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We have all these symptoms - We are at rock bottom and our choices are between surgery and medication neither of which may help AND most importantly the root cause is not being identified/addressed
what can we do? - were they connected? - and how were they connected???
My symptoms included: High estrogen, low progesterone, low thyroid function,fibrocystic breast disease,uterine fibroids,endometrioma (chocolate cyst), endometriosis, panic attacks
What did I learn??
By the time we hit our thirties our progesterone levels begin to fall more quickly than our estrogen levels, creating estrogen dominance. If left uncorrected, this imbalance
of progesterone and estrogen progressively worsens over time and many undesirable side effects can appear including PMS, migraine, fluid retention,
fibrocystic breast disease, uterine fibroids, weight gain (as our fat cells also produce estrogen) menorrhagia (heavy, painful menstrual periods), endometriosis and hypothyroidism
We also need to factor in a further contributor to estrogen dominance which is the presence of xenoestrogens in our bodies. These chemicals are stored in our fat cells and mimic or behave like estrogen and can be found in our everyday lives in petrochemical products such as plastics, herbicides, pesticides, soaps, clothing, industrial by-products, and countless other manufactured goods.
When estrogen levels are high, the liver is unable to cope and therefore produces high levels of thyroid-binding globulin (TBG),this being a protein that binds to your thyroid hormones in the blood and prevents them from being taken up by the cells.
Birth control pills, pregnancy, and synthetic estrogens prescribed during and after menopause also cause estrogen dominance and increased levels of TBG.
So where are we going with all this?? Let's have a look at the thyroid
We are suffering from estrogen dominance and maybe told we have a normally functioning thyroid gland that produces adequate amounts of thyroid hormone, and our blood tests to measure levels of thyroid hormone and thyroid-stimulating hormone may be read as “normal.” However, because the hormone is bound to and inactivated by circulating proteins, little of it is actually getting into our cells
What does this lead to? Low thyroid function and without adequate thyroid hormone you cannot produce progesterone which results in oestrogen dominance (all of its associated problems) and lastly is the cause of endo
A good indicator of thyroid problems (as developed by Dr Broda Otto Barnes) is low (below 36.6C /97.8F degrees) basal body temperature.Anything below this temperature will likely indicate that you are hypothyroid which is likely to be the cause of your endo and oestrogen dominance symptons and without adeqaute thyroid hormone you can not produce progesterone (which is what we need to balance the estrogen)
I am going to introduce IODINE here. I came across iodine by accident when looking at treatment for fibrocystic breast disease and I had not realised the importance of it for our body. (had over 17 cysts in one breast - now all gone thanks to iodine - I diluted it down with water (you can also mix it with some coconut oil - less messy) and paint on to the breasts). Much later I also learned (from a Jorge Flechas talk) that using lavender oil in conjunction with iodine on breast tissue is beneficial (again it must be diluted down or mixed with coconut oil)
So what was iodine - could it help me in any other way???? Did I have sufficient levels? I discovered that it is vital for health and without it you cannot produce thyroid hormone and any gland that secretes (ovaries, breasts, salivary glands, prostate) require iodine to function correctly
An important note in relation to our thyroid hormones T3 and T4 these are named for the number of iodine atoms that make up their molecular structure - so T4 has 4 iodine atoms attached to it, and T3 has 3
I recommend Dr Brownstein’s book Iodine Why You Need It
His message is very loud and clear - Iodine deficiency is a significant factor in the thyroid equation whether there is an autoimmune component or not, however it is certainly not the only factor. Iodine alone won’t address the dietary, environmental and lifestyle factors, or the additional nutrient deficiencies that together form the complete picture when it comes to addressing thyroid dysfunction.
Bio Identical Progesterone cream is something else I came across by accident. I found a copy of John R. Lee - What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause which I thought would not be relative to my problems. However I was so so WRONG - It was as if it had been written for me. If you are going to purchase a book make it this one
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