• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

Problems with progesterone

freshveggies

Senior Member
Messages
196
I am low in both estrogen and progesterone, but can't take estrogen without taking progesterone. I have read that progesterone can cause problems with adrenals.

I used to take progesterone for years then I quit and 6 weeks later I got insomnia and never got over it. I think it was suppressing my high cortisol or something.

Now is progesterone the think to use for excitotoxcity or would it do more harm than good? Should I just not do hormones or look at herbals instead to help my lower hormones. Having lower hormones causes sleep to be poor too.

I have CFS & virals too.
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
I think you have a few things back to front but im know doctor. progesterone generally helps with sleep, anxiety and calming one down. Also your body makes cortisol from progesterone, so stopping the progesterone has probably also reduce your cortisol levels which could also increase symptoms.

I would get all your hormones tested by an intergrative doctor as they seem to be more knowledgable in this field. progesterone creams are said to be better then synthetic pills. Also other hormones like pregnenolone your body uses to make many other hormones in your body like progesterone, cortisol etc etc Some find dhea also helpful but dosages have to be tailored to individuals through testing. Google pregnenolone etc and read up on these things too.

good luck
 

Ema

Senior Member
Messages
4,729
Location
Midwest USA
I am low in both estrogen and progesterone, but can't take estrogen without taking progesterone. I have read that progesterone can cause problems with adrenals.

I used to take progesterone for years then I quit and 6 weeks later I got insomnia and never got over it. I think it was suppressing my high cortisol or something.

Now is progesterone the think to use for excitotoxcity or would it do more harm than good? Should I just not do hormones or look at herbals instead to help my lower hormones. Having lower hormones causes sleep to be poor too.

I have CFS & virals too.

Are you pre- or post-menopausal?

When was the last time you tested estrogen and progesterone?

Why can't you take estrogen without progesterone?

It's not likely that progesterone would suppress high cortisol. Progesterone can theoretically convert to cortisol so it *might* increase cortisol levels if cortisol were low. Progesterone does work on GABA receptors though and can promote sleep in that way.

I'm a believer in supplementing hormone levels that are shown to be low after proper testing. But estrogen is more likely to lessen excitotoxicity than progesterone (which has its own set of benefits). Balance is key though. Sounds like you might need a bit more testing in order to make this decision...
 

freshveggies

Senior Member
Messages
196
Are you pre- or post-menopausal?

When was the last time you tested estrogen and progesterone?

Why can't you take estrogen without progesterone?

It's not likely that progesterone would suppress high cortisol. Progesterone can theoretically convert to cortisol so it *might* increase cortisol levels if cortisol were low. Progesterone does work on GABA receptors though and can promote sleep in that way.

I'm a believer in supplementing hormone levels that are shown to be low after proper testing. But estrogen is more likely to lessen excitotoxicity than progesterone (which has its own set of benefits). Balance is key though. Sounds like you might need a bit more testing in order to make this decision...


Hi, I just tested on day 21 and my total estrogen was 378 range 156-350
estradiol 178 range 21-312 pg/ml
progesterone 3.6ng/ml range 1.1-14.0

I was on estradiol the first half and quit at day 15. No progesterone. I was feeling that progesterone was causing my brain to be wired. Now I am wondering about just trying a different form. I asked my doctor about this as I am having my CFS doctor look at my hormones so I can have one doctor do this as they understand hormones too.

I was just unsure if it would be ok to supplement. I am pre-menopause.

If i take estrogen, it easily gets too high since my progesterone is so low to balance it out.
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
yes, need the progesterone to balance the estrogen, your progesterone is quite low and probably causing you issues. When u get hormones tested make sure u get dhea and testosterone as having them in balance can also help women with energy and immunity too.

good luck.
 

freshveggies

Senior Member
Messages
196
yes, need the progesterone to balance the estrogen, your progesterone is quite low and probably causing you issues. When u get hormones tested make sure u get dhea and testosterone as having them in balance can also help women with energy and immunity too.

good luck.
thanks. DHEA is low. I started out on 5mg and then went to 10 and broke out so I quit. I could try 7-keto. I am waiting for the testosterone and pregnenolone labs to come back.
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
pregnenolone might be enough to raise your dhea as well as other hormones.
Sally from here has gone through all the hormone balancing stuff, she might be good for you to talk to. Me being a male, my hormone experience is just abit different.

cheers!!!
 

