Can someone please tell me whether Progesterone is supposed to calm anxiety or not?
I am in surgical menopause and trying to use a tiny amount of vaginal estogen but I get really hyped up and anxious. I have been trying for two weeks but I am not tolerating it at all. My stomach is in knots and I feel like I am going off the planet! Although it has helped with libido I get so overwrought during sex I get huge hot flushes and have to stop
I have posted about this already and lots of people have suggested I use progesterone. I have been told by my doctor that I do not need it as I don't have a uterus-but......
I am a bit afraid to try anything else but I have been doing some research.
It seems that estrogen increases norepinephrine in the brain which can cause anxiety and panic in some women and I am certain that is what is happening to me.
I have read lots of posts here about Progesterone but opinions seem to be mixed. Some women say it makes them trembly, anxious and depressed while others say it calms them down.
What am I to believe? Is it trial and error?
I have some Progensa plus which I have only used without estrogen and it made me feel dreadful!
So should I try it along side the estrogen and how quickly would it work?
Any advice would be appreciated.

janet c

You'll never know if it will help unless you give it a try......good luck...

Using a compounded vaginal progesterone cream saved my life! It was the final puzzle piece for me that completely erased my anxiety and nervousness! Within three days of starting it I was a completely new person. I know a lot of ladies have problems with progesterone, but there are some of us who find it is the answer. You won't know until you try it!

ive also been using it for few months with no ill effects....

What if -- just what if -- progesterone could be the answer for you? I know the very hard time you have been having tolerating estradiol and especially estriol, and it's clear your system is particularly sensitive to hormones. As you know, I don't get on at all well with progesterone, but am working on it. Just now, I have begun introducing Vitex in small amounts, hoping it will lead me to tolerate actual therapeutic doses of progesterone. And, you know I will keep you posted on this.

Yes, progesterone is supposed to calm your system, and has health benefits on other fronts as well. I hope you do try some bio-identical progesterone in a very, very low strength and in a form such as cream that you can dilute until you see how it affects you. If you try it, I hope you will use the tiniest possible little dot to see how it agrees with you, and if it has no obvious bad effect, continue with it, adding a second tiny dot over a period of days or even weeks to get your body accustomed to it. A compounding pharmacist once described this approach, saying that the starting amount should be just enough to cover the end of a toothpick (!!!). I never made it, but am trying a different route now.

I hope you will succeed, Janet, that you will find a way to balance, and that you will keep notes as you go.
Good, good luck to you.
GK

GK
Hi my friend
Good to hear from you about this! You have been with me so far on my journey and you have been great company
I have already tried a small lump of Progensa earlier today at the same time as two dabs of my estradiol oil.
Dare I say that I am feeling far less strung out than normal? My tummy would usually be doing flip-flops by now and it isn't.
My head would be swirling but it isn't.
Have I used too much? A dot on the end of a toothpick ? That sounds like the dose of my estradiol in oil!

I am feeling much calmer than I normally would but I don't want to wake up tomorrow morning feeling dreadful. I hope that I haven't used too much.
I don't think I could feel any worse than I have been on just estrogen anyway. I have felt really dire. The anxiety and overstimulation of my brain all points to heightened norepinephrine so I think this may be just what I need.

I will keep you posted.

janet c

Well ya know I have suggested P to you and I am a happy user of it myself. As the other ladies have noted, you will now know until you try it and do start small small small so you don't get that huge flux of anxiety that many experience. I have noted time and again that when I started P and when they change my dose I do get mild anxiety but it isn't unbearable and nothing like I experienced before using the Progesterone. I hope this works for you, you deserve a nice calm normal break!

Uggh-I have just emerged from a two day nightmare-no nice calm break for me
Probably used too much-a pea sized lump spread over a Sunday evening and Monday. I thought first of all I was ok but Sunday night had palpitations and couldn't sleep. Monday, again,I felt ok during the day. It seemed at first to reduce the anxiety effect of the estradiol. Suddenly in the evening I got the same whoosh to my head that estradiol gives me but then this huge wave of-"I can't be bothered with anything" feeling washing over me.
Monday night was like a nightmare without sleep. I can't really describe how I felt because it was weird. With estradiol it is pure and simple-I feel like I am off the planet. Every thought produces a whoosh of anxiety, my body is in a highly sensitive state. This was different and I can't even now remember exactly how I felt. I just know I was unable to sleep and felt anxious but at the same time totally depressed with everything in my life. I felt I was in a tight circle of horror from which I couldn't escape.
Tuesday was a write off. I started off with terrible tearfulness, my head felt full of anxiety and emotion. The odd thing was-I didn't have one hot flush at all yesterday! So the darn stuff obviously did something.
Today I feel like I have emerged from an altered state into near calm normality, thank goodness. I don't want to ever feel like that again.
I will do a twice a week regime with the E now. I have fixed my atrophy and my libido is good again so there is no need to be on it every day. I certainly do not need to be using full HRT. It makes me feel like I did for most of my adult life-c**p
I don't know about using the progesterone again. I found the whole experience terrifying. By the way I thought P was supposed to be calming?

Thanks for your good wishes anyway
janet c

Hello Janet -
When I started using progesterone cream I started off very slowly. If this is the first time you've been using it then a pea size amount is too much for you and especially in view of how sensitive you are to hormones. I started off by applying a tiny amount (a dab) to my wrists, but after two weeks I started to get some breast tenderness along with headache, which wasn't very pleasant. I stopped taking it for a couple of days and then resumed the same dose. After using it for several months I gradually increased the dose and I must say, it worked very well for me. It helped with my insomnia and calmed my anxiety.

I'm very sorry the progesterone cream didn't work for you, but if you ever decided to try again I would start off with a very tiny dose.

Thanks EP-haven't seen you around for a while-hope you are ok?

It's funny because during peri I used to use Serenity Nat Prog.cream and I never thought it affected me one way or the other. I thought because this Progensa was an OTC cream it probably wouldn't do too much either-a bit like the wild yam cream which has a very weak effect. I now realise I was totally incorrect and frankly stupid to use so much. All the blurb that comes with it says it doesn't have side effects and is safe to use. It recommends two pumps a day so I thought a pea size was going to be nothing!
Ok so I won't do that again

janet c

I have been doing research and I understand anxiety when using E is caused by heightened norepinephrine in the brain. It can be a good thing for some women but for me it is just too much.
Progesterone works on the norepinephrine to have a calming effect. I have just found a health supplement that does the same thing without the problems of progesterone-GABA. It seems to be very effective and I haven't found anything negative about it so I have just ordered some from Amazon. It isn't very expensive and I can try using it on the days I use the estradiol oil.
It wont harm me and it will probably help.
I am too afraid of trying the Progensa again!

janet c

DITTO!