Hi everyone. I have suffered from depression/anxiety since I was about 17, so almost 10 years now. This past November I got worse than I have ever gotten. Went back on my meds. Now that I am better I am searching for a better way. I saw a homeopath and she asked me so many questions that I thought weren't related at all but she explained the link between them. She is convinced that my depression is from Estrogen dominance. And there were 5 distinct signs that pointed her to it.
1. Can't tolerate the birth control pill
2. Weight gain for no reason and difficultly losing weight
3. Depression/anxiety
4. Incredibly painful periods and very very heavy and long
5. Strong cravings for meat
So all these things pointed her in the direction of my body having too much estrogen for its own good. She said some is great but too much can cause some nasty problems.
She has me on a natural Progesterone cream to balance my estrogen levels and she says after a couple of months when the levels balance out I should feel wonderful. She said it is like have the worst PMS constantly.
What makes me so mad sometimes is why didn't my doctor try to find the reason for the depression instead of just giving me something to cover it up and make it less noticeble!!!
The homeopath gave me a list of about 25 symptoms of Estrogen Dominance and I have 19 of the 25!!!
So hopefully this works for me and maybe it is something some of you out there should look into when you are feeling better. I don't recommend experiementing until you feel like yourself again. Then maybe look into other options.
God bless.
E
very interesting! I've wondered the same about myself too ~ thank you for the advice! could you post all 25 of the symptoms? or would that take forever?
thanks again!
I was really hoping I could help some women out there because I know how hard this can be, and we should really stick together! So give me some time to find those symptoms and I will post them for you. Be back soon.
Ok that didn't take me long at all. Like I said I have 19 or 20 of them. Hopefully this helps you guys out. If you can find a doctor that will work with you that is great. But you may have to go see a homeopath, I did. Do a google search on Estrogen Dominance and find out more about it. Just to let you know that a lot of the symptoms say "premenstral" but they can also be anytime not just before your period. Mine are constant, unfortunately.
I would still maybe look into it. My homeopath didn't give me the list I found it myself. She got 5 symptoms from the questioniarre she did with me. Those 5 were the ones I listed in my original post. It is worth a look anyway.
E1979 ~ I've done some more reading on it ~ and it said you can buy this natural progesterone cream online and says it relieves all these symptoms that you listed and that I have ~
it says to only use it for those couple weeks before you get your period cuz that's when your progesterone levels are the lowest ~ you said you have these symptoms all month though ~ so does your doctor have you using the cream all month? what brand of cream do you use? is it a prescription?
Last edited by campingirl72; 10-06-2005 at 11:02 AM.
I am not sure if I am allowed to post name brands but what the hell...If I am not I am really sorry to break the rules I am just trying to help these people out!
So the brand is called Genestra Dioscorea(sp?) cream. It is made from Wild Yam and it causes your body to make more progesterone. It is not a perscription. You can get it from a Homeopath or some really good vitamin stores. I got my first jar from my homeopath but found it for like $10.00 cheaper at a store in town.
So it is a little bit more confusing to use. I will try to explain it as best I can.
So use the 1st day of your period as DAY 1. So count to DAY 10(so 10 days after the 1st day of period) and start using the cream. Use about a toonie size(oops, sorry I am Canadian. So about the size a little bigger than a quarter) and rub it on ONE of these parts:breast,butt,abdomen,inner thigh, inner bicep, wrists. Twice a day. Keep counting- on DAY 24 stop using it or when you get your period whichever comes first. So you start on DAY 10 up until DAY 24. If you get your period comes before DAY 24 stop anyway. Now your back at DAY 1 and start the process all over again.
It took my homeopath explaining it 2x before I got it.
You can use more or less depending what works for you. Don't wash your hands after you rub it in. You will absorb it through your hand too so don't waste it. The size of jar I get with that brand should last about 3months and it costs about $30.00 canadain dollars. So $10 per month is reasonable for me.
My homeopath recommended this book. She said everytime a baby girl is born it should be given to her parents to give to her as soon as she can read. It is "What your doctor may not tell you about Menopause." I know you may be too yound to be in menopause. It was titled poorly, should have been called "what your doctor may not tell you about being a woman." I have ordered it and am very excited about reading it.
I really hope this helps you guys. Good luck. I check this website often so if you need help with it or need me to try to explain the cycle again just make a post.
God Bless
Erin
Just remembered something. My homeopath told me this. It makes sense. You know how MOST pregnant women are glowing and are just radiant...well there body is flooding with progesterone. Something to think about!
Hi E!
bump means I posted a new post so this thread would "bump" to the top of the depression page so hopefully you would see it ~ I learned that on a different board sorry ~ I didn't know what it meant at 1st either
Thank you so so much for all the information!!! I think its okay to post brand names cuz we talk about Wellbutrin and Lexapro and stuff all the time and those are brand names ~ ?
