mood swing update

I had an appointment with a reproductive endocrinologist on Monday. She agreed with my psychiatrist that my mood swings are linked to my ovulation cycle. So, the next thing I'm going to try for my mood swings is progesterone. The big question has been what form to use. The endocrinologist offered me Implanon or Depo Provera shots. I was reluctant to try Implanon because of my multiple adverse reactions to plastic IVs (the "container" is a small plastic rod) and because I get hypertrophic scars; the doctor was reluctant to let me try Depo Provera because of my multiple adverse drug reactions (it's non-reversible and lasts for 3 months). Progesterone-only birth control pills are out because my blood pressure now spikes when I take BC pills.

I asked the doctor if she had any experience with bioidentical hormones, and she said no -- that it might be useful, but that she didn't know anything about the bioavailability or dosing. She said I'd probably need to block ovulation to get rid of the mood swings, but I'm wondering.

So I decided to try bioidentical progesterone. I found one called Progestelle that is available OTC. It only has 2 ingredients -- USP bioidentical progesterone from yams, in a base of fractionated coconut oil. (It is also available in other base oils, for those with a coconut allergy.) I already know that I'm not allergic to coconut oil, and the fractionation means that it remains liquid and has an indefinite shelf life. Very cool. Apparently the bioavailability of progesterone when it's used topically is very high; unlike oral forms, it bypasses the liver and goes straight into the bloodstream. The one I bought has 800 mg progesterone per ounce. My first order came today. It's used on days 6-26 of your cycle, so I'll be starting it in a couple of weeks.

I also put in a referral request at the Women's International Pharmacy for a doctor who is experienced with bioidentical hormones. I didn't realize such a doctor would be so hard to find.

In the meantime, I have been reading up on Xenoestrogens and how they can affect the body's estrogen and progesterone levels. Not pretty. Even just reading the abstracts has me reconsidering several products I have been using for years.