Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[JoannFran]

Hi ladies

I've been keeping a symptom diary and can now see that my peri symptoms (mainly anxiety, internal tremor, shaking) are worse from day 13/14 onwards.  I seem to be at my 'best' (I use the term very lightly  ) during days 1-12.  I'm not sure I'm ovulating every month as can usually tell but periods are still regular.  What would this mean in terms of hormones?  Am I best when both estrogen and progesterone are lowest or is this not the case if I'm not ovulating?  I'm trying to work out if I need estrogen or it it's causing the problems.

Anyone noticed the same thing?

Thank you x

[CLKD]

That was the same throughout my menstruating years.  The few days prior to a bleed I would be angry, feel ill/nauseaou.  The night B4 I would sob uncontrollably, even if a period wasn't due.   10 mins B4 a bleed began I would have to rush to the loo, even if a period wasn't due.   AND PAIN  .  Once the period had started I would feel much lighter of Spirit but dreaded each month due to the PAIN  .  I went on the Pill for that reason.

I never knew when I ovulated.

[GaynorC50]

I feel for you, my symptoms are worse lately , I’m trying some new HRT which seemed to be helping but today my moods are quite bad I feel like my head is about to blow off 😔 headaches, joint ache, low mood feeling incredibly overwhelmed 😔😔

[sheila99]

Assuming day 1 is the first day of your bleed you feel good on oestrogen only and bad when you add progesterone? So I think it's progesterone causing the problems. If you're on gel you could try increasing it during this phase, it didn't work for me but does for some. The other I found is that it got better the further I got towards meno so for me I think there was too much progesterone. Perhaps a different type of prog would be worth trying.

[JoannFran]

Yes day 1 is first day of bleed.  I'm not on any HRT as i tried estrogel but it made my anxiety a lot worse.  This is just my natural cycle.   So I'm thinking the anxiety is bad when estrogen spikes?  I've read that progesterone is the first hormone to decline in peri.  I wish I knew for sure which hormone is causing the anxiety because it's definitely one of them! Is there a way to find out? I know blood tests are unreliable but surely if I had one when anxiety is high I'll know which hormone is the culprit??  Arrghhhh!!

[CLKD]

How is your diet?  Low blood sugar can cause anxiety surges and is affected by hormone alterations.  Have you thought of eating little and often?

[Gilla999]

It could be for a variety of reasons, I don't think there is a one size fits all. When my Peri journey started I was only ever symptomatic from day 14 to 28 every single month like clockwork. Raging insomnia and night sweats. But from day 1 to 14 I was absolutely fine. The reason for that (i discovered for me) was that your estrogen is supposed to climb during days 14 onwards (as well as your Prog) and my Estrogen was not climbing... hence bring highly symptomatic. During days 1-12 your own E would be naturally lower anyway and it seemed that that meant I was not symptomatic. 

[JoannFran]

Hi

thanks CLKD - my diet has been awful but I've seen a nutritionist recently and she said that low blood sugar (and spikes) plays a huge part in hormones.  Something to do with insulin.  So I am making a very big effort to eat little and often.  Early days yet tho.

Thanks Gilla999 - how did you find out that your estrogen wasn't climbing when it was meant to?  Blood test?   I am seriously considering paying for a blood test every other day of days 14-28 to find out what the heck is causing this.  I can't go on much longer like this - it's ruining my life 

Thank you all for your replies.  Much appreciated xx

[sheila99]

My anxiety and insomnia were caused by oestrogen deficiency, completely gone with hrt though it did take 3 months.

[Gilla999]

JoannFran the honest answer is it has taken me two years of self education, blood tests, research and trial and error to be able to understand what was going on with me. It is not a clear cut case (maybe Peri never is!) especially as I'm only 42. (I do love being able to write "only" 42 every now and then    )

Everyone is different but for me blood tests have been vital to understand what is happening, however without a benchmark to go on, it can be tricky to interpret ("is this lower than it was before?")

If it were me, I would be getting a blood test on day 21 of my cycle and seeing if that sheds any light. If your E is below 350 that's a good marker for needing HRT however as many others will point out, your E level is not always a diagnostic factor.

