Elfgirl, can you elaborate on this, being that you have BTDT? I ask cause I just started progesterone cream and read Dr. Lee's advice and his recommended dosage.

I'd appreciate any input you have to offer.

Lori

Hi MeBLady,
Sorry for the delay...have a lot going on right now.
I will be glad to keep an open conversation with you about this.
I think you have to give the prog cream time and see how it does or doesn't balance you. ...and your needs might stabilize or just be entering into a continuous state of flux...which is what happened to me. I just had to keep on reading and experimenting. But from what I can tell in the brief time I've been reading your posts...you are an avid student of your own well being...so I bet you'll be good at the balancing act.
I am getting ready for a gig out of town so I'll get back to you in a few days.
I found that with prog cream, at least for me, timing is essential, and, once you reach serum level, less is more.
Have a great weekend!!!!

MeBLady, you might want to order this book:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/bo...n=9780743406666

It'll be helpful in giving you specifics about supplementing with bioIDs...and we can all use more specifics!

Thanks for responding, what you say makes a lot of sense. I'm still unsure if my needs will stablize or if this is going to take a constant tweaking.

When I last posted, I was "in balance" and that very evening, a couple of days before TOM, PMS hit and has continued through TOM. Fortunately, ONLY PMS symptoms, which is quite normal for most women....but not normal for *me and a sign that my levels are still not up to par. Better, yes, but not quite there.

You read me right, I am an avid student of my own well being, and the LC WOL really got me in tune with how my body works. I go off of patterns tho, and there are no consistant patterns with this....all I've learned at this point is that at any time after mid cycle, I can have any of about 30 different symptoms, all that can come and go by the hour and vary in severity. I do feel I am on the right track tho by adding in additional remedies just a little at a time, and giving them time to do their job before reevaluating. Definitely like that "less is more", and certainly something I prefer to do.

I'm about two days away from my "relief zone" and being able to forget that I have hormonal issues....too late to do anything now but plan my stragedy for the next cycle.

At this point, I am thinking of increasing my dosage of the cream at next cycle, to see if I can achieve what I know is "normal" for me, then reevaluate once again.

There is only so far I am willing to go with this, as I am fully adament in sticking with a natural remedy -- I haven't given up in shooting for the ideal, not quite ready to accept that my body is going to function differently. For now, "liveable and different" isn't quite good enough, but in the back of my mind, I know I may have to eventually accept that....it could be worse.



Ohh, yes, thanks for the recommendation! Definitely in need of learning many more specifics.....been difficult to choose a good book, as the info is so conflicting out there.

I take a holistic approach with most areas in my life, unfortunately, I have more information on HRT than NHRT...learning about menopause wasn't exactly a big interest of mine until it became an actual issue for me, hee, a time when brain overload can be slightly overwhelming ;-)

Lori

Hi, all! It's been crazy busy these past several weeks. Major deadlines (ok, so they were self-imposed) at work, trying to get things wrapped up before taking 2 weeks off. We're leaving for Scotland on Tuesday, and won't return until July 8.

All this is very interesting, and yet I'm so tired of having to research everything. I WANT A MAGIC PILL!

As for me, my journey is seeming to be in a good place right now. Still not losing, but I believe that will come when things get really balanced. I've only had two periods since January 1 -- one at the end of January and one at the end of March.

I've been on progesterone since May -- 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off, 2 weeks on, and I'm currently in the middle of 2 weeks off. My NP at WtoW didn't say that I should be bleeding at the end of 2 weeks on. She said if I do have a period, to start the progesterone 12 days after the start. If I DON'T have a period, then it's 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off. So I guess this is OK.

I've also recently started estrogen. The NP said 2 drops on the wrist in the morning and 2 drops at night or, if I'm having trouble sleeping, all 4 drops at night. I've been sleeping better with the 4 drops at night, but am really drowsy in the mornings, so I've switched to 2 am and 2 pm.

Haven't been having the night sweats, and really all other symptoms are mild. Overall I'm feeling better, though still get fatigued with exercise. BUT I've had some amazingly energetic days.

