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30 years old and had my whole life turned upside down after a partial oophorectomy


(Florida)

It all started one fateful day after suffering for 3 days in excruciating pain which presented itself as symptoms of a bladder infection. So I go to the ER with a cyst so large it's the size of small melon that had twisted inside me and was blocking blood flow to my fallopian tubes. I had surgery immediately this was about 1 month and half ago. Come to find out they removed my right ovary which they didn't even tell me my sister told me. So it was a shock to me emotionally and physically. I was on cloud nine though after the surgery because of the pain that I was experiencing for so long before for that year. The symptoms I experienced before were: pain in my right shoulder, chest pains, insomnia, fatigue, depression, pain on my right hip (to the point I couldn't sleep on my right side) pinching pain in my lower back (plus it doesn't help I work retail so I'm on my feet all day) Burning pain specific to where my right ovary sits, and stomach pains that would wake me at night and in the morning. So to get rid of the cyst I thought would fix all my problems but I was soooo wrong.

After my first rushed appointment with my ob-gyn she barely answered any questions (since it was just a follow-up visit). So here I am so lost and confused unsure if I am even able to have kids or what are my options nothing has been fully explained to me. My next visit she decides to put me on birth control Minastril 24 fe while also prescribing me progesterone in a gel capsule form. After telling her about all my symptoms of depression, anxiety and insomnia she seemed confident that the progesterone would fix alot of those issues.

Come to find out my pharmacist did warn me about adverse effects of taking birth control and progesterone because they might cancel each other out and to just keep an eye on my symptoms.

Now here I am about 1 and a half month into my failed hormone therapy:( The dose of progesterone in the pill might of only been 40 mg something that now that I'm reading this website that will not help any of my symptoms. Plus all it did is give me a new long list of new side effects: Irritability, Insomnia, Hot Flashes, Extreme chronic fatigue, slurred speech, Extreme Anxiety attacks, Claustrophobia, Foggy thoughts, Upset Stomach, Loss of Appetite, Accelerated Heart Rate....

So as you can imagine I'm dealing with a lot. Til I just decided to stop taking all the medication none of it was helping me. No more progesterone gel capsule as it has was man hormones (progestin is that the right spelling?)and that is not helpful. From what I have read the cream is more effective and I've started that for the last 3 days. About 5 pumps in the morning and 5 at night I'm still figuring it out. About around 180-200mg seems to be a good number for me.

My confusion is that I'm a young person just turned 30 and I want to know how long do I need to keep taking progesterone? I will be taking my progesterone and estrogen level hormone test this upcoming week. But I wish the ob-gyn tested my hormone level before putting me on birth control and progesterone gel capsule and she put me on the lowest dose from which I read gives you the worst symptoms and you need to start on higher doses.

If I only have 1 ovary do I still take a break from progesterone cream for 1 week? Cause 1 night I stopped taking my progesterone and I suffered a really intense anxiety attack. Is it safe for me to take it during my period??? I just wish I knew how long I have to be on the progesterone cream....Sorry it's been such a long post. This has been the worst suffering for me and I really need information and support to get me through. Thank you for taking the time to read this.



Comments for 30 years old and had my whole life turned upside down after a partial oophorectomy

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Aug 18, 2014
 (Continuing)
by: Natasha

So I woke up this morning feeling pretty refreshed for the most part except for some spotting and I had mild cramping yesterday. Okay no big deal. So I rub on like 3 pumps of the natural progesterone cream which is about 60mg. I go about my morning and then out of nowhere I start getting a racing heart. So I use 2 more pumps to make it 100mg. How much longer are these random symptoms gonna get the best of me? I have to go to work today so I can't be feeling anxious like this which I am. Which I know that I probably need to take more from everything I keep reading. But also don't I need to split up the doses?? I didn't want to use like 200mg in the morning and have nothing at night. Or I might just have to use it through out the day....This isn't like me to feel like this either. I feel so weak and afraid and that's not me. I want to be able to live my life not afraid of my symptoms that used to happen to me like 10 years ago when I used to live with severe panic and anxiety attacks. I never wanna go back to that confining way of living. Please I need more advice ! *BTW* the heart rate is back to normal after I made it 100 mg....
Sep 03, 2014
 (Original Poster)
by: Natasha

So since I haven't gotten any replies back yet I've been reading so many pages on this site and it really has helped me with a lot of the questions I had. With keeping a journal which I now put what dose I take every day and what are the symptoms I get. It's been about 3 weeks since I started taking the cream. So I've found that using about 300 mg seems to be the perfect amount for me. I still feel a little miserable today..took 360mg because of the bad headaches. It seems I've had a headache almost for a week straight. So I keep increasing my dose but I'm going through a bottle so quick. The problem is that each day may not be the same dose. What works one day could be different another.

Plus I read on here: big meals takes away the benefits of progesterone, being highly stressed means you need to up your dose( if you had an arguement etc ), if you have low levels of vitamin D.