What actually happened with me was that in early Peri my Estrogen soared for about 2-3 years (late 30s) during the luteal phase day 14-28. I know this because I was having terrible painful boobs every month and it triggered me to get a blood test which showed my E was way above the top of the range. No one told me it could be Peri, I didn't have a clue, and I did nothing about it. Fast forward two years and my E then started to fall back down in the next stage of Peri and it was this fall from very high even down to middle that caused me to be highly symptomatic. It is known among decent meno specialists that your E doesn't even have to be clinically low for you to be symptomatic (which is why many doctors rightfully diagnose on symptoms alone) and it can be the fall from "very high" in early Peri down to "middle" which triggers symptoms. Once I started HRT my problems disappeared (except for a few hiccups along the way).

This is a long winded way of saying I don't think there is a one-size-fits-all, but it is absolutely possible from my story alone that your situation could well be estrogen deficiency despite only experiencing it for half of your cycle, however as you say it could also be low Progesterone as that falls first in Peri.

Another option other than a blood test is to do a Rhythm hormone profile test from Genova Diagnostics. I've done 3 over the years and found them very insightful. They are salvia tests but you do them every other day and they chart your hormone levels (both E and P) for you, so you can see what's going on over the course of the month - they aren't cheap but I have found them super helpful to correlate symptoms with a change in levels.

Hope any of this waffle helps xx

[CLKD]

Graze Girl Graze ;-).

My stand by foods: dried fruits and nuts; bananas; energy bars; ginger biscuits; Jacobs cream crackers, dry.  Eat B4 the body is hungry.  Even in the night!

Let us know how you get on.  It took me 2-3 months to get into a grazing routine and another month to feel much better.

[VanillaLover]

Hi, absolutely I have the same thing. I find times of the month worse for symptoms (for me after ovulation seems better, which is opposite to you!). HOWEVER I would say to forget trying to work out what it means in terms of hormones …..I don’t think it’s possible to tell honestly. The only way to know is to try a few things if that’s what you want to do and see how you feel.
I’m finding as I get further through (now about 2.5 years since my periods started getting much closer together, they now seem to be getting further apart again)…the pattern is getting less defined and more confusing. I try to just take it day to day! I am nearly 46.

I do take HRT which has helped, I do still have bad weeks and good weeks but I think the bad weeks are less bad in severity so it’s at least increased the baseline if you see what I mean. I’ve done 3.5 months now and lots of symptoms have disappeared, hoping to increase dose soon but it is just trial and error as to whether that will help.

[VanillaLover]

I would add that the anxiety (sympathy,  big symptoms here too) is “probably” caused by lack of oestrogen. How long did you try the oestrogen for? You need to give it three months definitely.

[JoannFran]

Thank you all so much for these replies. They are so helpful. And make me determined to get to find something to help. I can’t live my life like this!

gilla999 - is the test you mention the same as a Dutch test?  The nutritionist I’m seeing wants me to do one. How I would love to write that I’m only 42!  46 feels like 86 at the moment!!  Which HRT regime are you on?

VanillaLover - I tried Estrigen for 2 months last year and didn’t see any improvement so gave up (in hindsight I shouldv’e kept going and I could kick myself now). But my anxiety got so bad during that time and I thought the estrogen might be causing it. BUT since I stopped the anxiety hasn’t got any better so I can see now that perhaps it wasn’t causing it and I just hadn’t been on it long enough to make a difference. The problem is my brain now tells me that estrogen causes anxiety and the couple of times I’ve put the gel (or spray) on (tried 2 weeks ago), my anxiety goes through the roof! What a mess!  Which HRT are you on?

CLKD - I’m trying very very hard with the grazing. Have stocked up on nuts, dates, protein bars etc. I’m cutting out sugar too.  Definitely need to change the way I eat - was going 16 hours without food before 🤦🏼‍♀️

Thank you all for your support. Honestly this forum is a lifesaver to me xxxx

[Gilla999]

Yes exactly, the same as the DUTCH test! You have to get it done through a provider but there are lots on the web - here's a link to who I've used in the past, all they do is send you the results, nothing else. https://smartnutrition.co.uk/health-tests/female-health-tests/complete-female-hormone-assessment-rhythm-and-rhythm-plus/

I'm on Lenzetto and of course Utrogestan. Tried Estradot for about two weeks originally but it didn't work for me - Lenzetto literally saved my life!

Really good luck in getting it sorted xx