At work, I set a goal for myself to get a certain huge project done. I really thought I'd only be able to get a third of it done, but still wanted to shoot for the whole thing. Last Friday my hard drive crashed and I lost a day (and only a few files, thanks to a recent backup and some luck of just that morning moving my entire project to the company network for printing -- had I lost that, it would have been devastating). Anyway, I got the ENTIRE project done! I still don't believe it. So, I guess things are looking up.

This week, however, has been hard. I've been putting too much stress on myself and I over-did it. I worked about 50 hours this past week, which isn't all that much, but I pushed myself way too hard the whole time. On Thursday I almost had a meltdown at work. One of the guys was teasing me and giving me a hard time about something and wouldn't let up. I tried to calmly tell him that "I can't do this today" and "please don't push today." He wouldn't let up, so I just said "I can't" and went back to my office to cool off. I didn't cry, but almost.

Then that night when I walked in the door, DH took one look at me and said, "Let me pour you a drink." I love that man. I was telling him about my day, and then we started talking about our upcoming trip, and before you knew it, the tears started falling. For no reason. Can you say, "mood swing"? Yikes! It was terrible. There was absolutely nothing wrong, and there I was crying. Not sobbing, just quietly weeping. Weird.

So that's what's up with me. I'll check back throughout the weekend. Heck, it's raining here so there's not much to do other than play on the internet and make packing lists!

Thanks to this thread I've been really good about taking my Estraven and progesterone cream. Lately I haven't had any hot flashes and the temp is over 100 degrees here which usually sets me off badly.

Sorry about your bad week Bawdy, hope that your vacation makes up for it.

I just found this thread. I was about to post this:

Hi everyone.

I am fairly new to this forum although not to the Low Carb lifestyle. I began this lifestyle in Jan. of 2002. Soon after that my husband joined me & this house has been low carb since then. It is just the 2 of us so that has made it pretty. There is nothing in my house that we should not be eating. I lost 65 lbs. & have maintained it for this whole time.

On 3/26/06 I quit smoking because I had some surgery scheduled. The first 2 weeks after I quit I lost another 3 lbs. I went in for surgery on 4/07. Two days after surgery I gained 12 lbs. Some of that was bloat (only 5 lbs.) which I lost about 5 days later. Well since that time I have continued to gain about 2 lbs. per week. I am now up 20 lbs. in just 10 weeks. I know that my metabolism was supposed to slow slightly when I gave up smoking but this is much more than that.I was not ever worried about weight gain when I quit because I was confident that my way of eating would prevent that from happening.

I probuably have around 30 -40 carbs per day & the scale is still climbing.

Any ideas?

I am 52, struggling with menopause also. I was wondering, did you by any chance have some surgery around the time that you gained this weight? I'm really cinvinced that I am suffering from extreme adrenal burnout brought on by the trauma of surgery.

I gained 29 lbs in five years since my hysterectomy. Last year I found out my thyroid was really messed up and I had to go on medication. I'm not on about 25 carbs a day and I lost 32 lbs so far. I'm thrilled!! Read the Atkins book and start with Induction. I stayed on induction for a month and then I went up to 25 carbs. I'm losing slowly now but I'm very satisfied because this is not a diet but a way of life.

I think probably the fewer carbs, the better. I didn't have surgery around the time I started gaining, just my metabolism getting messed up by adrenal burnout. My hormones got all screwy. I'm starting to feel a lot better, so when I return from vacation (leaving momentarily), I'm going to start back in earnest, both with eating right and exercising again. (My NP wanted me to stop exercising for a while so as to let my adrenals heal with no stress.)

I do think that as we get around this time in life, the little cheats we allowed ourselves before will only get us into big trouble now. Maybe we have to be even more consciencious.

Just rambling here. I sure don't have the answers.

Gotta run. Back in a couple weeks!

Bawdy, have a lovely time on your vacation! I think you are absolutely correct. From my readings, it seems pretty common that by the time we reach menopause these days, most of us [females] experience a cascade of glandular failure starting with adrenals. Once they burn out, the thyroid attempts to take over. Eventually it tanks, too (hypothyroid anyone?). Before you know it, you've got a metabolism which barely registers and just thinking about carbs results in a 2 pound weight gain.
I'm taking thytrophin and iodomere to support my thyroid and [hopefully] avoid full-blown hypothyroid. I've also considerably reduced the stress levels in my life in an attempt to give my adrenals a vacation.
Dunno if it will work, but I AM having a blast. After all - life is short. You should spend it laughing.

