Re: Stephanie - Weight Gain = estro dominance?!
From: Stephanie (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Thu Jul 22 10:32:46 1999
Hi Yen,
How long have you been on the continuous bc pill? Is it a progestin only
pill? Have you noticed any other symptoms like increased hair growth or
anything?
I'll quote a couple passages of Dr Lee's book to answer your
questions...but there's alot more in here than I can type, so I'd
recommend getting it yourself as well!
On page 194, when talking about endo, he states..."What to Avoid:
Anything that creates estrogen dominance or high hormone levels (with
the exception of progesterone)..Birth Control pills".
On page 22, he gives the reasons for not taking the bc pill due to the
progestin (which is not progesterone)..."The birth control pills Denise
had been given were not truly progesterone, and not truly any single
male hormone, but had the qualities of both. No wonder her body was
confused." (Responding to her complaints of hair and irritability) He
goes on to say, "Taking one of the strange, not-found-in-nature
synthetic hormones created by the drug companies is one of the best and
quickest ways to confuse your body and throw it into a state of
imbalance. These drugs are created not because they work better than
natural hormones but rather because they can be patented, and patent
drugs have a much higher price tag than natural substances."
To answer your question about the estrogen dominance:
On page 45, he states, "Estrogen dominance...describes a condition where
a woman can have deficient, normal, or excessive estrogen but has little
or no progesterone to balance its effects in the body. Even a woman
with low estrogen levels can have estrogen-dominance symptoms if she
doesn't have any progesterone. The symptoms and conditions associated
with estrogen dominance are:
(I will only list a few!) Allergy symptoms, including asthma, hives,
rashes, sinus congestion; breast tenderness; cervical dysplasia;
decreased sex drive; depression with anxiety or agitation; endometrial
or breast cancer; fat gain, especially around the abdomen, hips and
thighs; fatigue; hair loss; headaches; hypoglycemia; infertility;
insomnia; irritability; memory loss; PMS; polycystic ovaries; thyroid
dysfunction mimicking hypothyroidism..."
Lastly on page 60, he compares estrogens effects to progesterones
effects. The list is long but he says that estrogen increases body fat
while progesterone helps use fat for energy.
My experience is that most doctors know nothing but what the drug
companies tell them...there are a few out there now that have read the
research and have started using natural hormones in balanced
amounts...my neighbor just found one here on Monday...I'll start going
to her soon.
My hormones when tested right before surgery were exactly like Dr Lee
said...I had almost no progesterone, which put me into estrogen
dominance...I have started taking natural hormones about 10 days ago and
I'm looking forward to the balancing effect on my body!
Sorry to get so long...like I said this book has so much information
that every friend I've shown it to has gone out and bought it! :-)
Love and Health,
Stephanie
At Thu, 22 Jul 1999, Yen wrote:
>
>Hi Stephanie,
>Stephanie, what you said is interesting but I'm not sure whether I
>understood you correctly. From what I've read in the past and from
>answers received from other drs, I was under the impression that it was
>progesterone that causes the weight gain. Are you telling me its the
>estrogen that is causing the weight gain? Then do women who have
>endometriosis gain weight due to our excess estrogen?!?! I've been
>trying to figure this out because ever since I've had these
>endometriosis problems, I've acquired this fattiness and weight gain of
>at least 10 lbs which I absolutely cannot get rid of!!! The treadmill,
>dieting, nothing works!
>I'm still on the continuous bc pill but the weight problems started
>before going continuously on the bc pill.
>Yen, Tx
>
>At Wed, 21 Jul 1999, Stephanie wrote:
>>
>>Hey Colleen,
>>
>>Sorry to hear of your returned pain...yes, it could be endo or
>>adhesions...either way it hurts, huh! :-(
>>
>>I had surgery recently, but not a hyst, so I can't comment on that...but
>>I would like to comment on the estrogen therapy. My hormones have been
>>majorly messed up, so I have studied this alot recently. It is
>>absolutely inappropriate and totally common for doctors to give women
>>unopposed estrogen after a complete hyst...they feel that "you don't
>>have a uterus, so why would you need progesterone?" Do you still have
>>skin...a heart...bones? Progesterone works on all those things as well!
>>
>>Progesterone is one of the things that can HELP our endo...when the body
>>is estrogen dominant (which you probably are due to the weight
>>gain...that's a sure sign) the endo can really grow.
>>
>>It is also much more effective to take natural hormones...the ones that
>>are identical to what your body makes. The synthetic ones that the drug
>>companies make are "similar" but not identical to what the body
>>makes...otherwise, they couldn't patent it!! The body reacts much more
>>positively to natural hormones.
>>
>>Another thing I would warn you about is...my sister had a complete hyst
>>15 months ago...they put her on Premarin...while she was here taking
>>care of me after my surgery, we had her hormones tested (due to all the
>>side effects from her hyst..to name a few: 20 pound weight gain, severe
>>insomnia, irritability, dry skin...). Depending on where you are in
>>your cycle, a women's estrogen can be anywhere from 60-437...hers was
>>865!! This doctor put her on a hormone...listened to her complaints (all
>>of which are due to estrogen dominance)...and left her on the same
>>amount without ever testing her!! It's a crime the misery she has been
>>in for the last year...and the doctors act like she's a hypochondriac or
>>something!
>>
>>Sorry to go on for so long...there's a book with tons of good
>>information for any woman no matter her age called "What Your Doctor May
>>Not Tell You About Premenopause...Balance your hormones and your life
>>from 30-50" by Dr John Lee...I strongly recommend it as part of the
>>education we must do to make sure we get the best care!
>>
>>Love and Health,
>>Stephanie
>>
>>At Wed, 21 Jul 1999, Colleen wrote:
>>>
>>>I had a complete hyster in March with endo on back of uterus in culdesac
>>>and ligaments and also had adenomyosis. I had everything removed
>>>abdominally. My main pain before surgery was severe cramps and pain
>>>that woke me up every night across lower back then coming around to my
>>>stomach. Since surgery my pain in the night has been gone for months
>>>until about a month or so ago. I am so fearful the endo is back or
>>>maybe it is from adhesions. I have very close to the same pain I had
>>>before. I haven't even told my husband because he keeps talking about
>>>how glad he is I'm so much better and a new woman. I don't even want to
>>>face this and think about it. I have gained about 10 lbs. since
>>>starting on estrogen therapy and thought maybe the back pain was from
>>>that. I waited almost 2 months after surgery to start on ert.in hopes
>>>that any endo would die off and my dr. felt confident. Someone I heard
>>>said that they had back pain for awhile after surgery from all the
>>>trauma done from exploring for endo and moving things around during
>>>surgery. Any thoughts on this or similar experiences would be
>>>appreciated.
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