Not your typical allergy -- Estrogen

Hi folks, I'm Rhaevin, from over on the Chronic Pain section, but obviously that's not why I'm here. I'm hoping I can find someone with a similar issue who can maybe give me a little insight as even my "Female" doctor is a little baffled.

So I have this bizarre allergy. The long and the short of it is .... I'm allergic to being a girl.

Go on, scratch your head, look puzzled, and then laugh. Laugh long and loud. Trust me, I do.

Seriously, I'm allergic to elevated levels of estrogen in my body. Elevated levels, like you find when you're on an estrogen based birthcontrol pill, you're pregnant, and a few other natural times in a woman's life are down right life threatening for me. It builds up an excess of biosalts that my body is unable to break down and as a result my body starts shutting down, starting with my liver.

Does anyone else have this allergy? If so, and you don't mind talking about biology I'd really like to ask some questions off forum.

Thank you for reading, and hope you had a good giggle.

Post Edited (Rhaevin) : 3/1/2011 7:52:09 AM (GMT-7)

Thanks, Sherry! Now to figure out how to do that. I'm sure a lil reading will refresh my memory and remind me of how to do it.

And really, go ahead and giggle, I don't mind.  My OBGYN told me so long as I watch my weight, don't become a vegetarian, and don't get pregnant I should be okay, just because all those things have a tendancy to raise estrogen production.

Vegetarian because of alot of those foods they eat, specifically Soy is the biggest problem child.

Rhaevin,

Yes, I've heard of this before. And it is possible to be vegetarian and not eat a lot of soy - I'm allergic to soy and also a vegetarian, but find other ways to get protein (dairy, beans, nuts, etc.). And some vegetarians eat eggs also (not me because of an egg allergy).

Estrogen sensitivity is a difficult issue to deal with - and I have to wonder if there is a liver detox pathway block that is causing or contributing to this for you. Most liver detox pathway blocks can be compensated for with the use of targeted nutritional supplements. Dr. Amy Yasko has done a lot of research in this field. Also, some Naturopathic physicians are able to help with this sort of issue as well.

Were you ever on hormon-based birth control prior to developing problems with Estrogen? I'm asking because the synthetic hormones in the birth control pills can actually lead to a change in the shape of the hormone receptor sites in the body, and thus lead to problems when one's own natural estrogen levels rise. Essential oils (derived from plants) can help correct this particular issue, but the oils must be 100% pure theraputic grade and not perfume grade (i.e., most health-food stores do not sell brands of essential oils that are theraputic grade).

And finally, copper toxicity (drinking water pipes is a common source...) can lead to estrogen sensitivity symptoms and can also cause blockages in the detox pathways in the liver. Zinc supplementation is one of the best ways to deal with this, as well as reducing intake of anything high in copper or that has estrogenic properties (chocolate is a biggie here...).

I hope this helps...take care,

I am looking for help for this type of problem. Two weeks ago I visited a naturapathic doctor. I have a followup appointment with him tomorrow. But during the two weeks, I had researched foods that contain estrogen in them. Since becoming vegan, the pain in my lower belly has gotten worse. I had seen multiple cysts on my ovaries in vaginal ultrasound years ago. So I thought I had polycystic ovarian disease and that got worse since becoming vegan. But according to this doctor, just because I have multiple cysts doesn't mean I have PCOS. In fact, I don't have multiple cysts the last time I had a ultrasound. This may have changed since becoming vegan. I have to get my hormone levels tested ino order to determine if I have PCOS. But lately, I have eliminated all estrogenic foods from my diet, which includes meat and dairy. Fish is excluded. I removed all nail polish, avoid lipstick. I am also sensitive to a lot of chemical. But it turns out all the chemicals I am allergic to all have ESTROGEN!. I don't even shower with soap, I shower with agave nectar syrup just to feel like I'm cleaning myself and it works!. Also, the foods that make me nauseas all have estrogen in them too. To brush my teeth, I rince them with hydrogen peroxide, which does a great job at making my sinus feel free of symptoms possible from estrogen. So you can still go vegan, but you might want to avoid foods high in estrogen. Google "estrogenic foods list" and that is the list I go by. I recently bought an organic baby toothepaste that made me feel extra "sexual." That is my sign that it has hormones in it. So it is made with an herb that is used to treat post-menopausal women's hot flashes. In a baby's toothepast! So I dont' use toothepaste anymore. I've having better days now. But I don't have any kids yet, so I dont' know how this would tie in to having kids more me. I might have to live without any I guess.

