Progesterone

I have now taken the two 50-mL doses of progesterone (Thursday and Friday nights) and one 100-mL dose (last night).

The progesterone definitely seems to be helping me. Prior to starting it, I had been taking small doses of Xanax (0.25 mg at a time) for symptom relief during the mid-cycle mood swings. Recently my nervous system has been on constant full alert, and my doctor had me increase the frequency of my Xanax dose to help me function. On Friday evening, I realized that I had completely forgotten to take any Xanax. The feeling of being on Red Alert was gone, my mood was lighter, and I was relaxed and smiling. This continued throughout the day yesterday. I actually got sleepy in the evening before taking my sleeping pill, something that has not happened for years, and I slept more deeply.

Yesterday I also noticed that my heart was no longer racing. When I took my pulse, my resting heart rate was down to 72. It has been in the mid-90's for the past several months.

This was all truly wonderful. The only negative was that my vaginal yeast infection (chronic on my Lyme meds, but controlled for the past few months) flared up again after the first progesterone dose.

Last night I used the first 100-mL dose of progesterone. This dose of progesterone is definitely too high.

I took my sleeping pill at 11:00 PM, and applied the progesterone cream to my left arm at 11:30. Whereas the previous two nights I was asleep by about 12:15, last night the feeling of being on Red Alert came back in full force, with anxiety and muscle spasms that started at about midnight. I was wide awake at 2:00 AM, and had to take 0.25 mg Xanax in order to get to sleep. Still, I was up till after 2:30 AM. This morning I woke up feeling drugged and foggy, and my heart rate upon waking was 89.

My conclusion from this is that the progesterone is working, but that the positive effects seem to be reversed at the higher dose. This seems counterintuitive, but I did not change the doses of any of my other medications or supplements during the past three days, so I can't ascribe the reversal to anything else.

I am doing to drop back down to the 50-mL dose and, if the initial positive response returns, I will stay on that dose for the rest of this cycle. The Red Alert feeling is not subtle, and I figure I can always add a few mLs of extra cream in a morning dose if needed.

What I have learned from this experience:

1. I may be related to Goldilocks.
2. Hormones affect a lot of processes in the human body, and small dose changes can make a BIG difference.