Women and hormones- PMS

Female hormones, hormonal imbalance, estrogen levels, progesterone levels, menopause, to use drug based hormones or natural hormones. There are so many questions. I would like to hit on all of these subjects. Today I am going to touch on PMS and how to deal with it.

As a chiropractor, I have had many patients who complain of PMS (premenstrual syndrome). Current estimates are that severe PMS occurs in 2.5 to 5% of pre-menopausal women, and mild PMS occurs in 33%. PMS symptoms occur two weeks before menstruation and sometimes even extend into menstruation itself. The most common symptoms are bloating, water retention, breast tenderness and lumpiness, headaches, fatigue, cramps, irritability, mood swings and anxiety. There is no magic bullet for PMS but progesterone and nutrition can help. I am going to discuss progesterone in this article and cover other nutritional issues next time.

An imbalance in progesterone and estrogen levels can lead to a number of complications: osteoporosis, increased blood clotting, a reduction of oxygen and vital minerals in cells, menstruation without ovulation (anovulary cycles), and all the symptoms of menopause (hot flashes, irritability, sleep disturbance, breast swelling and tenderness). What causes this imbalance? Some causes are estrogen dominance in hormonal replacement therapy (HRT), environmental pollutants, hysterectomy and loss of ovaries. Studies have proved progesterone, not estrogen, fluctuates more during a woman’s menstruation cycle. Its presence becomes nearly obsolete after menopause. While doctors routinely prescribe estrogen to women experiencing these complications, it makes more sense to raise their progesterone level.

Symptoms of PMS may be caused by a lower than normal level of progesterone before menstruation. Dr. John R. Lee is the author of What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Menopause. The majority of his patients reported outstanding improvements in their PMS symptoms, including the absence of water retention and weight gain after supplementing with progesterone.

Many pre-menopausal women begin experiencing uncomfortable symptoms ten to fifteen years before entering menopause. At this time, they may still menstruate but not ovulate. This is due to dominant estrogen levels and a waning progesterone level. Symptoms may include erratic vaginal bleeding and heavier periods, loss of libido, fatigue, vaginal dryness, breast tenderness, depression, thyroid imbalance, poor memory retention, bloating and weight gain. Oftentimes doctors prescribe synthetic estrogen such as Premarin, which is made from horse urine, and synthetic progestins in an effort to counteract the estrogen’s breast and ovarian cancer risks. Because the structure of these hormones is different than those normally found in the human body, women taking them often experience a variety of uncomfortable body disturbances.

Natural progesterone is made through an extraction and conversion process of specific components from plants, such as the European wild yam or soybeans. It is a fat-soluble compound best dissolved in a vegetable oil and applied to the skin over fatty areas of the body. This allows the body to use the progesterone as needed. The liver excretes most of that taken orally, so topical progesterone is the better choice.

Stay tuned......