As long as I don't use any hair products on my hair, since they all tend to have an ingredient that has estrogen in them, I can use regular toothepaste now. But I stay away from "natural" oral products since they tend to contain some form of estrogen. I don't use hydrogen peroxide anymore. Agave nectar aggravated me. So I use lime water. I get a bottle of organic lime juice that you can cook with, dilute it with water and use a washcloth to wash. My skin is finally softer and I don't use lotion. After I had all my wisdom teeth pulled out by one dentist who eventually moved away, another dentist told me that the sensation I get in my gum line is not from my teeth, It's my sinus. Those symptoms are only present when I use something "estrogenic" on my hair. So I stick to plain water now. If I can digest it, then I can put in on my skin. If it is not edible, than I cannot. Please note: for anyone allergic to plastic, just know that estrogen is used to make plastic softer and more shiny.

I have this allergy. It was worse when I was younger and my hormone levels were nuts. I break out into nasty hives. My eyes swell shut, my lips swell, and I get nasty, itchy welts everywhere.

Last week I had my first incident in years, and it's gotten worse since. I just switched from Yaz to Ortho Tricyclen Lo. I'm hoping it was a result of that and will even out after this first month, but we'll see.

It makes me laugh too.

I have also resently found out that I am allergic to estrogen. When i was 24-26 my body for some reasons turned aginst itself an destroyd my own way of producing estrogen. Since then I have had to take estrogen as tablets. A few years ago I started to get a lot of problems with iching all over my body and problems with my mucus memranes. I took me more then two years to find a doctor that believed in me. The answer I got was that, beeing allergic to estrogen is so unusual that it hardly exists. I hope to get medical treatment mith drugs to supress my immunsystem so that I will able to take estrogen in the future.  

It's been year since you posted about your estrogen allergy but I feel I must respond because I also have this allergy.
When I was a young girl I was diagnosed with an estrogen allergy after I ended up in the hospital after a severe asthma attack. During my childbearing years I had bad asthma-I got other allergy testing and some things showed up like shellfish, but really the main problem was the estrogen in my body. I wasn't able to get control of my asthma for many years UNTIL-I went through menopause.
I am now 58 years old and my asthma has virtually disappeared. I am positive that this is a result of decreasing estrogen levels in my body. Hey, nobody wants to deal with menopause, right? But if you have asthma due to an estrogen allergy, it is my belief that your asthma will really reduce like mine did. I forget my inhaler for days now. There's hope!

I have problems with too high of a dosage of estrogen. I do false pregs (when your not, but have all the symptoms). After him thinking I was prego, I'm like how can we be preg thinking, he talked me into going to one of those pro life clinics. The ladies there figured out I had too high of a dosage and was having a false pregnancy. I had morning sickness, cravings, mood swings, everything lol. We have never heard of false pregnacies before it happened to us. Anyhow, I had to be put on Nuvaring, something that you slide into your personal area. I have no problems on it. I can also do Trinesa LO , but nothing else. Now, I am wondering if you look at all the things you were on ie: natural supplements, estrogen pills, so on and try to find a common inhibitor. Especially compare all the b/c pills you had problems with and see if there is common ingredients. It could be a bizarre allergy. I know a kid who's allergic to Red 40, which is a dye and its very rare to be allergic to it.

My father and older sister have severe allergies to pretty much everything. Mine is restricted to Wheat, and seasonals. In the last couple months (while taking otho try-cyclen) I've had an allergic reaction to almost anything I eat. Literally! Water is about the only thing that doesn't effect me. I've tried many wheat free things, tried avoiding things that have triggered me a few days before, then something else new shows up! My ears swell up inside, sometimes my nose, and my left eyelid area. Feels like my head's going to explode from the inside out! No itchiness, however.

