Hormone Connection

[Nymph]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2787302/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2688171/?tool=pubmed&utm_source=REFERENCES_R7&LS-2659

There are more that I have found previously but those are the ones I have bookmarked. I think I had one on FB awhile ago so I will look for that, too.

[JustAMom]

Thanks Nymph, very helpful!

[araminta]

This is all extremely interesting and I am tempted to try progesterone cream.   But isn't there a connection between progesterone and blood clotting problems?

[JustAMom]

A good question araminta! Thanks for bringing it up.
    I am no doctor for sure and certainly all risk factors with anything must be considered. Safety first, and caution in all things. Always!
From what I can glean in the data out there, it is oral progesterone, actually 'progestin' that carries this risk primarily, and the study that made this FDA warning was actually testing oral progestins. Bio-identical creams are credited with normalizing blood clotting overall. There are a few accounts out there of women who reacted somewhat negatively, but there is also the argument that it can excite estrogen receptors at first which is what causes adverse effects. Hormones are tricky business to be sure, and no one should dive in uninformed nor take undue risks. Controversy on the topic is ongoing. Always make an informed choice, of course. It's always a matter of weighing pros and cons with anything.

A few informative links regarding safety -

"Studies of both bioidentical estrogens and progesterone suggest a reduced risk of blood clots compared to non-bioidentical preparations"
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=17217322&dopt=Citation

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18395237

natural-progesterone-advisory-network.com/prometrium-lupus-and-blood-clots/

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/09/18/oral-progesterone-and-progesterone-cream-complications.aspx
lifeextension.com/magazine/2009/10/Bioidentical-Hormones/Page-02

I am not trying to persuade anyone of anything and of course would advise to always make informed choices and consult trusted professionals. Before suggesting it to my daughter I of course did look into it a good degree. She had far more risk of blood clots while being on birth control pills all those years. I'm relieved she is off them. Considering the damage this dryness was doing to her body, and her mind, the minor risk of the cream seemed quite negligible in comparison. But that decision has to be an individual one of course. There is not much of anything that is 100% risk free and always of course any current health conditions and medications must be taken into account. All I can attest to is it's amazing effect in returning my girl's moisture almost completely and with a very small dose. I would encourage anyone please to do their homework before taking anything.

[bluegardenia]

hi everybody, may be i missed something  and im sorry if my questions are stupid but justamom you wrote that your daughter is negative for sjogren? did she have a lip biopsy?  may be her dryness is due to something else? im making random questions just to try to understand why this hormone thing is so underrated by doctors!!!i would also like to try progesterone and ill ask my doctors to find out if it does not have any contrary effects on my other conditions, thanks anyway for giviong these info

[JustAMom]

Hi bluegardenia, all good questions. Sorry if I glossed over those details.

No, my daughter never had a biopsy and all blood tests of all kinds came up negative. No autoimmune markers. No diagnosis of any kind from anybody. She was looking to get a rheumy referral for further testing because all the docs she saw, including an ENT, Opthamologist, and Endocrinologist multiple times each, and an infection specialist all told her it looked like Sjorgren's... must be Sjogren's, or Lupus, because it's not anything else she was told on several occasions. They about had us convinced, and I think it would've been just a matter of time before she would have had that biopsy. I'm very glad she was spared that journey. We decided to try the progesterone cream when discovering the hormonal link with dry eye and Sjogren's. An astonishing result it was, and it's a shame not a single doc thought of it, even with her having a history of menstrual distress.

I just felt compelled to share her experience in case it might help someone else who is also experiencing symptoms without a diagnosis. It was years of misery before we stumbled on the answer. I intend to educate those doctors too so that they might be able to help the next person. Especially the Opthamologist and the Endo who completely missed it!

[bluegardenia]

its amazing that none of those doctors did not send you at once to see a rheumatologist!!!most of all if they had a suspicion of sjogren or lupus,im happy for you that you got the answer or ,better the solution.anyway the lip biopsy is not like going shopping but its not that terrible as you could think if you have a good oral masto (i dont know how you say in english, im from italy) surgeon who has a good practice with that.i was lucky and i wanted 2!!!the first came out negative and second positive. ciao

[Carolina]

Hi, just chiming in.  I'm 75 and still use an estrogen gel daily.  It is from a compounding pharmacy and my doctor writes the prescription.

I don't have a uterus, and have been post menopausal for 34 years, since age 41. 

I've had progesterone, before the hysterectomy.  And I did have a gynecologist who prescribed testosterone as well, but I haven't taken that for several years.

My husband, who is 78, does have a testosterone gel he uses.  Also by prescription.

Regards,  Elaine

[araminta]

Thank you very much for the extra information, JustaMom and Carolina.   I understand we have to look at our own personal health history and be cautious about everything we take.   Anyway, I've ordered some.   I'm going to use it as sparingly as possible and give it a couple of months.   Here's hoping!

[JustAMom]

Thanks for chiming in Carolina. It is interesting that topical hormones are what are being recommended. From what I've been able to discern, it is the preferable method when it comes to hormones, both safer and more effective.

araminta you are wise to be cautious of course, always. Do be sure to get the natural variety! There are reports that sometimes at first estrogen receptors react excitedly when progesterone is first introduced, making symptoms spike a bit, but it is the estrogen, not the progesterone that is responsible. A bit on that here:
natural-progesterone-advisory-network.com/are-there-any-side-effects-using-natural-progesterone/ 

One thing I learned too is how important Vitamin D3 is in assisting our bodies to use progesterone efficiently, so it's worth mentioning as well.

More than anything, what I am hoping to express here, is that hormones need to be considered and looked at, I'm not selling progesterone cream. If they had thought to consider my daughter's hormonal balance, years of suffering would have been avoided. Her decision to self medicate was out of desperation. Scores of doctors failed to find, or even look for the cause of her distress. Hormones never once came up. Basically she was reaching for the only thing yet untried. Doctors were only focusing on symptoms and never addressing the cause, as it if were some unsolvable mystery. Now we know, finally, that it was hormones, so now she knows the proper testing that will be necessary, and the type of doctor that can help her sort out her imbalances.

[Sharon]

So just wanted to update on this topic:
I have now been using a natural progesterone cream for over a month (Emerita) and apply as suggested here.
I can't yet say if it's helping with the dryness, but it has calmed my nerves a lot!
For this reason alone I would continue using it long-term.
Has it been helping anyone else here?

[JustAMom]

Good to hear you're finding some benefit from the progesterone cream Sharon. Wish you could say it's brought some moisture relief, but calming the nerves is definitely a huge plus!

My daughter continues to do well, we are still amazed. She has recently switched to the Emerita brand, it has a much finer consistency. Results are the same, consistent and stable moisture continues.

I have had a positive report from someone on the dry eye forum who noticed some relief right away within the first few days. She is about the same age as my daughter, 25. It's been a few weeks for her now, so so far so good! 

[Sharon]

That's great to hear JustAMom!
Some additional benefits I've noticed on the progesterone:
-Better urine retention
-Moisture throughout the day on the "area of application" you suggested
-increased appetite (that's good in my case!)
-Deeper sleep

I had been only using it once in the evening up until this week.
I now began using it in the morning as well, so we'll see if anything else improves.

Thanks again!
Sharon

[bluegardenia]

ciao sharon, where did you ger your cream? on line?

[Sharon]

Ciao Blue, yes I ordered my cream online  through iherb.
I order most of my supplements through them.