.

Now my mother is a whole different story. She just finally got off estrogen about 10 years ago when they found out that it could be responsible for breast cancer. I could not believe that she was on estrogen for 40 years. But my Mom's era is the pill era. Good grief that woman believes her doctors are God and takes whatever they give her.




I did not have lyme at the time.

My last test showed estrogen close to zero. I'm hoping the progesterone will help balance things out.

The 'bioidentical' estrogen - that's applied trasndermally isn't supposed to cause the cancers...but not enough studies have been done...

Girlie -

I have no idea and it's a good question... I've just spent 3 miserable days on my period (exhaustion) so I guess I will learn from you all how you're transitioning.

My compounding pharmacist happens to specialize in menopause - let me know if you're interested in his contact info. I believe he does consults. He spent an hour going over my bizarre labs that said I was post-menopausal (despite continued very regular periods and ovulation).

He's a wonderful, sweet guy (and ships for free, btw!) I didn't want to do the hormones - he said they wouldn't hurt and might help manage symptoms (which I wasn't having but thought I would mention it in case it makes sense in this conversation to implement bioidentical hormones if your menopausal symptoms are really uncomfortable).

I'll share my theory that many women don't do well with periods and/or in perimenopause/menopause not solely because of the poor American diet (probably the biggest cause) but also because of our detoxing/methylation issues... and probably other stuff we just don't know about. Menstruation is a type of detoxing process.

Although, I would guess that a lot of women here who follow natural lyme & co protocols have probably been living a healthy lifestyle for a long time so that's why I think there is another catalyst other than poor diets/stressed bodies--"the American way". Anyway, just a thought.

I know that I've always had painful periods with several other symptoms (painful, achey bowel movements --particularly the muscles involved, I just hurt and felt like my insides were going to fall out--I'd spend hours sitting on the toilet doing nothing only because it felt better, for some reason...but it also makes sense because the hormones released in/by the uterus are right next to the bowels - they share a wall!), paranoia, depression, acne, sore breasts, and I barely bled - I didn't wear tampons or pads - just a little wad of t.p. in my undies. Strange.

But then I started detoxing about 4 yrs ago---I'm still very regular (periods are now maybe 1-2 days closer together but still the same length) but very few other symptoms and now it just makes me really tired, but that makes sense because we're losing blood. And I bleed normally. So - that's my theory.

-p

Post Edited (Pirouette) : 6/2/2016 12:23:52 PM (GMT-6)

Girlie -
Yes, he requires a script.

I also agree that your shivers are probably not related to menopause. In fact, I was thinking of you the other day - I had a "shiver" - get them all the time but they are short and sweet and I've had them so long I just then realized I've ignored them all this time. Anyway, I get them in my head (now I understand what you were talking about--before I was like, "huh? shiver in your head?") and shoulder/arms.

I think for me, I'm going to put them in the same category as the "buzzing" or "vibrating" that I've felt... I don't get them often but enough to be able to identify them now. Very strange sensations.

-p

Kickin'Lyme, I had horrible scary thoughts - I would drive over a bridge and wonder how long the car would float if I went into the water. No, I was not contemplating doing it, but the fact that I thought it scared me. I also wondered if I fell off the roof blowing these leaves off with the blower, how badly would I get hurt? I was so afraid that I was even thinking these things.

Then I was crying all the time. I once said to my husband as I was crying and gasping for air "I don't think I am unhappy."

And then there was the word mix up. I would look at him across the table and ask him for the salt. He passed me the pepper. I told him I wanted the salt and he said, but you said pepper. I cried and asked him why was he trying to make me think I was crazy. I was a horrible mess.

Like I said night sweats, insomnia and all the rest were nothing. I bought a beautiful sandlewood hand held fan and I listened to talk radio all night - lol All of it tolerable. But not that mental stuff I went through and in my great grandma's day they actually did take women to the loony bin because of menopause. Whew - glad I was not her generation.