After reading your posts I was curious, and thought I may ask if any of you have had similar symptoms? I feel fine when I'm not eating, just while I eat and immediately after I feel the effects, and it's noticeable! I wasn't sure if I have a "Estrogen Allergy" and only feel the effects when eating? Like perhaps it's being irritated????

I have read on other sites that Birth Control lowers your bodys immune system drastically, and is noted for leading to Leaky Gut. Their solution was to take Colostrum.

Any thoughts or advice?

Hi to you all,
Im allergic to my own estrogen and have therefore had my ovaries removed

Hi Everyone,

I have been unwell for 14 months since stopping Yaz Birth Control Pill. After 1 year of taking it my calves began to swell, therefore my GP advised me to come off it. Since stopping, the swelling got worse and before long my thighs, then my arms, hands and face (sometimes nose and ear) also began to swell intermittently, along with burning water retention in my legs (and weight gain), hair loss and muscle twitches. Over the past 9 months I have also developed food intolerances to a huge range of Phytoestrogens in foods, the worst being soy, and I often feel flu-like. I have now also been told I have premature ovarian failure. I am having trouble getting any GP/ Immunologist to believe me because I have no rash or itchiness and the swelling is fairly generalised and not acute.
Could anyone please help and shed some light on who may be able to help me or how this could be treated? Also, please let me know if you are experiencing anything similar.

Best of luck to all of you out there.

I suspect that I have an Estrogen Allergy. Years ago I began to develop Fibroid's. I did not want to have surgery so I sought out natural treatments. I learned that fibroid's are a result of estrogen dominance so tried wild yam which balances the excessive estrogen and evening primrose oil which helps with pain and tumor prevention. This worked great and not only did I stop the fibroid problem but I eventually stopped having periods as well. I just figured it was menopause except it happened so quickly. Fast forward to about 2012 and I start thinking well I can start backing off on the wild yam now that my periods have ended. What happened was I developed a horrible rash on my hands that itched like crazy and was made even worse whenever I came into contact with rubber, plastic etc. Since I had reduced the wild yam, this of course caused my body to either produce small amounts of estrogen or absorb xenoestrogen's from the environment. The bad kind. Our Ancestors never had to deal with so much fake estrogen. So I started back on the wild yam and eventually the itching stopped but it took a long time. Now it's 2013 and I think "oh" well maybe a natural estrogen supplement will work like red clover so I try that. Everything is going great at first and I'm happy because I'm thinking a little bit of natural estrogen will help me feel more empathetic and sexy right? Sure, at first it did then the rash came back and the allergies went out of control and I developed a non stop sinus infection and just plain felt miserable. Now I am reducing the amount of natural estrogen supplement to see if that will help. I'm still not well and I still have the horrible rash but it is limited to just a few fingers instead of both hands like last time.

After experimenting on myself I have come to the conclusion that "YES", you can definitely become allergic to estrogen and "YES" it is rare but I think it is a new health condition or newly discovered health condition and that it is related to our environment and xenoestrogen's. It could be we are responding to this fake estrogen or xenoestrogen with an allergic response because our body knows that it's bad stuff and that an allergic reaction will make us stay away from it but only if we are smart enough to figure that out.

My advice to people who suffer from estrogen allergy is that it is only by avoidance of xenoestrogen's and by balancing out your hormones that you can go into remission and stop suffering. I'm not a Doctor and cannot give medical advice. I can tell you what I used and what helped me. I got rid of all the products in the house that are possible triggers: perfumes, any product with synthetic perfume or fragrance, synthetic personal care products, anything petroleum based, air fresheners, laundry soaps, candles, carpeting and upholstered furniture because it can absorb pesticides, perfumes and carcinogens. If your really want to know just google xenoestrogens and it will tell you what things have it.

Herbal supplement wild yam to balance the excessive estrogen up to 1,500 mg a day and evening primrose oil, hydrocortisone cream, saw palmetto can also help balance out the excessive estrogen but in small amounts.
Every one is different and while one of these or all of these might help you it's at least a starting place and a possible end to suffering. All of these environmental exposures can not only cause excessive estrogen but can cause all of your hormones to become unbalanced and allow xenoestrogen's to block or attach to hormone receptors. Doctors haven't figured it out yet but they will. People that suffer from it will figure it out first.