sex lies and menopause

[dani]

Yes, that's what the doc said and probably true. The rest of the iron panel, all with normal range.

Iron Bind.Cap.(TIBC) 333 326 12/21/2023 ug/dL 250-450
UIBC 01 243 213 12/21/2023 ug/dL 118-369
Iron 01 90 113 12/21/2023 ug/dL 27-139
Iron Saturation 27

Yes, your ferritin level signals inflammation. You need to find out what is causing it. The most common cause is an unhealthy gut biome. To treat an unhealthy gut, we use the 5R program. Remove, replace, re-inoculate, repair, and rebalance. Remove: without a gut test, it is hard to know what to remove (examples are parasites, certain medicines and supplements, food sensitivities) I would avoid gluten and dairy, eat lots of green leafy vegetables to start. Replace: Add a digestive enzyme (take with meals) and soluble fiber into your diet. Reinoculate: Take a pre and pro biotic. A mixed probiotic containing 10 billion to 3.6 trillion cfus, lactobacillus strains 10-100 billion cfus, saccharomyces boulardii 500mg-3gm, or bifidobacterium strains 10-100 billion cfus. I take a probiotic twice a day and alternate what a purchase of all these types. When I run out of one, I order a different one for the next bottle. Prebiotics provide food for the probiotic bacteria. Inulin, larch arainogalactan, and fruit-oligosaccharides (FOS) are common ones. You can also eat onions, legumes, and garlic which contain inulin. Repair: There are multiple supplements that help repair the gut, but the main three are vitamin D, omega 3, and L-glutamine. Rebalance: This is where you incorporate a healthy lifestyle to support the gut. Yoga, mindful eating and better food choices, getting adequate sleep (6.5 hours is the minimum), meditation, stress management, and exercise (4 days a week of 1 hour duration is ideal)

Once your gut is repaired, it can then be determined if there is anything else to address that may be causing your inflammation. Hormone levels should be evaluated.

 

[dani]

Thank you @dani for sharing and helping!



My question would be, how do I know when to start with patches/cream/...? I´m 43 now and I don´t think I have pre-menopause symptoms pronounced - yet (or I assign them to PMS) - but I understood from reading around that at one point estrogen starts dropping very quickly and usually women start with replacement when it is already down; so when it is already (too) late... You see what I mean?
What do you think?
I haven´t done thyroid test, I only had a general check-up around 6 months ago and from the bloodwork doctor said she concludes that thyroid levels are optimal.



For how long now? I woke up at 3:00 this week already twice, this night included; I had a weird dream in both cases, I woke up, and couldn´t sleep until 6:00. Many people in How are you feeling? thread reported the same.
It might be apnea as Nienna suggests, or might be general "vibe" that is doing rounds around the globe.

IF you are not symptomatic, I wouldn't start anything. Progesterone deficiency is the first sign of perimenopause. You can see my advice on hormones and perimenopause a few posts back. When you get to the stage that you need to add estrogen, a patch may be used, but patches only contain estradiol and not estriol. Estriol is protective against breast cancer. As a matter of fact, there are currently many studies ongoing using estriol cream to treat breast cancer. If you can't get an estrogen cream (biest: estradiol and estriol), a patch would be a decent alternative. Menopause is a stair structure, not linear. You go along great for a while and then you have a change... you moved down a stair. That is the reason you have read that estrogen drops quickly. I hope that makes sense.

 

[dani]

Interesting I was reading this thread this morning and my fiancee was just prescribed a progesterone pill called Regulate to deal with her PCOS. It’s not exactly menopause but I was wondering if anyone has any experience with this pill or using progesterone to treat pcos? I’m cautious since the doctor described it as experimental.

I’m at work right now so I’d need to look into it once I have a moment.

I have never heard of this particular medicine. Progesterone is used in PCOS. Bio-identical progesterone pills should be taken on days 14-25 of the cycle to regulate. I will dive into this topic this weekend.

 

[hlat]

T.S. Wiley, the author of Sex, Lies, and Menopause, created a hormone replacement system where estrogen peaks on day 12 and progesterone peaks on day 21. Wiley protocol's optimum ranges for women include:

Day 12 estradiol – 350 to 550 pg/mL
Day 12 progesterone should be 1-2

Day 21 progesterone 10 -22 ng/mL.
Day 21 estrogen should be 150-250.