This stuff is really making sense to me and seems like it really fits me!!! I never really felt like I was depressed even though I had the symptoms of depression, it was more like I was really crabby and irritable, like really bad pms! and I realized when I was on birth control pills (which have estrogen) I was waaaay worse ~ way more crabby and hungry and moody and gained a lot of weight! I really think I have low levels of progesterone and high estrogen and that is what is causing my problems, not low levels of seratonin (which is what the antidepressants fix) Like your homeopath said, I was great while I was pregnant with my 2 kids ~ after my 2nd child was born (I didnt realize it til later but) I suffered from post partum depression, now I know probably due to low progesterone levels!!! when I started birth controls pills after that I got even more crabby and moody, etc ~ I was also going through a divorce, so I thought I was just depressed and I thought I needed an antidepressant, but I probably just needed to be off the birth control pills and on progesterone!!! I was so crabby yesterday (just started back on birth control pills saturday after being off for awhile) that I did a bunch of reading and on the Anger board on here there is a thread about pms and it mentions the same thing as you do here ~ about the low levels of progesterone and high estrogen causing all these bad pms symptoms (people think its depression or anxiety ~ and for some it is, but I dont think it is for me)
anyway I bought some Natural Progesterone cream at Walgreens today, its called MenoCream ~ like you said, I'm too young to have menopause, but its also for younger people that have low progesterone levels ~
this box says to take it the whole 3 weeks you dont have your period ~ ? ~ but another site I read said to take for 2 weeks before period, like you said ~
sorry I'm rambling here, I'm just really excited and hopeful about all this and hoping this will make me feel better! I have almost all of those symptoms on that list!!!
thanks again for your help!!!!!!!!!!!
Last edited by campingirl72; 10-06-2005 at 01:19 PM.
hey E ~ I looked for that book and it showed it on Amazon ~ and there is also another book by the same author that I might get called "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Premenopause: Balance Your Hormones and Your Life from Thirty to Fifty" ~ which would fit me better since I'm 33, but probably has a lot of the same information ~ ???
sorry for all these posts and questions, but did your homeopath say if it matters which brand of progesterone cream you use??? I just read on this one online article that said there are lots of progesterone creams but only a few that actually have the right stuff in them ~ ??? ~ but that could just be them trying to sell their product over the other too ~ ?
The book was like $22.00 (again Canadian) Dr. John Lee that wrote the book and did some amazing research on Estrogen Dominance recommends you use the cream the same way my homeopath did.
She did tell me some are better than others. They have a higher precentage of the wild yam which is what stimulates the progesterone production. But since you already bought it give it a try. If it works for you then who cares what other people say about that brand. The Genestra brand is a professonal brand that Homeopaths have to order. I have no idea how this store by me gets it and carries it, even the dr. was surprised that I found it elsewhere.
Oh and don't worry about the questions, it makes me feel really good to be able to help someone feel better and possibly improve their quality of life. I've got my mom on it and my Grandma who's going through menopause, actually they both are. Grandma took so long because of HRT. She finally stopped it because of nasty side effects and menopause started with avengence.
Just a side note. I am still taking my wellbutrin. The reason I started looking into this is that Wellbutrin can cause anxiety which is already a problem for me. So eventually after the crazyness of my wedding is over I am going to try to ween off of it. It also give the progesterone more time to balance me out.
Quick question, are you taking a lot of vitamin B's? My homeopath said Vit B12 +folic acid is REALLY important as well as a B complex. Plus take Vit C as is helps with absorption of these vitamins. If you crave meat A LOT like I do that is a sure sign that you need more B vitamins. Indulge in you meat cravings if you have them. Get those B vitamins topped up in your system.
I wish you well with this. Hopefully you and I are on the road to an antidepressant free and wonderful life.
Hi E!
I have been taking a multivitamin, but I checked what's in it and there are not much of the B vitamins, so I think I should get a bottle of B complex or something ~ what exactly do you take for vitamins? do you take a separate B complex, a B12 and a folic acid? or just one pill with all of that in it? I am also doing 150 Wellbutrin, 5htp, GABA (to help wean off Lexapro) multivitamin, Omega 3 complex, and now the progesterone cream ~ have you noticed anything yet from the prog cream? or is it way to soon to tell? did your homeo say you would notice some difference right away or not?
I do crave meat a lot, so I do eat it a lot ~
I hope you are feeling good!!!
The cream will take a couple of months because it needs time to balance off the estrogen. I take Genestra B12+folic acid(1 pill) and Genestra B complex and a multivitamin and omega 3 6 9. Oh and the 5htp. I take the b12+folic acid and B complex 3 times a day. The omega's and multi 2x per day.
I have been reading about Gaba, do you find it works? I called my homeopath and asked her if she could give me her opinion on something natural to boost my seretonin levels because I think my problem is not just hormonal but seretonin levels too. I am figure that because Paxil did the most wonderful things for me. I have never felt as good as when I was on paxil and it does stuff for your seretonin levels. But I gained 30lbs in a few months and I am getting married next year and don't want to be grossed out by my wedding pictures. Have a good weekend, It is Canadian Thanksgiving so I will eat A LOT of turkey to get all the good stuff in my brain. Turkey is apparently great for your brain. I wish gravey and stuffing was too
God bless
