Progesterone hormone supplement and AP

[JBJBJB]

I read it was better to take care of hormone and yeast infection before AP. Two weeks ago, I went to a MD who practices holistic medicine. He prescribed me with Progesterone hormone supplement. He said it is natural progesterone. I am taking 50 mg of it and also Diflucan 200 mg once a week.

Since I have a terrible time to sleep, meaning wake up in two hours, can't go back to sleep, he said progesterone can help me with my sleep.

My question here for every one is how long this progesterone hormone supplement should be taken and its side effects. I know one thing, it really bothers my raynaud's.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

JB

 

[Maz]

Hi JB,

I did a bit of research on this when I took bio-identical hormones a few years ago, myself. Bio-identical progesterone, in and of itself, is pretty benign and is used often to help women regulate their cycles and help with difficult symptoms when transitioning through perimenopause. That's because progesterone is usually the first hormone to start waning in our 40s and, in most cases, at this age women tend to be pretty estrogen dominant.

My one concern about bio-identical progesterone is that it is made from plant sterols.

http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2001/june/sterols.htm

A quote from the above article states: “The sterols and sterolins are the 'cholesterol' of all higher plants and we as humans ingest these through our diets. The molecules were discovered as far back as 1922 but were never considered to have important biological activities until it was realized that due to the similarity in structure between the cholesterol and sterol molecules that the latter could be used to block the uptake of dietary cholesterol in individuals with raised plasma levels of cholesterol. We have seen in recent years the appearance of sterol-enriched margarines punted as cholesterol lowering foods.”

My concern about the above statement arises out of the fact that it is known that mycoplasma are cell-wall deficient organisms that are quite capable of survival outside of a host cell (as well as inside one!), meaning they don't possess their own cell wall and only an outer lipid layer. As such, these organisms sequester or steal these lipids in the form of cholesterol from the host organism as “food” for their sustenance and in order to thrive and reproduce.

As I understand it, plant-derived bio-identical hormones are named “bio-identical” because they perfectly fit into human hormone producing receptor cell sites, like keys fitting into a lock, and are accepted by the human body in a more 'natural' way than artificially produced hormones (incidentally, some hormones are also produced from horse urine and also said to be “natural”, but they aren't actualy natural to the human body).

Wikipedia defines “Lipids” as being:

“….any fat-soluble (lipophilic), naturally-occurring molecule, such as fats, oils, waxes, cholesterol, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The main biological functions of lipids include energy storage, acting as structural components of cell membranes, and participating as important signaling molecules.”

So all this raises a question in mind….namely, are the plant-derived sterols from which bio-identical hormones are derived possibly feeding the mycoplasma? Many do report relief of symptoms from rheumatoid disease when they use bio-identical hormones. However, is this symptomatic relief coming at a cost? Are the mycos just being kept happy with a ready food source? It certainly seems that when they aren't happy and dying off, we are herxing and our symptoms exacerbate.  Stress, too, has been linked to rheumatoid disease and, when under prolonged stress or experiencing a profound shock, for instance, our hormones go haywire….and, hey presto….a flare.

This question has been bothering me for some time and I intend on doing a bit more in-depth research and will go about asking a few of the myco experts about this….possibly Lida Mattman, Garth Nicholson and others. If anyone reading this has any further information on this, I'd be very interested to read it.

One thing that astonished me, is that my total cholesterol levels prior to getting sick, went from being on the high side (235) to being on the very low side (141) within the space of about 6 months. Cholesterol is the building block for our hormones and it occurred to me that the mycos must have been scrambling 'big time' for a food source when I was going through my worst period of herxing, after starting antibiotics.

Please bear in mind….this is just “a suspicion” on my part and I am just a layman patient, myself, seeking answers. However, these might be the types of questions you could put to your ND, if he/she believes in an infectious cause for your condition. There do seem to be very diverse schools of thought on this whole question, with the Marshall Protocol advising against the use of BHRT (bio-identical hormone replacement therapy) and many ND and AP docs who do recommend them for symptomatic relief.

I just felt it worth taking the time to throw out these questions, without wanting to create a stir, as I know many swear by the BHRT and couldn't do without it. 😉 I've also used them for the period of a year prior to the onset of my RA, but had to come off them as they were adding to an imbalance in my thyroid hormones. Hormone replacement of any kind can interrupt and also support the body's hormone cascade in healthy individuals. Three months after coming off them, however, when I also got Lyme, I had my initial flare of RA. I don't think this is a coincidence…as, not unlike women who find their RA remits during pregnancy when hormone levels are at their highest, they also find their disease returns with avengence several months post-partum. So, my belief is that while Lyme was the trigger that upset the apple cart, the withdrawl of my BHRT also added to the severity of my disease as it presented.

There is no doubt a connection with hormones and rheumatoid disease, particularly for women, and is just something that I feel is worth pursuing to obtain a balanced perspective about in an “out of the box” kind of way.

Peace, Maz

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