Two migraines a month means only one thing - too much oestrogen and not enough progesterone

Thanks to keeping this diary and noting all my symptoms like a hawk.  I've finally been able to cross-reference general perimenopausal forums and help groups and have come across countless cases of people with similar complaints providing strong evidence that our focus should not be on dropping levels of Oestrogen, but rather falling levels of Progesterone, as the true culprit behind dastardly migraines.

You may find all the information out there overwhelming, and it is, but the simple thing to understand is this: Once you get to the stage where you are NOT ovulating every month, or anymore, (and this can start to happen from the age of 35 girls!!) then you will not be producing enough Progesterone to protect you from Oestrogen overload that you end up with.

This is not what the men in white coats are telling us, is it ladies?  

So, its not a question of absence of Oestrogen - as is the focus of most clinicians - but whether or not you're still  producing enough Progesterone to cope with it all.

Progesterone protects us against tumour-causing Oestrogens and against pain (anti-inflammatory) and against spasm.  It is a neurosteroid that even helps our brains to heal faster after head trauma.

I've had to read and read to get to the bottom of this, because basically, I was losing so much blood.  Sorry to sound a bit blunt, but I counted how many times I visited the bathroom during this menses and it was 18 times!

Whoever said you lose a couple of teaspoons of blood is total goofball!

I think I've lost close to a pint of blood!  I kid you not, because I know, believe me, I KNOW!

Clearly, this has to stop, I know that I'm going anaemic now, because I almost passed out about 4 times today.  At the present time I'm unable to drive and I'm taking liquid iron via Floradix.  I feel ghastly, and I have so much to do.

I'll post all the links I have about Progesterone, which are real eye-openers but there are quite a few in this post.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I know I'm making enough Oestrogen, I'm probably making too much, hence HRT plus my own levels = overload.  

But CRUCIALLY, I don't think I'm ovulating anymore, which has probably been the case for about the last 6 months....hence the worsening migraines.

THIS IS THE REAL CAUSE OF MY MIGRAINES, I'M ALMOST CERTAIN OF IT!

I used to get ovulation pain, and I just noticed this isn't happening anymore, plus all this BLOOD!  If I didn't know myself better, I would think I was haemorrhaging because the flow is beyond all credibility.   

PROGESTERONE CREAM

I've decided to order Serenity Progesterone Cream, that'll be imported from the U.S.  I bought two tubs, as the postage is the same as for one.  (I'm not sure how many you have to buy before the postage increases.)

Here are some quotes from various Progesterone awareness sites.  I only wish I'd realised sooner what was happening to me, as the really shocking thing is that we reach this state of low Progesterone by as early as our mid-thirties!  Astonishing isn't it!  

• Progesterone is produced in the ovaries, adrenal glands and placenta (probably why my adrenals get involved in my PMS and why my blood pressure goes nuts with my carotid?)
• It is a steroid hormone that's derived from Cholesterol (my Cholesterol reading has gone up, is it any wonder if my Progesterone is too low, as its not being used for that anymore, so it must now be 'surplus' to my needs!)
• Progesterone is a neurosteroid that protects the brain from the harmful side of Oestrogen.  (Is it any wonder I get migraines of this calibre if my brain is no longer protected from this very powerful sex hormone?)
• Progesterone regulates Oestrogen levels and protects us from the more powerful and harmful Oestrogen strains (like the ones that cause cancer!)  
• It is anti-inflammatory (hence I get a lot more pain now - well I did until I started taking Potassium, Magnesium and FeverFew.)
• Progesterone reduces spasm (hence migraine and vascular spasms)
• It increases core temperature (hence I would wake with a migraine but my brain would not be protected from its pain)
• Inadequate levels of Progesterone mean you are not producing eggs in your ovaries anymore and you are unable to balance the Oestrogen you produce.  (Hence irritability, mood swings, depression, migraines etc)
• Progesterone is not absorbed well if taken orally (hence in a pack of HRT, you get all those little tablets, but they are inadvertently out of balance with the extra Oestrogen taken because they are not absorbed well and possibly degraded by the liver?)
• Progesterone is vital to both sexes.  (On the subject of Progesterone and men, here is a great link)  

Here's a whole chunk from Wikipedia, (I don't like to copy wholesale like this but I've linked back to them and I think its very important to raise awareness of what's going on:

Role in ageing

The tendency for progesterone to have a regulatory effect, the presence of progesterone receptors in many types of body tissue, and the pattern of deterioration (or tumor formation) in many of those increasing in later years when progesterone levels have dropped, is prompting widespread research into the potential value of maintaining progesterone levels in both males and females.

Role in brain damage

[edit]

Previous studies have shown that progesterone supports the normal development of neurons in the brain, and that the hormone has a protective effect on damaged brain tissue. It has been observed in animal models that females have reduced susceptibility to traumatic brain injury and this protective effect has been hypothesized to be caused by increased circulating levels of estrogen and progesterone in females.^[62] A number of additional animal studies have confirmed that progesterone has neuroprotective effects when administered shortly after traumatic brain injury.^[63] Encouraging results have also been reported in human clinical trials.^[64][65

I told you all I was determined to get to the bottom of this.  I love my HRT, I believe in it wholeheartedly and I would like to keep taking it, but why, oh why, aren't we made more aware of Oestrogen overload?  Why are so many women suffering so much in ignorance? 

By the way, I'm also taking 5-HTP now, two tablets a day, 50mg each time.  It is WONDERFUL!  

My DH says it makes living with me 'nice' again!!  The poor man, how he's suffered with my low Progesterone status.  

Damn it, my health REALLY is, in my hands!