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Joanna

by Joanna
(UK)

Hello
I have had severe, life-altering PMS all my adult life. I am now peri-menopause (48) and have been using NatPro for 9 months and am getting nowhere and really don't know what to do next.

I started on 100mg which was not sufficient so I increased to 150mg which helped but I knew it was not enough but every time I tried 200mg I had intolerable PMS symptoms the following day so stuck to 150mg. Things got worse so I tried 200mg again which I've been doing now for nearly 4 weeks. I've never felt so bad. The 200mg dose almost eradicated my breast pain but made everything else worse (sleep, mood, energy, PMS, etc.). I have now reached the point where I cannot tolerate 200mg any longer and feel I have to go back to 150mg which I know is not enough. This is simply impossible. I did try 300mg one day and that night I had aching limbs and was awake most of the time so have been too scared to try it again. I feel as though my body just cannot tolerate anything higher than 150mg.

I have no hot flushes, just permanent PMS symptoms. My cycle is erratic and can be anything from 16 to 21 days. I take Calcium glucarate which helps with breast tenderness.
Do you have any advice?
Many thanks

Comments for Joanna

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Apr 26, 2019
 Joanna
by: Joy

Hi Joanna

Usually 200mg Natpro helps with PMS but often more is needed. It's no good increasing to 300mg for one day. Any increase needs time to work. If you could try and stick it out for a few days to give progesterone a chance to work. You are still dealing with Estrogen Dominance symptoms which means that you do need to use more progesterone. If you decide to continue using 150mg it will only take longer to feel the benefits. Please read this post on PMS, Wray goes into detail about it.

Your cycle is erratic because you are in Peri Menopause. Breast tenderness could mean that you are lacking in iodine. Have you had your thyroid tested?

Vitamin D3 is very important, a deficiency reduces the benefits of progesterone. Nothing less than 5,000iu's per day is needed. Optimal range is between 70-100ng/ml. Magnesium and vitamin K2 with no soy are important co-factors needed when taking vitamin D3.
May 14, 2019
 How do I know I'm on the right dose?
by: Joannna

Thank you for the helful response. I have tried 300mg for two weeks and feel awful. I had a very painful period and felt exhausted afterwards and now I have stabbing breast pains.

My question now is do I now increase to 400mg? As it can take months to improve symptoms how do you know when you are using enough?
Many thanks
May 14, 2019
 How do I know I'm on the right dose?
by: Joanna

Sorry, in addition I forgot to say that yes I had my thyroid tested recently and it's apparently normal. I do take a vitamin containing iodine and tyrosine so I'm assuming my thyroid is getting the support it needs. Also I take 9000IU Vitamin D in spray form for optimum absorption. I also use a magnesium skin gel for optimum absorption. I can't imagine I am lacking in any nutrients as I supplement to make up for deficiencies in the diet.
May 21, 2019
 How do I know I'm on the right dose?
by: Joy

Hi Joanna

Try increasing to 400mg and see if that helps you. You may have to experiment with the amount to see what suits you. What suits one doesn't always suit the other as we are all different.

Please don't forget to take vitamin K2.

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