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What is wrong with me? Do I lack progesterone? PLEASE HELP!

by Christine
(Verbena)

My story begins about 3 years ago at the age of 36. I started noticing that I was EXTREMELY fatigued and just wasn't feeling myself. My symptoms were: NO sex drive at all, brain fog, fatigue, lack of concentration, no interest in normal activities, and gastric problems (nausea, reflux, irritated stomach).

I went to a nearby gynocologist who said I was depressed and when I said, "NO, I AM NOT depressed (I've been depressed and I know what that's like), he just ignored me and told me I didn't realize it. I told him I felt like it was hormonal cause the symptoms began 3 days before my period and lasted 12 days before I began to feel better. It was like the same cycle every month... I feel good 2 weeks, and bad 2 weeks (around my period). He handed me a prescription of Prozac and sent me on my way.

After taking several different antidepressants and feeling dazed, sedated, and STILL fatigued, I decided to taper off (which was total hell). I went to several gynocologists explaining my symptoms and they all just blew me off and didn't know what to do for me. My quality of life had diminished. I stayed in the bed the two weeks a month that I felt so bad. I missed many of my kids activities and my husband and kids were getting frustrated, which only made matters worse. Anyway, about 3months ago, I decided to seek out a Hormone doctor and found one. They did blood work and said my testosterone was 12 and should be 250 and my estrogen and progesterone were fine. I had an all natural testosterone implant inserted in my hip. They called it a "testosterone boost". I called them within the first couple of weeks and told them I was feeling nervous, anxiety, and a feeling of jumping out of my skin. They ordered 100mg of C-progesterone caps. I took these for 3 weeks and felt so tired, so they cut me back to 50mg. I have more energy now, but I feel so agitated and my gastric problems have returned.

My symptoms as of now are NO sex drive at all (except around period), gastric problems, chest pains (been checked and heart is fine), very weak and fatigued during period for 10-12 days. The weakness and fatigue begins 3 days before i begin my period. By the time I start, I'm so weak and sick that I'm crying. I stay this way for 10-12 days and then its like I just get better around the 13th or 14th day after I start my period.

What is wrong with me? I have dealt with this for 3 years now and I just want to be normal and feel like myself again! I want to exercise like I used to and get involved with my family. Its really, really bad!! Please help!! :(

Comments for What is wrong with me? Do I lack progesterone? PLEASE HELP!

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Sep 28, 2010
 ??
by: Anonymous

Just a thought, but what about an Iron deficiency?
Sep 29, 2010
 What is wrong with me? Do I lack progesterone? PLEASE HELP!
by: Wray

Hi Christine Well I can't agree with the testosterone, no woman needs extra. As for telling you it should be 250, what are they saying, they obviously think you need a male level! Please see.......
Testosterone (serum)
Male 300 - 1200 ng/dL or 10.41 - 41.64 nmol/L
Female 30 - 95 ng/dL or 1.041 - 3.297 nmol/L
Medline Testosterone
It doesn't surprise me you are feeling nervous etc. Oral progesterone is a waste of time, unless it's about 300mg/day. For more info please see Progesterone application methods. Do you have the results for progesterone and oestrogen? If so please divide the progesterone result by the oestrogen to find the ratio. It should be over 600:1 to feel well, progesterone must be the dominant hormone. It fascinates me you have no sex drive, it only bears out what the studies have found. Progesterone increases libido, not testosterone. With the amount of testosterone you've been given your libido should have gone through the roof, if current theories are correct. Please see here. I can't see how the antidepressants would have helped either, and apparently they didn't. Progesterone is excellent for myopathy (weakness), but I would ask you to have a vitamin D test done too, as a lack of this can cause it too. Please see the Vitamin D council website. Interestingly a lack of vitamin D reduces the benefits of progesterone. Progesterone starts dropping about 3 days before our period, often making oestrogen the dominant hormone if it drops too fast or too low. Your problems started round age 36, from about age 35 we begin to have anovulatory cycles. In other words we make no progesterone during that month. Anovulation increases until menopause, which occurs at an average of 51, when we stop ovulating. It appears you are seriously short of progesterone. It sounds as if you could have IR too, please see the page we have on Insulin Resistance.
This causes amongst many things, brain fog, fatigue and lack of concentration. If you should consider using progesterone, please see this page on How to use progesterone cream. But before starting please see the page on Oestrogen Dominance. I generally suggest 100-200mg/day, but initially you might need the higher amount. Take care Wray
Oct 25, 2010
 comment on what is wrong with me.
by: Anonymous

