gigimac
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posted
So I have these horrible lyme flares during pms. My llmd says it is because lyme and progesterone, I think, don't mix well and causes an increase in symptoms.
I see the Dr. tomorrow to get birth control. I start my period in about 10 days and I start having horrible symptoms about 7 days before I start, continuing through the first few days of my cycle.
Anyway, the gynecologist said on the phone that I couldn't start the birth control until after my period. I don't see why?
The only reason I even want the birth control is to avoid the horrible pms. In fact I would like to take the bc 10 days before my period and that's it. Just the 10 days out of the month to control symptoms.
Does anyone know if this would be ok? To just take the bc 10 days out of the month?
Being on bc every day isn't something I want to do because it kills my sex drive completely and then there is no point in taking it!! Condoms work fine but not for these hormonal fluctuations that cause me such misery!!
Posts: 1535 | From Greensboro NC | Registered: Aug 2011
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Razzle
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Perhaps an integrative or naturopathic physician would be more able to help you with hormone balance and that would not come with the drawbacks of the synthetic hormone birth control pills?
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4167 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
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Carol in PA
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Birth control pills provide hormones that "tell" your body that you're already pregnant, so that you don't produce the hormones that signal the ovaries to ripen and release an egg.
So you can't just take the hormones for ten days, because when you stop, the uterus will shed its lining and the hormones will kick in to signal the ovaries again.
Look into Chaste Berry (Vitex) to help regulate your hormones and relieve PMS. See the reviews for the range of experiences. http://www.iherb.com/Chaste-Berry-VitexPosts: 6956 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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gigimac
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Carol in Pa, but i am only planning on taking it the ten days before my period and stopping them the day before my period is due anyway so I will still have a period at the exact same time.
I just figured if my hormones could be regulated for those days during pms I won't suffer so much.
When i was on bc before (all the time) I didn't get the horrible pms.
I have vitex but haven't given it a fair try I suppose, I will probably start it again but this is some pretty rough stuff I am up against. Pure misery.
Posts: 1535 | From Greensboro NC | Registered: Aug 2011
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Carol in PA
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But the way that you want to take it, your body will still ovulate, triggering other hormones that cause pms.
Another way to take birth control pills is to take them continuously, for several months at a time, before stopping them to let the uterus shed its lining (have a menstrual period).
Taking an SSRI, an antidepressant, can also fix the PMS. However, that may dampen the libido, depending on which med you take.
Posts: 6956 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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Tammy N.
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gigimac - I feel for your struggles. It's a bummer. But I think it's a slippery slope when you mess with hormones like that. I wouldn't risk it. (For me, I would never take the pill.)
I think Razzle is right, I would consider a naturopath/integrative doc. I have no doubt there are some things that can surely be a help to you. Even consistent exercise would have an enormous impact, and that wouldn't even require a doctor's visit.
I hope you find something that helps. Best to you.
Posts: 2238 | From East Coast | Registered: Jul 2010
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gigimac
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I cancelled my appt for now. i really don't want to take bc everyday and if I can't use it as a quick fix I don't want it.
I guess my impending cycle has me feeling kinda desperate! Practically 10 days of pms and 6 days of menstruating. That is half a month wasted on feeling ill.
This is another reason I never seem to be able to stick with treatment as i am supposed to. I feel so bad and go off everything and then have to restart.
I will start vitex again today. It may not help this period but maybe next.
Posts: 1535 | From Greensboro NC | Registered: Aug 2011
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sparkle7
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I can relate. I had very bad menstrual pain. I was taking a birth contol pill where you get your period once every 3 or 6 months (I forget). It did help but there were side effects. I gained about 30 lbs & I'm not that tall...
It's hard tio get rid of the weight once you put it on. Nothing really helped me, unfortunately. I tried almost everything - accupuncture, herbs, bio-identical creams. Nada.
The only thing that helped was pain meds like Vicodin.
I'm happy to say I'm going through menopause. What a releif. I'm not having many bad symptoms but there are some changes. I was having alost of joint pain but I think it may be pathogens - not anything menopause related.
I had some hot flashes but the vitex actually helped. It never helped with cramps, though. In the long run - I don't think birth control is a good idea. I would have never done it if I didn't have to.
Sometimes, there's nothing else to try. We all have to try to do the best we can. I hated the idea of it but it did work. I took it for about 2-3 years.