Day 13-14 Female Testosterone 14-76 ng/dL
...
Note: These ranges are for a healthy, young 20-25 year old. It is best to use the same lab so the measurement is consistent.

The Wiley Protocol does not look for a static ratio of estradiol to Wiley. However, T.S. Wiley advocates achieving an inverse relationship between estradiol and progesterone blood values on day 12 and 21 to help adjust the dose for accuracy. “Day 12’s estrogen and progesterone readings should be inverse to Day 21 for example, Day 12, E-425, P-1.7 versus Day 21, E-150, P-21.”

Frequently Asked Questions

WP vs Other Bio-identical Hormone Replacement WHAT ARE BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES? Bio-identical hormones are molecules that are the same as the hormones produced by your body, called endogenous hormones. Bio-identical hormone products are usually created from natural sources of plant hormones which...

wileyprotocol.com

Wiley protocol also explains why the hormones are delivered as a cream to the skin.

The goal of the Wiley Protocol is to re-create, as much as possible the natural state of hormones of a young woman. That means the hormones need to be rubbed into the thin skin covering a fat pad That creates a depot of hormone in the fat. As the heart beats at various rates and intensity the body will pull the hormone from the fat as needed. In a natural state, hormones have amplitude and pulsing in our bodies. When we re-create this our bodies will read the hormone molecules as hormones.

Wiley protocol also talks about thyroid.

In a healthy young woman there is an inverse relationship between estrogen and thyroid. When the estrogen is high, the TSH is low, meaning the body has less need for thyroid. When the estrogen is low the TSH goes up, indicating a need for more thyroid. The thyroid hormone T-3 creates estrogen receptors. When you add in hormones from the outside, then you need to take that into account. There is a Wiley Thyroid cream available that addresses this.

 

[hlat]

Yes, that's what the doc said and probably true. The rest of the iron panel, all with normal range.

Iron Bind.Cap.(TIBC) 333 326 12/21/2023 ug/dL 250-450
UIBC 01 243 213 12/21/2023 ug/dL 118-369
Iron 01 90 113 12/21/2023 ug/dL 27-139
Iron Saturation 27

If your iron is 90 (since 90/333 = 27%) and not 113, then I think your iron is a bit low. 113 was good. Who told you to donate blood because you have high iron?

 

[dani]

If your iron is 90 (since 90/333 = 27%) and not 113, then I think your iron is a bit low. 113 was good. Who told you to donate blood because you have high iron?

It was Ferritin that was high. Not iron.

 

[Mrs. Peel]

Yes, your ferritin level signals inflammation. You need to find out what is causing it. The most common cause is an unhealthy gut biome.

Oh, I forgot to mention I have Sjogren's Syndrome. I also already take digestive enzymes and probiotics. I've even used colostrum and several gut repairing supplements (Dr. Amy Myers was one of them). I have to be careful of omega 3s because my eye doc said fish oil can thin the eye vitreous and mine's already prone to vitreous detachments. I've got acid reflux (reported in an endoscopy over the summer even though I don't feel any acid) so I need to be careful of stuff like onions. garlic, and beans. I've been doing what I can for "leaky gut" for a while now. Until I get the high cortisol resolved, sleep is fragmented. Do have any favorite brands of probiotics?

 

[Mrs. Peel]

Who told you to donate blood because you have high iron?

That was discussed in the high ferritin thread as a way to lower it.

 

[dani]

Oh, I forgot to mention I have Sjogren's Syndrome. I also already take digestive enzymes and probiotics. I've even used colostrum and several gut repairing supplements (Dr. Amy Myers was one of them). I have to be careful of omega 3s because my eye doc said fish oil can thin the eye vitreous and mine's already prone to vitreous detachments. I've got acid reflux (reported in an endoscopy over the summer even though I don't feel any acid) so I need to be careful of stuff like onions. garlic, and beans. I've been doing what I can for "leaky gut" for a while now. Until I get the high cortisol resolved, sleep is fragmented. Do have any favorite brands of probiotics?

I like physician's choice mixed probiotic and microbiome labs megaspore biotic.

 

[dani]

T.S. Wiley, the author of Sex, Lies, and Menopause, created a hormone replacement system where estrogen peaks on day 12 and progesterone peaks on day 21. Wiley protocol's optimum ranges for women include:

Frequently Asked Questions

WP vs Other Bio-identical Hormone Replacement WHAT ARE BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES? Bio-identical hormones are molecules that are the same as the hormones produced by your body, called endogenous hormones. Bio-identical hormone products are usually created from natural sources of plant hormones which...

wileyprotocol.com

Wiley protocol also explains why the hormones are delivered as a cream to the skin.


