Panic Attacks, Anxiety and Natural Progesterone

Dear Catherine

I started using natural progesterone cream and, out of the blue, I had kind of a anxiety/panic attack. When my period started 2 days later I could understand it a little because at that time of the month I always feel very insecure, frightened, scared for the future.

Everything in me says it’s something physical because the panic really comes out of the blue and it does not make a difference what the circumstances are. Do you think this has anything to do with my body’s reaction to the progesterone cream?

Thank you for reading my email
Mary

Dear Mary

I believe what you are experiencing is a ‘bad’ dose of estrogen dominance (wake-up). This is not unusual. In fact, it suggests that progesterone has started to go to work in your body and, in doing so, has up-regulated your estrogen receptor sites, bringing about a heightening of estrogen dominance symptoms like unexplained depression, fear & anxiety. As you apply more cream and bring your body’s stores of progesterone up to its optimal level, you would expect these symptoms to disappear altogether.

Estrogen has potent effects on the brain. That works to your advantage when it’s in balance but to your disadvantage when it is present in excess or is not balance by progesterone.

When it’s clear I’m having the occasional ‘hormonal day’ where my mind starts playing tricks on me – I’m teary, withdrawn, maybe life appears to have lost its lustre, – I find it helpful to apply extra cream – double or tripple my dose – to off-set my body’s estrogen load and stress levels. I do this for a number of days – however long it takes to start to feel ‘normal’ again – then I reduce my cream back to within physiological doses (15-30mg a day).

During these ‘episodes’ of marked anxiety and fear which has the effect of increasing your stress levels, you may find doses of 100-200mg per day is required to settle you.

As stated throughout this website, in the early stages, when you are supplementing progesterone for the first time, you can go 2-3 months without taking a break from cream. This sustained dose will counter these sorts of ‘wake up’ episodes. Once your body is progesterone replete (i.e. your body’s reservoirs are topped up!) monthly breaks from cream (usually during your period) are encouraged, as is keeping your progesterone supplementation to the lowest possible dosage to remain symptom free.

The loss of zinc and the retention of copper are listed among the symptoms of estrogen dominance. The balance of zinc and copper are very important in the brain’s regulation of mood and reaction to stress. Vitamin B6 is the vitamin most commonly needed by these particular enzymes which is why it often is effective in treating depression.

The goal is to restore normal balance of these two important minerals. A healthy cell membrane allows just the right amount of potassium, magnesium, copper, and zinc to be kept within the cell while at the same time keeping out sodium that would results in water influx and intracellular edema. Bioidentical progesterone restores proper function of the cell membrane.

Emerging data indicate that progesterone has multiple non-reproductive functions in the central nervous system to regulate cognition, mood, inflammation, mitochondrial function, neurogenesis and regeneration, myelination and recovery from traumatic brain injury.

Progesterone is a powerful hormone that has been proven to confer profound neuroprotective effects that improve outcomes and reduce mortality following brain injuries. Donald Stein, PhD, has been at the forefront of testing progesterone and discovered that giving intravenous progesterone to male or female brain-injured rats reduces swelling in the brain and helps motor and functional recovery. In a clinical trial involving 100 human patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, adding progesterone reduced the death rate by almost 60% compared with placebo.

“Iodine is utilized by every hormone receptor in the body. The absence of iodine causes a hormonal dysfunction that can be seen with practically every hormone inside the body.”

I wanted to point out that, in addition to progesterone supplementation, you might consider ‘other’ factors. For example, not all women respond entirely to bioidentical sex hormone supplementation. And a large part of this has to do with the thyroid gland. The thyroid requires iodine to make up the two major products of the thyroid – T3 and T4. When a person is deficient in iodine then the thyroid cannot function properly and imbalances result.

According to the World Health Organization, today’s leading cause of brain failure is iodine deficiency. Low iodine levels trigger fatique, depression, and brain damage.

Evidence exists that major depression is associated with low vitamin D levels and that depression has increased in the last century as vitamin D levels have surely fallen. Evidence exists that depression is associated with heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer and low bone mineral density, all illnesses thought to be caused, in part, by vitamin D deficiency. Finally, vitamin D has profound effects on the brain including the neurotransmitters involved in major depression.

“ If you suffer from depression, get your 25(OH)D level checked and, if it is lower than 35 ng/mL (87 nM/L), you are vitamin D deficient and should begin treatment.”

At a minimum, for optimal health, everyone one of us ought to make sure we’re not deficient in iodine, magnesium, Vitamin D and omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil).

Always make sure progesterone is not interfering with other medication you might be on. The best and safest way to supplement progesterone is while under the care of a healthcare practitioner who understands bioidentical progesterone treatment protocols.

Mary, unfortunately, some women abandon progesterone at the point of discomfort, not knowing how to get through the debilitating stages of estrogen dominance which can occur at any stage of their progesterone journey. It is our hope we help you work through these setbacks so that you can stay with progesterone long enough to enjoy its many life-long benefits.

In light, love & laughter,

Catherine P. Rollins
Founder / CEO
Natural-Progesterone-Advisory-Network.com

“Supporting Women in their Choice of Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT)”