Hey Csoar - I recognise those names!!! I too take Standard Process. I am taking Drenamin for my adrenals and Thyroid Complex and Prolamine Iodine for my low thyroid. I have only been taking these for about 3or4 weeks but I feel better already. I would like to reduce my stress level as well but the only thing in my life causing me stress is looking for a job and until I find one its going to continue.......sigh.......

I am also taking Ferrofood and Chlorophyl Complex for anemia, and Cataplex B for low absorption of B vitamins. Jeesh, no wonder I had no energy!!

Have you had much success taking this product?? I have taken the product off and on for about 12 years for various reasons and have had good results.

Anyway, just curious what you think about them, I have only known one other person who was taking this brand.

How wonderful to see you so happy!!! I hope I make it there too!!

HI Yogama,
Ask me again in a month. I just started taking them last week. FYI, I am a fan of Standard Process products.

I agree that the cheats add up. That just does not explain 20 lbs. in 10 weeks. I have been very strict because I stopped smoking back in March. I did not start gaining until after the surgery. I am going to go in & have my Thyroid checked next week. At that time I may ask for more information on the products that you are using.

I also agree about the cheats getting us into bigger trouble....the water retention from just a wee bit more carbs or a forbidden treat, I've found to wreck havoc. I've also discovered during my "hormonal" two week period, that I CRAVE carbs (and junk!) like crazy, which has never been a problem for me before. So far, I've only succumbed to Doritoes dipped in salsa, which gives me a bloat that will stop as soon as I stop eating them....but the cravings are really unreal.

Bawdy, I agree with you about the lower the carbs, the better, for the most part -- however, I think how low really does vary with each individual. I can personally keep mine pretty low (feel best around 30/40), but TOO low, and I've got additional problems. Sounds like, hormonal wise, you are on your way to being in control and your treatment is working....hopefully only a matter of time before you can start dropping the weight again. Have fun on your vacation!

Question for those of you that are just entering or entered full blown menopause....how did peri go for you, and have you been treating yourselves for a long period of time? I ask because I am reading your struggles, and wondering how long this has been going on for each of you.

I've had to revamp once again...my son was in the ER the other night for dehydration (I'm in the desert Southwest, extreme summer temps), doc ended up looking at me too and it turns out some of the symptoms I was blaming my hormones for on this latest cycle were simply lack of my own hydration due to my durectic diet, sunbathing and exercise. I'm actually teed that I didn't catch this, as I friggin know better. I need to remember that not every ache and pain is necessarily hormone related, and that the prog. cream isn't necessarily the magic cure for any and all woes. Less is more, less is more, LOL....I'm going to try another cycle on the lowest dosage.

The biggest source of my frustration is taking the time in getting to know my body, and feeling like I am starting from scratch all over again. Having found control through LCing, I don't want to let that go, I want it back....NOW.

You guys have got me worried about my own adrenals. I've had some fatigue, but thinking it is most likely our summer heat for now, and thankfully, weight gain is the ONLY symptom I have yet to experience. Any tips to avoid adrenal burn out, other than reducing stress?

Hi MEBLady,
Sorry to delay in responding...had a lot going on out of town.
I am glad to hear you say less is more regarding progesterone cream.
I found it to be good stuff but if you investigate (as I know you are so good at it ), you'll find lots of info about the effects of too much...including fatigue, weight gain and depression. I have noticed this effect myself before I realized and lowered the dosage.

Also...glad to hear you advocate an individual approach to carb consumption. And you may find that your own carb needs are changing...cyclical at best.
Btw, I can't eat corn at all...not even corn-based vitamin C. boohoo

I am going to address your concerns with some my own (long winded) anecdotes.
Because everyone has a unique version...and because until VERY recently, menopausal issues have been tabu and shameful to discuss openly.
(In some of my other posts I talk about M more...)

During periM which lasted about 6 years and thru M which has been for almost 5,,,untill I stabilized...I found that my physical and emotional needs were in a complete state of flux...like a small boat on the rough sea.

