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Post by Karen on Sept 17, 2010 17:07:46 GMT -5
I felt a bit woozy at first when I started out several months ago, but it passed in a bit and now I don't notice a thing. Of course, always listen to your body and your doc, but if you're able to tolerate it, consider trying it at the higher dose that he put you on for a few days or a week, see if things get any different. I've heard that sometimes the twice daily can help spread it out so any sort of reaction isn't as severe, but again, listen to your body!
As for me, not only am I trying to balance my estrogen/progesterone levels, but also my DHEA/cortisol levels. Before I started treatment for that, I had no energy ALL the time, and my current treatment has helped considerably! So trying to balance two things makes it a bit tricky! I'll see what she recommends. Honestly, up until this week, I was still fine pain-wise! But I've noticed a few other little side effects from upping either my DHEA or adrenal support in the last 2 months so perhaps there will be an adjustment on those. I'm confident she'll be able to figure it out, but yes, it is a bit of a guessing game sometimes!
Hope you have a good period this month, Redwood! Oh, and don't be surprised if your period is late - progesterone treatment can delay ovulation in some women, which means your period could be delayed as well. When I first started treatment, I had a cycle that was close to 80 days! It's gotten much more regular now, though.
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Post by redwood on Sept 18, 2010 11:29:50 GMT -5
well, I spoke too soon. I still don't have my period, but I have the endo pain. So it's like having my period but without any bleeding. But apparently the endo is still bleeding as why would it still hurt. So maybe I should up my dose to 125mg, although I am going out of town and I needed to re-order my troches and I did it with the 100mg. So maybe I can try to take 1 1/4 a day. I already take my doses twice per day. I felt woozy at first too but it passed, but the higher dose really was much more extreme, but I did take 100mg at bedtime (rather than 75 each as I would have to take 1/2 plus 1/4. So maybe 125 would be better, but that would be 1/2 plus 1/8 or something. A bit confusing. So maybe the next prescription then..... Hope you can figure out how to balance everything and feel better next cycle, Karen. Also, there is another difference between our prescriptions in that you take a break of 7 days and I don't. I take them continuously. I forgot to ask my Dr. why he prefers me to take it every day. I'll do that next time.
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Post by redwood on Sept 19, 2010 11:19:50 GMT -5
well, again I spoke too soon. I got my period a few hours after I posted that yesterday and it's heavy again (not light like last month) with the usual pain. I don't understand why that changed, but it makes me think I do need to increase the dose now, whether it makes me woozy or not. sigh. I still wonder why my dr. is so opposed to the oral form that you take, Karen. Maybe he doesn't realize that the oil slows the absorption of it. I might have to switch if the troches don't work for me.
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Post by Karen on Sept 19, 2010 11:23:42 GMT -5
I kind of wondered if you'd be expecting it soon! I hope if anything, the pain passes quicker than before. And when you talk to your doc, let me know what he says regarding the oral form and taking it continuously - just out of curiosity more than anything else!
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Post by painttheseconds on Oct 3, 2010 23:40:43 GMT -5
Wow. I've found this all very interesting. I'd like to do something similar for myself. My doctor keeps pushing Lupron and I refuse to even go on that stuff. I'd like to go a more natural route like Karen has mentioned. I went to the website to have them send me information.
Redwood I was wondering if you would be willing to tell me the Dr. you are seeing? I live in Colorado as well.
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Post by Karen on Oct 4, 2010 19:49:58 GMT -5
Yeah, it may not be an approach that's appropriate for everyone, but it's something that, when done right under the proper care, should have very few negative side effects than most of the other stuff they shove our way. If anything, I think it's worth a lot of people looking into, asking their docs about. Some may brush them off completely, but I just have a hard time believing a doc when they say there's no validity in getting your body to balance out in a much more natural way...
Good luck!!
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Post by Karen on Oct 17, 2010 9:27:48 GMT -5
Ok, so my latest test results showed that my estrogen was lower, but my progesterone wasn't high enough to balance out the estrogen that I had. So, during days 7-14 of my cycle, I'm going to remain on 75 mg of progesterone, but on days 15-my period, I'm to take 150 mg of progesterone. Eventually, the goal is to get my hormones more balance and only supplement with progesterone days 15-period.
