Natural Hormone Balance for Women by Uzzi Reiss

Author:Uzzi Reiss
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2001-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

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GINA’S STORY

Gina, fifty-two, one year in menopause, was using 100 milligrams of progesterone at night, 50 in the morning, as well as taking three Tri-Est sublingual drops twice a day.

She called, complaining of breast tenderness and water retention. She was having trouble getting into her shoes, taking her rings on and off, and felt bloated.

“I try to decrease the estrogen from three to two drops, but when I do I get hot flashes,” she said. “I can’t seem to find a happy medium. Either I have hot flashes or tender breasts.”

“Try adding 50 milligrams of progesterone at night and also at lunch,” I suggested.

Initially she felt better. But within a week she complained of hot flashes again, more water retention, and a slight depression. She was more confused.

I interpreted her reaction as a result of too much progesterone. She had, in fact, developed a paradoxical reaction to progesterone, an unusual response that I described in chapter 13. The excess progesterone was blocking her estrogen receptors. This effect decreased the effectiveness of her estrogen replacement and is why she developed hot flashes and depression. In addition, the excess progesterone had interfered with the function of a related hormone that regulates body fluids. This caused the water retention.

Her predicament was this: if she reduced her estrogen, she developed hot flashes and signs of estrogen deficiency. If she took more progesterone, she developed the paradoxical response.

The only solution for her was to maintain her regular level of estrogen and progesterone, and apply a 10 percent progesterone cream to the breasts. This approach provided her breasts with extra protection from the cream while reducing the water retention. Critically for her, it did not raise the overall progesterone level in her body enough to cause problems. Keep in mind that the absorption of progesterone through the skin is much less than through the oral method.

I probably would have been able to achieve the same results by adding 25 milligrams of progesterone orally.

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