Of course in my case I had those huge fibroids at 45, surgery (myomectomy)all alone in a distant state, my dad died, I had to move, divorce, lose job...all in one year so I was toast. beyond toast...ashes.
Hard to pinpoint causal agents for bad PMS symptoms. Life just sucked.
(I did get very slim when I got out of a toxic relationship. Actually that has happened several times in my life .)

I always had bad, estrogen dominant, inflammed PMS. It got worse as I approached Menopause. I didn't really understand about amino acids and mood, prostaglandins and fats and food sensitivities etc. I mean info was not easy to find even for an info hound like you or me.

For me menopause was initially very sad because I thought (mistakenly) that my youth and therefore my life, was essentially over. 2 Miscarriages, no child unless of course you count 32 y/o BF ). Seriously, it was kind of a primitive skein of darkness my primitive brain was spinning out. No eggs, the curtain closes. YOU WILL BE THROWN OUT OF THE CAVE (actually did get thrown out of a Rock Band in Austin when they found out my age...of course they couldn't get along and dissolved without the Elfgirl)

And at 51 I stopped menstruating. January 2002. I was having the volcanic hot flashes, slathering on prog. eating soy and desperately searching for plant esrogens. Actually still stupidly eating plenty of sugar, slowly packing on pounds, not sleeping...not meditating...which I am very skilled at.

Hard to believe that I started a Wedding Music business at that time. My self esteem was non-existant. I just had to put on make-up, black velvet, stand like a Queen, let the music pour out, insist that people ACTUALLY PAY ME. (often the hardest part) hotflashing all the way! In retrospect, as firing squadish as it was in the beginning, I think that performing solo like that really remade me into a more whole person and although I felt like a facsimile for awhile, "acting as if" finally ignited a long forgotten inner fire. (fighting hotflash with inner fire hehehehehe)

At some point around 2002 I stopped eating soy and my life improved noticably. It turned out that eating soy was for me like eating cement. Entirely toxic. I think that the hot flashes were a little better, but it still felt like a storm which I wondered would ever end...and when it did would I be....old?? withered??
I had heard that sugar and stress triggered hot flashes. Eat a cookie, have a hotflash. Get stressed, have a hotflash. The recipe.
I knew that I was reactively hypoglycemic...but I needed the comforting serotonin rush...I needed caffiene for energy...I had to perform, force myself to be focused and appear perfect so often and for a few years it was SOOOOO Stressful.

I think that genetics, luck, friends, love, creativity, owning my darkest emotions, dogged determination to be healthy no matter what, gardening, meditating, quitting sugar and most caffiene, eating splendidly, having deliberate, strategic faith...are the positive forces in my life...It has really taken about 5 years for things to calm down.
If my life had been more stable, If I were as relaxed and confident as I am now, if I knew how to let go as well as assert myself as well as now, if I had not EATEN SUGAR!!!!!!, then MAYBE things might have been smoother. It's hard to tell.

One thing is for sure...I now feel like my body is the most amazing phenomenon.
It is as if Nature and my body had a deal going all along and now they've conspired to throw me a surprise-life-party. I would fall down and kiss my body's feet...hey maybe I CAN still do that!! Because even tho I will still work to gain some muscle and lose some fat, I actuall do feel better than ever before. I am not using any HRT. I love sex. I had some sexual dysfunction for about 3 years but it is gone gone gone. I can concentrate, remember stuff. I can BLOW OFF OBNOXIOUS individuals like never before. My hair is as long and shiny as when I was 18.
Vanity thy name is Elfgirl
I heard once someone compare later stage Menopause...which I am now calling Primarche {the beginning of Prime)(see my posts)...to latency...the period of development between 5 and 12, between the hormonal upheavals of early childhood and adolescence, when a child can individuate, learn and create in amazing ways, if allowed to.
I am allowing.

About hydration; it was not until I moved to TEXAS that I really learned, the hard way, to drink water. (jeez do I have to learn EVERYTHING the hard way???????????? ) Dehydration makes you feel tired, among other things.

2 helpful classics. about stress reduction:
The Relaxation Response and Beyond the Relaxation Response by Robert Benson.......oohhh the joys of 'the slack jaw response'

MEBLady, you have my utmost respect for all your strength and smarts.
You're an example for me.
Thanks!!!!!