Quote:She needs to be really careful about screwing with progesterone. Progesterone has many very nasty side effects including weight gain, loss of libido, increased aggression, cancer, etc. Don't listen to all the sales hype.
I did the research as you suggested, and think I am more confused than before. Below are two posts you previously did:
What you have not been told about progesterone dangers
There are some VERY RARE circumstances where I will recommend progesterone, such as extreme cases of endometriosis. Even at that I only recommend small doses, and for no longer than 28 days over a two month period. Progesterone creams present a host of problems that the sales sites don’t want to mention. For example, the fact that I mentioned earlier about hormones storing in the fat tissues of the body. Because progesterone is cleared so slowly from the fat tissues the progesterone is cumulative with regular use. Women using progesterone creams long term actually accumulate extremely high levels of progesterone in their fat tissues leading to a condition known as progesterone dominance. In fact it has been estimated that many women that used progesterone creams on a regular basis can have up to a 6 year supply of progesterone stored in their fat tissue.
Progesterone dominance has many of the same side effects as estrogen dominance. These include weight gain, energy loss, insomnia, and depression, which can become sever enough to lead to suicidal thoughts. Other side effects include increased aggression, breast tenderness, loss of libido, acne, acid reflux, gallstones and fertility problems. Progesterone also promotes a number of cancers as it is known to activate human papilloma viruses. These viruses are best known for causing cervical cancer. What most people are unaware of is that they have also been linked to breast, prostate, nasopharyngeal and skin cancers.
Progesterone creams should only be used in very rare cases, such as extreme cases of endometriosis. And even with these rare cases these creams should only be used on a very short term basis. Using them long term or in high doses will only get a person from the frying pan in to the fire as they create a completely new and very dangerous hormone imbalance.
Tips on balancing the hormones
The most important thing someone can do if they have a hormone imbalance is to cleanse their liver. And I do not mean with the olive oil, lemon juice and magnesium flushes. All these do is allow people to create pseudo-gallstones from the chemical reaction of the olive oil and lemon juice. When I say liver cleanse I mean with digestive bitters. Bitters are bitter tasting herbs that stimulate the bitter receptors on the tongue. When this happens the vagus nerve is stimulated, which causes the liver to flush. For this reason it is important to drink plenty of water throughout the day when using them to prevent from getting sick. Large doses are not needed. You only need to be able to taste them, so a small amount on the tongue several times a week is sufficient. The reason that cleansing the liver is so important is that the liver is a primary regulator for the hormones. If hormone levels are too high this indicates that the liver is not doing its job of breaking them down properly.
A couple of other suggestions include maintaining the intestinal flora, eating more phytoestrogen rich foods, and avoid foods that tend to have actual estrogens like beef, chicken, and dairy. The intestinal flora are aided by fiber sources, which it feeds on. The flora help to further break down estrogen metabolites and aid in their elimination. Phytoestrogens are extremely weak estrogen-like compounds:
http://medcapsules.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2368
They antagonize stronger estrogens by locking up estrogen receptors. This blocks the actions of stronger estrogens produced by the body, and those from the environment and foods. In fact that is what the DIM you are taking is doing.
Focusing on the adrenals is also important as they also produce sex hormones to help cushion the hormonal shift that occurs with menopause, either natural or surgical.
Vitex (chaste tree berry) and wild yam are also good choices. Vitex helps the body to produce the progesterone the body needs rather than overloading it with progesterone like progesterone creams can do. Vitex is slow to take effect though. You have to be consistent with it for at least a couple of months to start seeing benefits. Wild yam has a very weak progesterone-like effect. It is also very supportive to the adrenal glands.
Your balance article implies that taking Vitex is a good thing, and the 2nd past post above reiterates that. Are you refering to not using creams, even though your balance article says to use them, but vitex is ok as it is more subtle on the body?
Search
Member List
Calendar
Help