But the funny thing is I feel like a changed woman when I get a good amount (300mg) other days I just still feel how high do I need to keep going with the amount to feel stable. I does feel like a guessing game sometimes even though I am keeping track each day of what I take. Some days the symptoms are worse and really intense so I use it through out the whole day. Just nice to know I'm not on my own going through this. But the headaches that seems to last for like a full week will that eventually pass??? I mean please. I don't want to use a whole bottle to get rid of a headache. They seem to be harder and harder to get rid of lately....
Sep 18, 2014
 Original Poster
by: Natasha

So I went to a compounded pharmacy and finally got the results back to a saliva test. Which I want to retake it because at the time my cycles were irregular so I just took the test whenever. But now that I just got my cycle I can determine when to take my next test. Unfortunately the consultation was not as informative as I thought. The worst part about the whole thing is that she basically said that I was taking too much progesterone and that I am not estrogen dominant. Which I know that I am. What she was more concerned was to have my testerone, DHEA, and thyroid levels checked more than anything else. She blamed the progesterone for my chronic fatigue, sluggishness and muscle weakness (where I just don't want to leave my bed). I even asked if vitamin b12 shots would be helpful but I couldn't really get too much out of her.

So here are the results if maybe you could help me understand them.
Estradiol 1.9 pg/mL Range: 1.3-3.3 Premeopausal
Progesterone 4200 pg/mL
Ratio: Pg/E2 (saliva) 2211
Estriol <3.0 pg/mL Range <7 (Pre-and Postmeno)

So I guess based from these results she said I was taking too much progesterone. But trust me when I say I'm still dealing with estrogen dominance which she said I no longer have. I still experience :
Hot flashes
Heart Palpitations
Severe Migraines
Chronic Fatigue
Muscle Weakness/Overall Lazy Feeling
Unmotivated
Anxiety
Mood Swings
Energy Crashes
Sleepiness/Sluggishness after eating
Constantly Thirsty no matter how much water I drink
Dehydrated (No alcohol, tea, soda, coffee, tap water) Just spring water or natural fruit juices

Please I just need to know like a list of supplements that maybe would also help with the extreme chronic fatigue.
Sep 19, 2014
 30 years old and had my whole life turned upside down after a partial oophorectomy
by: Wray

Hi Natasha I'm sorry we missed your query. That list of symptoms certainly shows you still have Oestrogen Dominance in spite of your high ratio. You might like to see our pages on Saliva Tests and the Progesterone Test. We've found it takes time to become stable, even with a high ratio it's not going to come right overnight. Your doctor is wrong about the progesterone causing the chronic fatigue, sluggishness and muscle weakness. In fact progesterone can cure muscle weakness or myopathy, see here, here and here. This last abstract has nothing on it, so I've pasted a passage from the paper which I bought... 'Substantial relief of myopathic disability by progesterone therapy'.....
(We report about a 41-year old woman who was suffering from a general muscle weakness since her early childhood....From July 1998 until July 1999 the patient was treated with progesterone suppositorium 0.4 g once a day from the 14th to the 25th day of the menstrual cycle. In July 1999 her gait had improved significantly and she could get up from a chair more easily, even her ability to walk up and down stairs had improved....Progesterone dosage was increased from 400 mg to 600 mg. In January 2001 the patient reported enthusiastically about the improvement she had gained from progesterone-therapy. The patient reported a clear increase in strength in all affected muscle groups resulting in dramatic functional improvement.) You are using 300mg/day, the woman above was given first 400mg, then 600mg. If you find the 300mg is helping you then stick to it, using more is costly, unless you're desperate. You could well be short of Vitamin D, please have a test done. A lack of it reduces the benefits of progesterone, besides a lack also leads to myopathy, see here, here, here and here. Take care Wray
Nov 17, 2014
 Original Poster (Update)
by: Natasha M. (Florida)

Im still trying to understand why even though I'm using up to 320-360mg that I'm still feel groggy and sluggish all the time. Now I did read on your replies to other women that it seems to be best to apply the cream through out the day. I noticed that lately (last couple of weeks) I just apply like 300mg in the morning before I go to work since it's pretty inconvenient to do it during work hours. That's when I noticed the difference in my energy. It was getting so bad that I had to like drink up to 2 cups of coffee as much I had tried to cut it out I just couldn't stand the fatigue at work. That is the part that makes the whole process difficult for me is my work performance. If I just stayed at home sure I could make all my meals and try to stay off the coffee but during work hours I have to appear to be pleasant and not to short tempered and the more sleepy I feel the more irritable I am. So it's just been a struggle for me to manage my mood swings. I know if you still get your period your supposed to take a break each month but I only took a break last month since I started the progesterone cream. And anyways now I only get my period every other month anyways. And all I could do was take a break for 2 days after that I couldn't stand it. I had to use it so I was not able to manage like 7 days off the cream. But also I have very short periods anyways that only last about 3 days of bleeding then after than one more day of light spotting. Not even that. So I guess 2 days could be a normal break for me given that I don't have a heavy flow at all and it doesn't last very long. I am going to try and take a 2 day break this month but I don't know when my flow is supposed to come. Usually it's the first of the month. As far as coffee it seems to be the only thing to make my low grade headaches go away which I know it a estrogen dominant symptom.

