Thank you so much for the clarification. I am 47 and have low progesterone, low estrogen, and low testosterone, so I am never sure which is the culprit when I have a strong symptom. I keep searching for the difference between low estrogen symptoms and low progesterone but the only differences I have been able to ascertain so far are low estrogen= hot flashes and night sweats. Low progesterone= extreme irritability and breast tenderness. I know there is irritability with low estrogen too, but it seems much worse when my progesterone is low. Anyway, I have a lot of itching and was not sure which cream to use (with them sort of being opposites, if you use estrogen when you need progesterone, it can be really bad). Anyway, itching=low estrogen, I'll try the estrogen cream. Thanks again.
Hi, I had itching too, for me it was a sign of low estrogen. You are right about the progesterone and cortisol, however, you may also need to obtain some bioidentical estrogen cream thru your gyn. That is how I finally found relief from the itching myself. I take the estrogen cream, every morning, and I started with a very low dose, and built up with my doctor's supervision. The progesterone does help with sleep improvement and calmness, relief of anxiety and immune function improves, allergies tolerance improves and cortisol/adrenals improve, but bio estrogen (a combo of all 3 estrogen's created by a compounding pharmacy) helps with joy, and energy, voice, and the itching and lubrication, (for me anyway) the bio testosterone cream helps with energy, gumption, and some drive. I read that estrogen dominance can interfere with thyroid function, per Dr. Lee. Also from my doctor, I learned that one can be both estrogen deficient and estrogen dominant at the same time if progesterone and estrogen are low, and due to our exposure to estrogens & phyto estrogens in environment and foods. So alot of balancing is required and diary your symptoms for your doctor, and balancing your doses of the creams based on your symptoms, always start low and work up, also know that with estrogen, the symptoms of too much and not enough, are the same. Hope this helps you.
Thank you for your comments Stella. I read the info from the journal which I found very useful. In my post I said I took Prog cream 3 weeks on, 1 off but I made a mistake. It's only from about mid cycle till I get my period and I'm only just starting. I wrote the post when I had my period and my brain still plays some tricks on me during that week!
What I found interesting about the journal were the comments made on sleep, thyroid function and insulin resistance. I feel that although I sleep, I do not sleep well and in fact have a lot of bodily tension (all day, in fact) and am a nervous person. I clench my teeth while sleeping also. All these problems started gradually after having my children in my 20's. And when I recently started having noticeable hormonal problems, I felt almost what I'd call, anxiety.
In another post I mentioned my sensitivity to the cold (which my mother also has but my sister doesn't). I've had my thyroid checked on several occasions, inside & out, but they never found any problems there. My mom has no thyroid issues either. The sensitivity started after my children were born also.
I have no weight problems (yet) but before I gave up sugar and the foods I was intolerant to, I was beginning to gain weight. Don't know if this will become a problem in the future.
The problem which is most bothersome at the moment is the itching. I only take half an anti-histamine every other day but it keeps coming back and I hate taking medication when it's only treating a symptom.
The change in bone density is also a sign that something is off.
If you have/had any of these issues, were any of them helped by balancing your hormones? Did you have this kind of itching I'm talking about - that starts from the inside, out???
What does swlf stand for? I'm going to ask at ZRT but I also have what I've been told is a good lab in the UK, which is closer - Genova Diagnostics (which is a US lab actually). Have you heard of it?
I think I have found a good gynecologist and I am waiting for a consultation. I do feel that even with testing, one can never be certain if the results are accurate and I also feel that there are so many ups and downs in our hormones (especially at this time) that it must be very difficult to assess one's problems without also having a good doctor with experience and not the kind that believes in "one size fits all" solutions.
Thanks!
You may have a combination of imbalances. Check out this journal information .
I found I have many issues you are experiencing.
http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/54386?personal_page_id=1994
I think since you are doing this on your own - which may not be quite good for you. You need to invest in a swlf test on your hormone panels first before you blindly trial and error hormone creams.
I am not sure if ZRT labs delivers to Portugal - but it's worth a shot. Go to there website and see if you can order the test for hormones. Last I heard - it was about $250. American dollar to get.
Bottom line you need to test somehow - someway.