My last cycle was around 30 days, but I didn't ovulate. This cycle I had some spotting around day 16, and some more around day 30 so I assumed it was my period at first and stopped taking progesterone for the week, but I never got my period. I didn't ovulate this month (yet) either. I lowered my dose of DHEA last week, wonder if that'll help my cycles a bit.
Anyway, I started back on progesterone last night after a week off. If I ovulate, I'll switch to the higher dose and just kind of ride this cycle out. Hopefully, my next cycle will be a bit more predictable. This is the first unpredictable cycle I've had in a while!
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Post by redwood on Oct 17, 2010 17:44:45 GMT -5
paintthe seconds - the doctor I was seeing is David Luce in Boulder. I just moved out of the area.
I didn't have time to see him before I left so I never got to ask him about the difference in taking the progesterone every day vs. stopping for your period.
I'm still taking the 150mg/day. This month, I had my period as usual and it was the usual heaviness (not light like that first month). Good thing is I had less pain than the past two months. Yeah! It was still there a little on day 1 and also today, on day 6 - a few twinges here and there (but not constant). So that's an improvement at least. This is month 3, so I'll stay on 150mg and see how next month goes. I have a 3 month supply of it and the doctor said I could call and he'd do consultations over the phone.
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Post by Karen on Oct 17, 2010 17:58:50 GMT -5
Woo hoo, yay for less pain! Do you ever have lower-pain months, or was this the first? Here's hoping next month is even better!
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Post by redwood on Oct 18, 2010 13:34:53 GMT -5
yes, I've had lower pain months, but they were all before I started taking the progesterone! not sure what caused them, and it was not consistent. I was having accupuncture before. Maybe it was that? I stopped that in early April after I ended up with huge medical bills from kidney stones.
I spoke too soon, as usual and more pain came last night after I posted. There is still a bit today, here and there. But at least it's better than it has been june-sept.
Glad to hear you had less pain this past month too!
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Post by painttheseconds on Oct 18, 2010 21:33:15 GMT -5
redwood, Did you like David Luce? I googled him and he seems very knowledgeable and I would like to make an appointment with him. It sounds like he might be able to help with pain management.
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Post by chicagogal2 on Oct 19, 2010 19:44:11 GMT -5
Karen,
Curious about the bio dentical progesterone - is this something a person can take if you are trying to get pregnant? I haven't had a chance to buy that book yet but I'm wondering what my options are for endo treatment if i still want to pursue the pregnancy aspect.
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Post by Karen on Oct 19, 2010 20:09:37 GMT -5
Long story short, but I'll try. The time between ovulation and your period is called your luteal phase (this is all explained in TCOYF). During your luteal phase, progesterone is the dominant hormone, and once a woman becomes pregnant, progesterone remains dominant throughout the pregnancy (think of the word 'gestation' within pro gesterone). A luteal phase of anywhere from 10-14 days is ideal to get pregnant. Anything less than that and your chances of a fertilized egg sticking go down because you get your period too soon. Although there can be other reasons for a shorter luteal phase, lower levels of progesterone (or too high of estrogen levels) can often be to blame. If your progesterone levels aren't high enough and your luteal phase is too short, many women supplement with either OTC progesterone cream (which my sister did) or a prescription of bio-identical progesterone (which a friend with endo did. A name brand is Prometrium, though there are compounding pharmacies that make their own doses and batches). I've also had a friend that had progesterone shots during the first few weeks of her pregnancy. So, yes, progesterone is often used to get pregnant or maintain a pregnancy. An easy way to determine your luteal phase is to temp every month. This is explained in full detail (though easy to understand) in TCOYF. If you have a short luteal phase, there are some easy things you can do to correct it including trying progesterone, but until you know what your luteal phase is, it's kind of hard to know where to start. Sorry if this doesn't make sense, feeling a bit groggy today!
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Post by Karen on Oct 19, 2010 20:11:48 GMT -5
I should also add that progesTINS (synthetic forms of progesterone) are NOT to be used as a fertility aid or during pregnancy. Some docs will say progesterone and progestins are the same, but if you ask them what they use during pregnancy (if needed), they'll say only progesterone!
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Post by chicagogal2 on Oct 19, 2010 20:23:17 GMT -5
Gotcha! I think my next stop should be oakbrook fertility who specializes in endo as well.
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