Ema

Senior Member
Messages
4,729
Location
Midwest USA
Hi, I just tested on day 21 and my total estrogen was 378 range 156-350
estradiol 178 range 21-312 pg/ml
progesterone 3.6ng/ml range 1.1-14.0

I was on estradiol the first half and quit at day 15. No progesterone. I was feeling that progesterone was causing my brain to be wired. Now I am wondering about just trying a different form. I asked my doctor about this as I am having my CFS doctor look at my hormones so I can have one doctor do this as they understand hormones too.

I was just unsure if it would be ok to supplement. I am pre-menopause.

If i take estrogen, it easily gets too high since my progesterone is so low to balance it out.

Your total estrogen is high...this usually points to high estrone as total estrogen is generally a measure of estradiol and estrone together. Estrone can be produced by fat cells. It's also possible that your androgens are converting into estrone.

You could do a test that would show sex hormone conversions in detail (saliva test). But I would probably choose to keep supplementing estradiol with those results since that result is still lowish. Yes, the hormones need to be balanced but the absolute levels are important too. Keeping estradiol low in order to balance low progesterone is not a good method for success in my opinion. Both levels need to come up for optimal functioning.

Again, progesterone is usually thought of as a calming hormone due to the effects on GABA receptors. But perhaps just having the hormones so out of balance is causing the wired feeling.

If it were me, I would want to supplement progesterone with those results. When my progesterone gets low, I get anxious and my muscle pain kicks up big time.

What form of progesterone were you taking and what dose? Estradiol?
 

freshveggies

Senior Member
Messages
196
I was on 5mg progesterone capsule suppositories. Just didn't like them. Made me feel anxious and sometims felt like too much which is wierd. I used to take oral capsules and could take 100mg and not have a problem.

I was taking between .0125-.0375 vivelle dot patch.

What have you found that you like? Have you tried any oral progesterone?

I am thinking of a mix of estrol and estrogen when I get the labs back.
 

Ema

Senior Member
Messages
4,729
Location
Midwest USA
I was on 5mg progesterone capsule suppositories. Just didn't like them. Made me feel anxious and sometims felt like too much which is wierd. I used to take oral capsules and could take 100mg and not have a problem.

I was taking between .0125-.0375 vivelle dot patch.

What have you found that you like? Have you tried any oral progesterone?

I am thinking of a mix of estrol and estrogen when I get the labs back.

I use a 0.625 mg Tri-Est troche that is made by a compounding pharmacy. I think with your results though I would feel comfortable with the Vivelle patch. The estrogens will interconvert to some degree but you seem to need estradiol the most.

I did try oral progesterone for a few weeks and it did not work for me. I got very spacey and drugged out feeling with a big fatigue hangover. Oral progesterone produces a metabolite called allopregnanolone which is similar to a benzo...and that is definitely how it made me feel! But many people like this aspect of oral progesterone...so trial and error! I use a progesterone cream on my upper arms...30 mg days 12-21 and 60-90 mg days 21-28.
 

freshveggies

Senior Member
Messages
196
Thank you. Have you read that progesterone cream can build up in the body. Or does it not since you are using it on thin skin.

I am gaining fat in my thighs---I believe it is due to low estrogen,. Happenend to grandma and mom too. They never took any hormones. Any correlation?
 

Lotus97

Senior Member
Messages
2,041
Location
United States
I've been taking Evening Primrose Oil and Borage Oil to increase Progesterone. I'm not sure, but I think they might be causing mood swings for me. Maybe I'm taking too much?