Posts: 7772 | From Northeast, again... | Registered: Oct 2006
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Carol in PA
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Gigimac, which supplements are you on?
I was thinking about this, and you may be able to help the cramping a different way.
Taking Vitex would help to normalize the hormones. This can help the PMS.
Dr. C, a prominent LLMD, found that 90% of his Lyme patients have hypercoagulation. The blood is "thick" and clots easily due to too much fibrin. The body makes more fibrin as an immune response to a systemic, or bodywide, infection.
One result of this is that the menstrual discharge is clotted.
Each month, the lining of the uterus builds up, getting ready for a fertilized egg to implant. When this does not happen, hormones trigger the lining to break down and shed.
All the contents of the uterus must pass through the cervix, which is the opening from the uterus to the vagina. Most of the blood passing through the cervix is liquified, but for the clots to pass through, the opening must enlarge.
When the cervix is forced open, it is very painful. Absolutely excruciating.
If you're already taking magnesium and fish oil, you may need to try changing the brand or increasing the amount you take daily.
If this doesn't reduce the pain enough, I suggest trying systemic enzymes. Let me know if you need more info.
Posts: 6956 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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Carol in PA
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For cramps, take Ibuprofen.
This first came out as Motrin, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). You needed a prescription for it, and it was so much more effective than tylenol.
Now of course, it's over the counter. Take it with food in your stomach, as it can cause gastritis.
I had severe cramps as a teenager, right through my 40's. When I went into labor with my first baby, my reaction to the pain was "Oh this is like cramps."
Posts: 6956 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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TF
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Here is a quote from the book "The Lyme Disease Solution" that talks to this subject:
"Estrogen is a stimulatory hormone that, when elevated relative to progesterone, can cause anxiety, poor sleep, and symptoms that mimic premenstrual syndrome (PMS). This is a possible explanation for why many women with Lyme disease feel worse just before and during their periods, since progesterone levels are at their lowest during this time." (page 324)
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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gigimac
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Oddly enough it is not the stomach cramps that do me in. It is that the fatigue and malaise and just feeling horrible in general I normally have are multiplied many times over.
I also get very weak, as if my life force is ebbing away and I am going to die. I even went to the ER once but of course they found nothing wrong and offered nothing except fluids which did seem to help quite a bit, which i don't understand cause i drink lots of water. I also get hot flashes during pms which is really weird.
My arms and legs ache horribly and it's actually much worse than the stomach cramps. Ibuprofen does help though.
My last period i had a new experience that i guess you could call "flooding," soaked two pads in like 3 hrs. it was very scary. I thought something was really wrong but it stopped. I also had huge clots like i have never seen. If i hadn't known better i would have though i was having a miscarriage!!
I do still have an appt. on mon. though and will bring some of this stuff up. I am not sure how serious flooding and huge clot are but it was scary.
Posts: 1535 | From Greensboro NC | Registered: Aug 2011
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gigimac
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oh yes, TF. I believe that was what my LLMD told me but I got it mixed up.
Posts: 1535 | From Greensboro NC | Registered: Aug 2011
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posted
and estrogen deficiency have the same symptoms as excess. some women are estrogen suckers, meaning weight loss and stress , etc eat up all the estrogen one symptom is insomnia and having to pee at all hours of the night. If a few drops of concentrated BRT, ie 7.5 mg /ml of Bi est helps your sleep then you are on the right track. these women need to find out their bio rhythms, ie some do best with small ants of estro at night and program in the am, or vice versa.
Posts: 532 | From Texas | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
What has worked for me is taking one half of Loloestrin in the morning and one half of a progesterone-only pill (nor-qd) in the afternoon everyday - continuously throughout the month nonstop.
This has minimized my cycle to one day of slight bleeding once a month without all the side effects. It has also reduced my PMS flare of symptoms.
It took me about six months of tweaking to figure out the perfect dosage for me...
sparkle7
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posted
Some of your symptoms sound like perimenopause... Might be that depending on your age...?
I think the liver has something to do with estrogen balance. Maybe you need to take some kind of liver support?
Vitex may help you. It totally cleared up my hot flashes. I had them for about 2 weeks & they are gone now.
Posts: 7772 | From Northeast, again... | Registered: Oct 2006
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