Girlie -
OK, you made me look that up: pulsatile tinnitus
I hear that every now and then if my head tilts a certain way on my pillow. Is that the same? I also have really bad regular tinnitus - CONSTANT ringing - several different pitches like they are coming from different sources. It's enough to make one crazy.

I never had tinnitus before. It showed up about 4 months ago right when I was trying to convince LLMD I was done w/ Rocephin. LOL It just happened to be hitting new pockets of the infection and tinnitus and a couple more sx popped up. So maybe that's what's going on w/ you and the shivers. BTW - I'm not cold when they happen - they just pop up. They don't last long for me.

-p

Post Edited (Pirouette) : 6/2/2016 6:06:55 PM (GMT-6)

Hi Girlie...sorry I dont have an answer to your Q but your post just reminded me of my sister and I texting yesterday that Im gonna share just for kicks if you dont mind..

Basically she called me telling me how she is having some weird pelvic pain and back pain. I asked her when her last period was and told her maybe she is having ovulation pains as I have started having them as Ive been getting older although Ive never had them throughout my life(Im sure the ol lyme prob has something to do w/this too somehow I wouldnt be surprised). So then we started thinking oh no, what if it was actually implantation pains!! (she *doesnt want anymore kids). Then chat chat, yada yada yada....we got off the phone and starting sending links to each other about what it could be and came to the conclusion judging by the time frame that she is prob having ovulation pains.

Annnnnywhoooo...heres a partial of our text that your post made me just think of in general:

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Me: Men got it so easy as far as hormone ish..we gotta have all these crazy periods, ovulations, implantations, perimenopause, menopause, etc etc!! Grr its no dayumm fair I tell ya lol

Sister: Its really NOT!!!!!

Me: I swear!! smdh

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


So in a nutshell....gosh I wish we didnt have to even worry about all this estrogen and progesterone hormone balancing! For any men reading this...ya'll are some lucky duckies you dont have to worry about this mess!!

I hope you get it all figured/balanced out Girlie! Its enough having to figure out our 'lyme/co's treatment stuff' but to have the other female stuff to balance out too ON TOP of our lyme mess its like i-yiee-yiee...

-Courtney

Oh, and I've never heard of implantation pains...didn't know you could 'feel' when an embryo implants in the uterus.

I was told that pregnenolone is the mother of ALL of these hormones and that it would sort of fill in where the body was short.

Should I look into progesterone instead?

I'm 45 but according to test I'm in peri menopause.

Sorry don't mean to hijack this tread, but I'm interested in all of this but it seems very confusing.

k07 -
Yes, the noise is definitely the blood rushing through the arteries but what is causing the pressure is the change in heart rhythm. Very interesting - probably also pretty normal, now that I think of it. I think they just gave it a fancy name.

Sorry you're also having other noise issues. I have something on (something streaming on the computer, tv) all the time. Otherwise, I will go crazy.

-p

k07 said...
Girlie - I had that same noise in my ear when I was in my 20's. I described it as a washing machine noise in my ear (whooshing) and I would only hear it when laying down on a certain side (can't recall). I found that if I actually pressed on my artery in my neck on that side (gently) the noise went away, so I believe it has something to do with blood flow. I had gone to a doc and had brain scans done and the consensus was that my artery was close to my ear drum. Don't think it was really that since it came out of nowhere and I noticed it would go away when I was pregnant. I don't get it anymore. Now I'm stuck with a constant noise that sounds like heavy machinery working outside. It gets louder and softer. I also get ringing but it's short-lived and only maybe once a day.

I'm not sure if I know where my artery is exactly to press it. hmm..interesting.

When I wake up with the tinnitus, I also have sweats and anxiety.

I wonder why those three go together...

happyjo - mine tanked before i was on any antibiotics...

I don't know if I will ever give the estrogen another try. I really didn't feel any benefits...maybe it takes 3 months to feel 'something'. And it is strange that it increased my levels a lot on such a short time...and most of the time only on a small dose...

I didn't know there were other bio-identicals beside the Estro-Gel.