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In my search to figure out why my periods are still MIA for months at a time, I have read a lot about Estrogen Dominance and Low Progesterone. I have a lot of the symptoms of both, which is pretty crazy, going from having no estrogen while in my ED to having too much…I also wonder if it could be part of the reason why I still struggle, after almost a year and a half, to get my temps up higher then 98.2.
Does sleeping/reducing stress help with this? Is there anything else I can do that is not exercise/food restriction centered?
I suppose I may just be searching for things that are not really there, but am trying to understand what may be happening with my body.
Thanks!
You probably are just underproducing progesterone because your metabolism isn’t all the way back up to par. A surplus of food, sleep, and rest and relaxation is usually all it takes. Sometimes a little extra help from thyroid meds are needed but that’s a last resort.
Thanks Matt. I’ve actually been taking thyroid meds for the last year. They didn’t make any noticeable difference, and have actually been thinking about going off them as of late. I feel like my temp is stuck despite eating 3000 calories. But, I guess it could also be because of my inability to get a good night’s sleep. Sigh. I hate that it is taking so long to get my body back in order.
Courage12,
I’ve been having similar issues with my cycle despite having regular 98 temps. I was having regular cycles for about 3 months after referring for 6 months, started to exercise again maybe for about 2 weeks only 2 days a week, nothing crazy and then I started having a withdrawal bleed most likely from not enough progesterone, and have been spotting for a month. So like you, while my temps are up, I guess my hormones aren’t quite there yet. I wonder though how much abdominal fat might be part of the problem. I know abdominal adipose tissue is a potent endocrine factory and can potentiate a androgenic state. It seems like a catch 22. You need to eat more to get the metabolism going and hopefully regulate the hormones, but gaining more weight can add to abdominal fat which can interfere with hormone levels.Yeah, I am in a definite Catch-22. I have gained a lot of weight. I mean a lot. I did a serious number on my body with my ED and overexercising, and I paid for it with serious weight gain and really bad water retention. Obviously, as someone recovering from an ED, I can’t attempt to lose weight, and that is one of the first things any doctor says to me. I am also not supposed to exercise yet either. It took me 10 months of recovery to get my first period, and now, 6 months later, I haven’t had another. I have no doubt that I am estrogen dominant from all the times my body has tried to ovulate and hasn’t made it, but I have no idea what else to do to help, or if it will eventually figure itself out on its own. It really bothers me not having a period, and not seeing a bigger rise in my temps when it seems so easy for some other people. Sigh.
I second the sigh, I’ve also gained a butt ton of weight first from being pregnant then post-partum it just stacked on, then another 30 on top of it from re-feeding. So I completely understand the frustration. Have you ever been told you have PCOS? I do so I know that’s a factor in my cycle irregularity but I was hoping that eating for heat would help. Which it has to an extent but like you, I’m not sure where to go from here.
Well…I’m not sure how I feel about PCOS. I was regular as clockwork before I had my daughter and fell back in to my ED. I can’t imagine that I would have suddenly developed PCOS in my early 30s. That isn’t to say I might not have some symptoms of PCOS. It is all so very confusing, and I’d just like to have my period again. I often think that the fact I don’t have it contributes to the fact I have gained so much and still have water retention, etc. I’m so ready to move on with my life, but my body isn’t ready to let me yet.
I am curious how others have gone since posting here. I have followed the RRAFing for about 18mths and have felt a bit lost. I have just recently had some saliva tests that show estrogen dominance, low progesterone. low cortisol and that explains a lot for me. My main issue has been sleep problems and the other symptoms didn’t seem as much an issue. I think because I had been RRafing and being very compassionate on myself and not taking on more that I could do, I seemed to handle it and yet it was not OK really. I just feel tired a lot, lack enthusiasm, odd headaches, being a cranky mum, leaky bladder and just feeling low.
So I have gone back to checking my temps and noticed that my temps are now higher 37 (98.5ish) ? 37.2 (99) after lunch and dinner and even bedtime. I don’t ever recall having that high temps when I first checked early in RRAFing. So I am quietly excited that at least these temps are higher. Wakeup temps were around 36.4 (97.5) till ovulation then 36.6 (98). Even these are up a bit as I recall much lower numbers around 36.1/36.2 (97).
Ironically my sleep has gone bad again (frequent wakeups, light sleep )and I notice it is worse in the second half of my cycle (progesterone likely). When I had the saliva testing I was given some recommendations to help balance the hormones and yet I do wonder how much it is to do with improving my metabolism. The recommendations increasing fibre, reduce saturated fat, increasing phytoestrogenic foods, increasing cabbage family, exercise, losing excess fat mass to help the est dominance. I do question some of these.
So for now I keep trying to improve my metabolism and my day to day routines and trying to follow intuition on some of the other things. There certainly are some catch 22 like others have mentioned.
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