Wiley protocol also talks about thyroid.

Well there is a lot of truth mixed with some unfounded ideas as well. The idea that cycle days 12 and 21 are inversely related is interesting. It is true that estrogen peaks on cycle days 12-14 in women on a 28 day cycle. Same is said for progesterone peaking on cycle day 21. In that sense, they are 'inversely' related. It seems he is implying that we should re-create an internal environment of a 25 year old woman. However, I believe most women would not want to have cycles far beyond menopause. The higher levels of estradiol seen in younger women are not necessary to achieve the healthy benefits. HRT's goal is to maintain the positive effects of estrogen, without the complications. Higher estradiol levels (higher than treatment range) are a risk factor for developing hormonally related cancers. In addition, high estrogen levels can cause anxiety, fibrocystic breast disease, cervical dysplasia, bloating, mood swings. poor sleep, weight gain, etc. I don't think it is a good idea to recreate our hormones at 25 when we are not 25. The idea that high estrogen makes the body require less thyroid hormone is questionable. Hypothyroidism can cause low estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, but I have not seen or read any studies suggesting what is mentioned in this book. I also shy away from anyone recommending their own supplements. That doesn't mean his recommendation or cream are bad, I just can't verify it. I have over 2000 studies which I draw my recommendations from, none of which are sponsored by big Pharma or any biases. I can supply a link if you are interested. I tend to take any one person's advice with some hesitation. I need to check all resources for those recommendations before I trust it. I guess I am a bit cynical in that way. Anyway, not to bash this book as some of it may be very good, but I prefer to use scientific methods of discovery to make recommendations. FYI the studies I am referencing are not just western studies. Eastern, ancient, etc studies are a part of the whole picture which leads to the recommendations I am giving.

 

[Mrs. Peel]

I like physician's choice mixed probiotic and microbiome labs megaspore biotic

There seems to be several varieties of those brands, could you maybe give an Amazon link to the ones in particular?

 

[dani]

There seems to be several varieties of those brands, could you maybe give an Amazon link to the ones in particular?

FYI I have never heard of omega 3 being a risk factor for anything. As a matter of fact, it is one of those super supplements that helps pretty much everything. Now, that being said, I am not at all an expert on eyes. I do not have much training in this field other than regular eye infections and some knowledge of macular degeneration for which omega 3 is recommended. I asked chatGPT about what you mentioned and here is what is said:

There is currently no strong evidence to suggest that omega-3 fatty acids pose a significant risk of causing posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). PVD occurs naturally as people age, when the vitreous gel inside the eye shrinks and separates from the retina. Most PVDs occur as part of the normal aging process and are not linked to dietary factors like omega-3 intake.

In fact, omega-3 fatty acids are generally known for their benefits to eye health. They are found in fish oils and play a role in reducing inflammation, improving retinal function, and may even help prevent conditions like dry eye disease and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

I would potentially get a second opinion on that advice.
Here are the links to the 2 probiotics I suggested: Amazon.com and Amazon.com. I really like the second one.

 

[dani]

Thank you for sharing Chu!

Just watched the videos, very fascinating.

I also searched online if there is a possibility to get hormonal creams over the counter in Germany and it seems that here as well the situation is the same as everywhere else - prescription only.

I just wanted to point out that progesterone creams should be helpful. They are a reasonable alternative for cycling and perimenopausal women. However, postmenopausal women should only use oral progesterone because the breast protective aspect of progesterone is only achieved through oral administration.

 

[dani]

That was discussed in the high ferritin thread as a way to lower it.

Blood donation is definitely a way to reduce ferritin, however, it does not address the root of the problem, inflammation.

 

[hlat]

Higher estradiol levels (higher than treatment range) are a risk factor for developing hormonally related cancers. In addition, high estrogen levels can cause anxiety, fibrocystic breast disease, cervical dysplasia, bloating, mood swings. poor sleep, weight gain, etc.

I don't think either of us are advocating estradiol higher than treatment range. Do you agree that a peak of estradiol on day 12 in the range 350 to 550 pg/mL is safe and is not a risk factor for developing hormonally related cancers and does not cause anxiety, fibrocystic breast disease, cervical dysplasia, bloating, mood swings. poor sleep, or weight gain?