Plus since I work retail I probably need to top off with progesterone more often then I realize. I go through so much stress with trying to manage my emotions that that is a full time job in and of itself. I just need to get my sanity back so that I can perform my job and not always have people asking me what is wrong with me.
Jan 29, 2015
 Same symptoms
by: Aliisa

I just wanted to post something to let you know I'm going through the same thing. It made me feel good to know I'm not the only one going through this hell! I also got an ovary removed because of a cyst on it but I already was experiencing symptoms and my ob/gyn thought that would relieve the symptoms. Oh no. Not at all. And it is so hard to know who to believe. Now I'm working with a naturopathic doc but she doesn't want me to take more than 20-40ml/day. That almost just makes me feel worse. I bumped myself up to around 260ml/day now but I know she is going to say that is way too much. I just want to feel normal again and be able to take care of my family without feeling in such despair. I'm so thankful for Wray and her mission to help those of us struggling in this way. Best of luck to you, Natasha. I hope you are finding some relief.
Jul 18, 2016
 Any update??
by: Kate

I know this is an old thread, but I'm hoping one of you still gets notifications on your email. I also have the horrible fatigue/muscle weakness along with horrible hot flashes. At least that's what's I call them. Really, it's more of an intolerance to any kind of physical activity. Really just moving is hard. If you see this, could you tell me if any of you came right again? I've been on prog for 5 months now with barely any improvement. I too have tachy but since I started the cream I have also gotten bouts of atrial fibrillation. I could really use a story of a good outcome.
Jul 21, 2016
 Any Update??
by: Joy

Hi Kate

If you read this thread and the links that Wray has already mentioned, you will see that your symptoms are due to Estrogen Dominance. You certainly do need to use progesterone, but if not used correctly it will not work. I am not sure what cream you are using or how much as you do not mention this, but hot flashes require 400-500mg per day for 4-6 days. Take note that the correct progesterone cream is needed, there are various creams available and many do not have the correct amount of concentration and sadly, contain parabens and or chemicals, not what any woman needs! Your fibrillation is a clear sign that you are not using enough progesterone. You will achieve a good outcome, if progesterone is used correctly.

You could be in Peri-Menopause or Menopause, you do not state your age, but please read both of these pages as well as How to use Progesterone Cream. What is your Vitamin D3 level? A deficiency reduces the benefits of progesterone.

Please read this pages:

How to use Progesterone Cream - www.progesteronetherapy.com/how-to-use-progesterone-cream
Estrogen Dominance - https://www.progesteronetherapy.com/estrogen-dominance
Peri-Menopause – https://www.progesteronetherapy.com/how-to-use-progesterone-cream.html#sthash.6aQyGUxJ.dpbs
Progesterone Cream - http://edge.affiliateshop.com/public/AIDLink?AID=101365&BID=11417
Menopause - https://www.progesteronetherapy.com/menopause
Vitamin D3 - http://www.progesterone-info.com/benefits-of-vitamin-d
Aug 30, 2016
 Update
by: Natasha (Original Poster)

Thanks for all of those who actually commented I feel like no one was reading. I eventually did stop using the progesterone cream as for me personally financially I felt stressed out trying to afford it. Especially since I was using such high amounts and I wanted to find a doctor to help me through the whole process which I don't have. The last year and a half has been pure hell as I was recently diagnosed with celiac disease. Which thinking back on it I realize has probably affected me physically. I would recommend to cut out gluten and get yourself tested for other food allergies or sensitivities. It seemed that for whatever reason after my surgery that it seemed to really trigger my celiac disease in the worst way possible to where my body could no longer take it. I had the worst pains possible back in April 2016 to the point I was in the hospital all the time. No one could give me an answer for the stomach pain. Each doctor would tell me something different: Scar tissue from surgery, IBS, Possibly stomach cancer, Kidney Stones, Phantom Pain, Issues swith my gall bladder....long story short it was like finally after being a week in the hospital after doing an endoscopy on me the doctors office called me back to tell me that I was intolerant to gluten and it was giving me the stomach pains.

The thing is my energy is still like pretty low even though I have cut out all gluten. I'm hoping if I give myself a year to recover and get my energy back that maybe I get back to my old self. It's hard to say when I will ever feel like my old self again. Honestly it's starting to feel like all I will feel like is groggy and lethargic all the time. I just want to have the energy to go out and travel and live my life. I'm way too young to be feeling this way.

And yes I feel a lot better. My insomnia went away, don't get sleep apnea (Where I wake up gasping for air) No more anxiety/panic attacks, no more episodes where I feel super emotional. I mean I am still tired and grumpy in the morning cause it's hard for me to get a full 8 hours of sleep. But the point is I am doing better with some symptoms though I do still get weird aches where my right ovary is on and off. I know I don't have an ovary there and I don't have a cyst there. But I wonder if that is phantom pain....

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