Estrogen Kickback: Beth's conversation with Carol Petersen
Everyday in my clinic I see women struggling through perimenopause. They see many specialists and are given pills for solitary symptoms. What they are truly experiencing is a deficiency in progesterone that manifests as an unusual collection of symptoms like irregular periods, cardiac palpitations, headaches, fluid retention and swelling, brain fog and insomnia. Once a provider finally figures it out and prescribes progesterone or the woman herself buys progesterone cream at the store, we are on the right track. Women are often started on a low dose of progesterone or choose to begin on a lower dose themselves and "ease into" their therapeutic range. Most commonly this is in the form of topical gels and creams started at a low dose and increased s l o w l y. I learned why this is not the best way to go about progesterone dosing. World progesterone expert, Carol Petersen, explains why this action can take women down a path of worsening menopausal symptoms and may make them think that hormone replenishment is not for them, that it’s making them worse or even that they are "allergic" to progesterone. It’s none of the above. It's a phenomenon that she has named "Progesterone Inversion" and Facebook calls "Estrogen Kickback". Whatever you'd like to call it, understanding all of the beneficial properties of progesterone and how to correctly dose it will empower you to create your optimal therapeutic plan with your provider.