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I need some Estriol!!

by Sweetflower
(Wildwood, MO)

I have been suffering from hot flashes for 4 years. Although they are not severe (more like warm flashes) they keep me waking up at night every 2 hrs. Occasionally (1 to 2x a month), I have some headaches and fast heart beat. That is all. I am 51 years old just entering menopause.

After I found this site, I decided to go full bloom on progesterone starting with 200mg cream for 2 days, then increasing to 400mg 2 more days, so that to cure my Hot flashes; I also started on 10,000 Vitamin D. And to let progesterone reign absolute I stopped my daily routine of 3mg Estriol and 0.5 Estradiol.

And that was when things started going really bad. First my heart beat palpitations increased, then insomnia hit, finally night sweats! Really?? I never have night sweats!

Yesterday I increased progesterone to 500mg as heart beat got worse. Later at night as I laid miserable in bed, about to have an heart attack, I started shaking and feeling like vomiting.

That was when I marched to my bathroom, got my Estriol and rubbed 3ml on my face. It was like going to heaven. I fell asleep and felt much better overall. I felt like myself again.

A recent blood test had shown a low level of <12 Estradiol and 1.8 progesterone. I never really felt any symptoms of estrogen dominance as I think my ratio P:E2 is not that bad.

Conclusion: I am happy with my high intake of Progesterone and will continue to do so. I can now sleep 5 hrs straight! I believe I will continue to improve over time. I am also taking L-Tryptophan for hot flashes, as you advised on your site.

HOWEVER, I do need to take some estrogen. Period. As long as I keep a healthy ratio of P:E I shall be fine. I do not believe that, at least in my case, Progesterone alone can take care of all problems. And not all symptoms such as night sweats, palpitations and headaches are caused by estrogen dominance, they can happen due to low estrogen. I really believe in balance of all hormones (estrogen, progesterone and testosterone).

Well, that is my experience that I wanted to share.

Comments for I need some Estriol!!

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Mar 04, 2014
 Also confused about estrogen
by: Liesje

Hi Sweetflower,

Thanks for sharing. I've also been wondering about some issues regarding estrogen. According to my symptoms, I believe I've been low on progesterone my whole life. But even so, I don't think I ever really had high levels of estrogen either. I've always had a rather tomboyish build (and attitude ;). I've been using progesterone for 4 months. I never had any severe estrogen dominance symptoms, just breast pain, joint pain, dry eyes and a general nervousness. I'm also a bit confused on this topic. After 4 months I no longer have breastpain and I feel calmer than I've ever felt - which is really cool! I'm using anywhere between 100 and 400 mg, but still have joint pains and dry eyes. I've read several books on natural hormone therapy and they all say that joint pain and dry eyes is relieved by using estrogen. I'm now going to try using more progesterone without a break for 2 to 3 months. If that doesn't relieve the joint pain, I might also be tempted to look into the estriol option, especially since I have no other nutritional deficiencies (blood checked several times). In case I need it in the future, can you suggest a brand of estriol, Sweetflower?

For anybody else with joint pains reading this topic - I will report back on this in 3 month - hopefully joint pain free! I've read so many conflicting posts on this issue. A lot of people eliminated joint pains with progesterone, but some didn't. So maybe there's more to it than just using progesterone?

PS Sweetflower, I also got palpitations when I took Vit D - could have something to do with that. If you continue taking Vit D, make sure you have enough magnesium (usually 400 mg/day).

L.
Mar 05, 2014
 Estriol, MSM & Vitamin D
by: Sweetflower

Hi Liesje!

Thank you so much for your reply! It sounds like we have lots in common with our low hormones and some stubborn symptoms that progesterone alone doesn’t seem capable to take care of.

I truly believe - especially in my case having dealt with low hormones my whole life - that each hormone has their own area of specialization and therefore we need the three of them. I am talking about the main ones here: Progesterone, Testosterone and bad boy Estrogen.

Even now at early stages of menopause, I want to keep a healthy ratio of the three of them, not only to beat my hot flashes but also for anti-aging purposes. Hey, why not? If Estriol can tighten my face then I want it! ;) If Estrogen strengths my bones, there we go. The tricky thing, obviously, is to find out how much you need of each one, and get them to live in harmony.

Because Estradiol has such a bad rep, I decided to invest in Estriol hoping it will raise my Estrogen level currently at the old lady level of 12. Can you believe that a level of 10 or less is considered for a woman at menopause who never did any Hormone replacement?? What? Where did all my years of Bio-identical go?? Apparently my body just doesn’t keep estrogen in, I don’t know, I can’t understand this.

The Estriol cream I use is Smoky Mountain, that you can find at Amazon.com. They offer a Parabens-free version for $10 more, if you prefer. It is interesting to read the almost 300 comments of women that could only beat their symptoms using Estriol, even though they have been trying progesterone alone for a while. I know for example that Estriol is very good for dryness in the vayjay. :o)

You mentioned joint pain. Have you tried MSM? It worked like a charm for me. It acts on your cartilage and connective tissues. With age, we loose lubrication in our joints, hence the pain. I work out regularly and all of a sudden everything started hurting when I did squats, lunges, my feet, knee. I was like what is going on?? I started taking MSM (I use powder) and it was like magic. Read about it to see if it fits your needs! And start slowly. I am now at 2,000, which works for me. Some people take 10,000 or more. Sort of crazy but each body is different.

And thank you so much for the valuable information on Vitamin D. You are right on! I did a little research and saw that several other women suffer from palpitations after taking Vit D. It seems like we need to take it on full stomach, with calcium and magnesium otherwise our electrolytes get out of balance and palpitations occur. I was doing exactly the opposite. I looked at my hormones schedule and my heart started beating faster consistently right after I started with the Vit D. Great!! Feeling better now.

Thank you and take care!
Mar 07, 2014
 I need some Estriol!!
by: RJ

Hello Sweetflower!
Beautiful part of Missouri you live in...from that area...moved further west to the other side of the state to have land. Anyway, I am not bashing your protocol when I ask Joy if she would give her input on this. Our fat cells will make estrogen until the day we die. Why do we need any supplementation of it? And all the added estrogen in the environment too. And you are in menopause, but what about the person who is not or in peri, testosterone is so very high in all of us and that excess testosterone will convert to estrogen...hence the reason we get more hairy during a cycle, oily hair and acne. Does a menopausal woman need testosterone for some reason? Does estrogen in fact build healthy bones or is it Vitamin D along with K2, magnesium, boron and zinc that do? I stay away from any added calcium. Supplementation of it will build in the arteries and cause buildup. There is a lot of new research out there that will tell you not to take calcium supplements. And I know there is a lot of good reports of MSM, but the body can utilize NAC far better. It is good that you have found a regimen that is working for you, I just don't know if it would be the same for someone who hasn't entered that stage of life yet and that's why I'm curious what Joy would say. Thanks for your insight, we can never get too much in this area of our lives! God Bless! RJ

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