Well today has been a ROUGH day to say the least, but coming to have some answers finally. Got my blood tests back today from my Natropath, High testosterone, low progesterone and low estrogen. Soooo all in all my body is all out of whack. PCOS, pre menopausal, whatever you want to label it, it;s not good, but it makes a ton of sense for all of my symptoms:
Anxiety
Trouble sleeping
migraines (previous)
Acne
increased facial hair (very light blond)
oily skin
agitation
depression like feelings
irregular or absent periods
Well I've had all of those pretty much off and on throughout my life, have been able to balance with the pill until this year.
So I've been on Spiro since 12/30 only 50mg and Yasmin since January- My Free Testosterone is actually normal levels now, my Testosterone is still around 52.
Since my Progesterone is low that has an affect on a ton of processes in the body. She has me starting Pregnenolone 25mg daily to get my body to start producing more Progestrone. I will start tracking this new process.
As of today I am severaly broken out in small congestion all along my jaw/chin and a bit in my cheeks. It's been under my skin since the first month on Spiro and is now purging, which is absolutely horrible. I've never had such bad skin in my life. Almost 11 weeks on Spiro and 3rd month of Yasmin and it's been really tough. I am mentally and emotionally drained, I want to give up some days, but I don't have that option. I'm a 32 year old woman who was participating in bikini bodybuilding contests last year and wouldn't go on stage now if someone paid me. It's amazing what a year can do as a female and with hormones. I've learned a lot and am thankful for this journey, but I am truly ready to see some relief.
Anyone try Pregnenolone? Anyone have issues with low Progesterone and high testosterone? Would LOVE insight and input!!!
Sorry you're having a rough time! ): I hope that this new information from your tests will help you clear up quickly.
I had high androgens (testosterone) and low progesterone/high estrogen but am now clear, so it is possible to fix everything. You can read more in my topic here. I took down the pics but I can send them to you if you'd like. I had most of the side effects you listed (except oily skin) and progesterone helped with all of them. I still occasionally use progesterone but have found I don't need it nearly as often. I also still use DIM but at a much lower dose and less frequently... I guess hormones can eventually regulate themselves sometimes! (:
My biggest tip with progesterone is that if you are breaking out or have symptoms return when you take a break, to try using it daily instead of just days 12-28 or whatever. This is completely safe. When I first started using NPC the symptoms would rush back if I took a break. After months of using it daily and getting my progesterone levels up consistently, it no longer happened. 25mg is a pretty low dose too... most progesterone creams suggest to use 40mg daily.
Spiro should help with excess androgens and it can also be estrogenic, which might be good for you. Even though you are still breaking out at 11 weeks, please continue to be patient it took 4 months for me to START clearing on it and I wasn't completely clear until 6 months. I don't know about Yasmin combined with spiro but some have had success with that combo. Again, it would probably help if you needed to up your estrogen. If you don't see results from spiro by six months, I would start to wonder if Yasmin was causing the problem.
Anyway, I hope that helps! If you have any more questions feel free to ask. Good luck! I wish you the best and clear skin! (:
First off let me start by saying THANK YOU! It is making me feel so much better to see someone else has been through this journey, it definitely feels lonely when you are in the thick of it. I am really grateful to be working with this natropath and can't wait to see some of the positive effects from the pregnenolone. Sleeping and being stress.anxiety free/or freer would be a god send right now. Everything happens for a reason, and seeing her was hopefully a final piece to this puzzle.
She also sent a Rx to a compounding pharmacy for Niacinimide with green tea and vitamin c. I've been deathly afraid of using Retin A, never filled the Rx and have clindamycin sitting on my counter and deathly afraid of starting something that will eventually just cause issue anyways. Tonight I am going to hang my hat up and start the second leg of my journey. I will keep you posted on how things go. I would appreciate pictures if you do feel up to sharing!
Sorry you're having a rough time! ): I hope that this new information from your tests will help you clear up quickly.
I had high androgens (testosterone) and low progesterone/high estrogen but am now clear, so it is possible to fix everything. You can read more in my topic here. I took down the pics but I can send them to you if you'd like. I had most of the side effects you listed (except oily skin) and progesterone helped with all of them. I still occasionally use progesterone but have found I don't need it nearly as often. I also still use DIM but at a much lower dose and less frequently... I guess hormones can eventually regulate themselves sometimes! (:
My biggest tip with progesterone is that if you are breaking out or have symptoms return when you take a break, to try using it daily instead of just days 12-28 or whatever. This is completely safe. When I first started using NPC the symptoms would rush back if I took a break. After months of using it daily and getting my progesterone levels up consistently, it no longer happened. 25mg is a pretty low dose too... most progesterone creams suggest to use 40mg daily.
