Quote from: KayXo on December 31, 2015, 04:45:22 PMMy levels of estradiol are high while my progesterone levels range from 13-20 ng/dl. I am careful with my diet, so restrict carbs as these tend to significantly raise triglycerides. I was under the normal range once when I restricted all carbs! And my HDL was wayyyyyyy high! Glucose, HbA1C, and insulin are also adversely affected by too many carbs, more so in some than others. I know that, in a few, creatinine is adversely affected by spironolactone.
You are so right about how things improve when you minimize carbs. My skin and especially my hair texture always improve. Any ideas for why this happens?? If only I could keep it up. But I've been pummeled over and over by so much life-changing bad news this year that I can't regain my discipline. I've got to capitalize on the prep for the colonoscopy that I'm undergoing early next month. Meanwhile, I hope some here can provide a more in-depth explanation than my endo did for why my progesterone level tested so high.
This month was the first time that I had asked to have it tested. The testes produce most of the progesterone in cis men. But I'm 10 years post-op and have been on estradiol valerate injections twice monthly long before and ever since. So I was shocked when the blood levels showed it at 13 ng. My endo said that the adrenals are evidently producing enough progesterone to balance my exogenous estrogen levels. "Balance"? Then why did the Lab Corp statement say 'high" 13 ng? Too bad I have no record of any pre-op progesterone level test. Would the level likely be this high?
This month T serum <3 ng. Bound T is <.2. E is 909 ng. B12 level is "high" at 1474 pg. HDL and LDL have long been high at 252 and 137. Iron is 339 bind/serum 339/125 ug. Creatinine serum LOW 0.62 mg; BUN/Creatinine ratio 13.
But regardless of progesterone levels, might I still be at risk for "estrogen dominance"? Even if not, could my progesterone levels put me at risk for other deleterious effects?
My main concerns are scalp hair and libido, in that order. But to take the latter first, as strange it may sound to some here, I wouldn't at all miss libido if it went away. My main concerns are scalp hair and libido, in that order. But to take the latter first, as strange it may sound to some here, I wouldn't at all miss libido if it went away. I will never forget the very first two years after I began therapy (estradiol valerate, spiro and a little Premarin), long ago. I grew back so much hair that I looked like a different person!! I was truly stunning. And almost as heavenly was the totally unexpected loss of libido. Poof! It just vaporized; or as if some big weight had fallen off my shoulders.
Without 10% minoxidil + 0.1% progesterone and Dutasteride that my derm and endo had prescribed my hair would surely be worse than it is. But why did the hair loss AND libido slowly come back at all? Especially after orchiectomy??
And if the adrenals were trying to "normalize" my estrogen levels then why are they secreting high levels of progesterone, rather than just normal levels? Surely, the 0.1% progesterone in the topical that I press into my scalp twice daily is way too small to even penetrate the skin into the bloodstream, much less effect systemic levels.
Besides, by being a competitive inhibitor of 5-alpha reductase, progesterone is a natural antagonist of hair killing DHT.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progesterone_(medication)#PharmacodynamicsMight it be that I've been using too much E for a typical post-op person, and/or because the vials of estradiol valerate are almost certainly synthetic rather than bioidentical?
I can get natural estradiol valerate made by a local compounding pharmacy. But what signs should a post-op person look for to determine the right estrogen dosing?
Bottom line: How likely is my high progesterone contributing to libido and hair loss years after surgery? If yes, would it likely decrease if my endo lowers the dose of the 40mg/mL estradiol valerate I take every 14 days?