Hi I feel for you I have felt exactly as you do and it is terrible!!! I am doing the cream and oral natural in a high dose of the progesterone and it is three days before my period and last month at this time I felt like you! this month I am feeling much much more like myself. I have cut the sugar out to no more than 15 grams total and no more than 5 grams at a time, I usually end up with less than 10 grams in a day. I have to say this has been a great benifit in addition to the progesterone, because sugar can cause many many problems!!!!! I also have not been taking any artificial chemical sweetner's... yellow pink and blue packages of sugar SACCHARIN=pink ASPARTAME=equal and nutrisweet SUCRALOSE= splenda. All bad bad bad. For sweetness Stevia, xylitol, erythritol (these are natural and do not effect insulin overproduction). I really believe this has helped too. I hope you feel better!. I have been to many Dr's that treat you as though you are a moron and are mental because they cannot put a name or disease to it. Progesterone has been very helpful:). take care
Oct 29, 2010
 comment on what is wrong with me.
by: Wray

Hi there Thanks for your words of encouragement. I'm so pleased the progesterone has helped you too. Oral progesterone is not the best delivery system, as much of it gets destroyed in the gut and then metabolised by the liver. For more info please see this page we have on Progesterone application methods. It would be more effective to use only the cream and increase the amount of this. Thanks too for your comment about artificial sugar, I'm pleased you used upper case for their names too! And for suggesting the three substitutes, all good. Take care Wray
Feb 19, 2011
 HELP!
by: Christine

Thanks everyone!!! after leaving this post, I went out and bought progesterone cream...the first day i tried it, my heart was racing, brain fog was getting worse, and i could not sleep. i quit taking it immediately. Then I was on 100mg progesterone capsules for 6 weeks. At first, i felt better, then i started getting sleepy and tired around the 5th week. That is why i stopped the progesterone. This was a natural progesterone capsule i received from a compound pharmacy. When i went to the doctor the first day, my estradiol was 95.0pg/ml and my progesterone was 7.6ng/ml. Its been 7 months and i havent received any help. :( My doctor said it was important to try to take birth control to help my symptoms, so i started them 7 days ago and i feel AWFUL! Terrible brain fog has returned and my energy level is basically the same. my doctor seems to think my testosterone level was so high that it was causing my brain fog (the brain fog went away but has now returned since the bc pills). I also went to a endocrinologist who said my thyroid and insulin results came back fine. I'm at home inside today feeling terrible, while my family is out enjoying this beautiful 70 degree weather. :( I want help so bad, but i don't know what to do. Wray, I will definitely try the progesterone cream at a higher dose, if you recommend it. How long will it take before i begin to feel better?
Feb 19, 2011
 HELP!
by: Christine

I also forgot to add that my Vitamin D and Iron was checked. All of my bloodwork comes back fine!
Mar 04, 2011
 HELP!
by: Wray

Hi Christine I know exactly what happened and why when you tried the cream you bought. The amount you were using was far too low. I imagine it was giving you about 20-40mg/day, am I correct? If so, this would have ramped up the oestrogen and made you feel worse. Oestrogen causes prolongation of the QT interval, which results in palpitations, arrhythmia and Torsades de Pointes. Whereas progesterone shortens the QT interval, see here, here, here, here and here. The brain fog and sleep problems are caused by oestrogen too, progesterone is excellent for sleep, see here. Oral progesterone is the least effective Delivery system. Your progesterone to oestrogen ratio is 80:1, we've found from Saliva Tests we run, that the ratio should be 600:1 and over to feel well. Contraceptives are the last thing you need! They upset the natural cycle, plus reduce progesterone levels, and more. Please read through this page and you'll see why you felt awful! And was your vitamin D level fine? Labs still use the outdated 30ng/ml as a normal level, whereas recent research has found it should be a minimum of 50ng/ml. Better still if it's in the 70 to 100ng/ml range. Please check your test results. I do recommend a high amount of progesterone, between 100-200mg/day, certainly initially, it's easy to reduce once symptoms resolve. I think with your symptoms it might be better to use the 200mg/day to start with. I can't say whether you will get Oestrogen Dominance, but it should pass quickly if using this amount. I can't tell how long it will take for progesterone to become dominant, as that's what's needed to feel well, I wish I could tell you. Take care Wray
Oct 13, 2016
 how to measure cream?
by: Anonymous

Hello,
I was just wondering how to measure the cream? I put more than a dime sized amount per the instructions on the box so as to receive more than 20 mg. But I am unsure as to how much I need to use.
Thanks

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