Spiro should help with excess androgens and it can also be estrogenic, which might be good for you. Even though you are still breaking out at 11 weeks, please continue to be patient it took 4 months for me to START clearing on it and I wasn't completely clear until 6 months. I don't know about Yasmin combined with spiro but some have had success with that combo. Again, it would probably help if you needed to up your estrogen. If you don't see results from spiro by six months, I would start to wonder if Yasmin was causing the problem.
Anyway, I hope that helps! If you have any more questions feel free to ask. Good luck! I wish you the best and clear skin! (:
Hi Hearts! So my natropath recommended Pregnenolone since that is the precusor and that is SUPER low as well in my tests. Do you know anything about that? Also, where do you purchase your Progesterone cream from, looking online and can't seem to find the best!
Sorry you're having a rough time! ): I hope that this new information from your tests will help you clear up quickly.
I had high androgens (testosterone) and low progesterone/high estrogen but am now clear, so it is possible to fix everything. You can read more in my topic here. I took down the pics but I can send them to you if you'd like. I had most of the side effects you listed (except oily skin) and progesterone helped with all of them. I still occasionally use progesterone but have found I don't need it nearly as often. I also still use DIM but at a much lower dose and less frequently... I guess hormones can eventually regulate themselves sometimes! (:
My biggest tip with progesterone is that if you are breaking out or have symptoms return when you take a break, to try using it daily instead of just days 12-28 or whatever. This is completely safe. When I first started using NPC the symptoms would rush back if I took a break. After months of using it daily and getting my progesterone levels up consistently, it no longer happened. 25mg is a pretty low dose too... most progesterone creams suggest to use 40mg daily.
Spiro should help with excess androgens and it can also be estrogenic, which might be good for you. Even though you are still breaking out at 11 weeks, please continue to be patient it took 4 months for me to START clearing on it and I wasn't completely clear until 6 months. I don't know about Yasmin combined with spiro but some have had success with that combo. Again, it would probably help if you needed to up your estrogen. If you don't see results from spiro by six months, I would start to wonder if Yasmin was causing the problem.
Anyway, I hope that helps! If you have any more questions feel free to ask. Good luck! I wish you the best and clear skin! (:
Hi Hearts! So my natropath recommended Pregnenolone since that is the precusor and that is SUPER low as well in my tests. Do you know anything about that? Also, where do you purchase your Progesterone cream from, looking online and can't seem to find the best!
You could definitely try pregnenolone out... it is a precursor to progesterone but the problem is that it is also a precursor to DHEA so it could go either way. If your skin gets worse or you get more side effects on it (after enough time), you might want to try progesterone cream instead since you are just trying to raise that. I don't want to scare you though I have read anecdotes of people's acne clearing on pregnenolone.
There are a lot of different brands of NPC out there that are good... I started with Emerita because of availability in my area at the time. Here is a link on Amazon. Emerita also sells it in single use packets which is nice if you're just starting out. They sell NPC in most health/natural food stores like Whole Foods, Sprouts, Vitamin Cottage, etc. Other brands I've tried are Natpro and Kokoro.
One other thing I want to mention is that you might want to make sure that you are getting enough vitamin D, as it supports progesterone and regulating hormones. Boston isn't the warmest place and even people who get a lot of sun can be deficient.
I'll send my before/after pics to you to follow. I really hope pregnenolone works for you! Please keep us updated. (:
Luckily my D levels and Cholesterol were tested which help with Progesterone/Pregnenolone! So I am good to go there. THANK YOU AGAIN!
Hi Hearts! So my natropath recommended Pregnenolone since that is the precusor and that is SUPER low as well in my tests. Do you know anything about that? Also, where do you purchase your Progesterone cream from, looking online and can't seem to find the best!
You could definitely try pregnenolone out... it is a precursor to progesterone but the problem is that it is also a precursor to DHEA so it could go either way. If your skin gets worse or you get more side effects on it (after enough time), you might want to try progesterone cream instead since you are just trying to raise that. I don't want to scare you though I have read anecdotes of people's acne clearing on pregnenolone.
There are a lot of different brands of NPC out there that are good... I started with Emerita because of availability in my area at the time. Here is a link on Amazon. Emerita also sells it in single use packets which is nice if you're just starting out. They sell NPC in most health/natural food stores like Whole Foods, Sprouts, Vitamin Cottage, etc. Other brands I've tried are Natpro and Kokoro.
One other thing I want to mention is that you might want to make sure that you are getting enough vitamin D, as it supports progesterone and regulating hormones. Boston isn't the warmest place and even people who get a lot of sun can be deficient.
I'll send my before/after pics to you to follow. I really hope pregnenolone works for you! Please keep us updated. (: