Menopause

[jkr]

My doctor thought I was in menopause because my period stopped from Sept 2007 until May 2009 except for one period in July, 2008.

I went gluten free for good after my endoscopy and official celiac dx in the beginning of August and I started getting regular periods again. I've read posts here about early menopause because of the gluten. I just think there is a correlation. Even my gyne understood and I was shocked.

Anyway, I'm going for an ultrasound to check everything out but I really believe going gluten free made a difference. I had the menopausal symptoms, hot flashes, etc before but I don't anymore. I could tell I was ovulating before my periods came.

All I know is I feel better now.

[jststric]

Well, I'm nearly 51 and having lots of trouble with my periods over the last year. My gyno said I had too much estrogen and not enough progesterone. So I am taking progesterone pills, which she said "very well may stop your periods while you are taking them", which was NOT bad news for me....I needed the break!! I missed nearly 3 months then started all my weirdness again. I asked her if my added soy in my diet (plant estrogen) was adding to my problems.....I am also dairy intolerant, so I drink soymilk and use tofu to make my own sour creams, etc. She said that was a good thought, but didn't really know. I have also learned that being overweight feeds estrogen. I'm not sure about the specifically gluten association between the two.....I had been gluten-free for 2 yrs prior to having problems. Frankly, I think we just go through alot of very WEIRD things in this stage of "stopping" and no one is the same. Best wishes with yours....I know I'm more than ready to be done, myself!!!

[Gemini]

Well, I'm nearly 51 and having lots of trouble with my periods over the last year. My gyno said I had too much estrogen and not enough progesterone. So I am taking progesterone pills, which she said "very well may stop your periods while you are taking them", which was NOT bad news for me....I needed the break!! I missed nearly 3 months then started all my weirdness again. I asked her if my added soy in my diet (plant estrogen) was adding to my problems.....I am also dairy intolerant, so I drink soymilk and use tofu to make my own sour creams, etc. She said that was a good thought, but didn't really know. I have also learned that being overweight feeds estrogen. I'm not sure about the specifically gluten association between the two.....I had been gluten-free for 2 yrs prior to having problems. Frankly, I think we just go through alot of very WEIRD things in this stage of "stopping" and no one is the same. Best wishes with yours....I know I'm more than ready to be done, myself!!!

Progesterone is the first hormone to drop when menopause is starting. When this happens, you can become estrogen dominant. Completely normal and way overblown by mainstream medicine. This is the point where menopausal symptoms can begin so supplementing with progesterone, preferably bio-identicals and not the pharmaceutical kind, will help to balance out your hormones. It's all about the ratio balance between estrogen and progesterone.

Eating soy and being overweight can add to estrogen levels in the body but if you balance it out with progesterone, it shouldn't be a problem. Menopause is not a bad thing but it can make you miserable with symptoms until you get there!

[blueeyedvegan]

My doctor thought I was in menopause because my period stopped from Sept 2007 until May 2009 except for one period in July, 2008.

I went gluten free for good after my endoscopy and official celiac dx in the beginning of August and I started getting regular periods again. I've read posts here about early menopause because of the gluten. I just think there is a correlation. Even my gyne understood and I was shocked.

Anyway, I'm going for an ultrasound to check everything out but I really believe going gluten free made a difference. I had the menopausal symptoms, hot flashes, etc before but I don't anymore. I could tell I was ovulating before my periods came.

All I know is I feel better now.

[blueeyedvegan]

I had all the sypthoms of menopause. The night sweats, period ending, inflammation, lymph nodes swelling etc. I began to get really worried. I read the information on bioidentical hormones. I used the progesterone cream. I began to research everything I ate. I found that the meat I was eating contained synthetic hormones - growth hormones. That the meats also contained estrogen. As well as the eggs that chickens produce the milk from cows, cream, butter etc. I also found out from a co-worker who has been a vegetarian all of her life that soy contains as much estrogen as birth control (I know this is heresay...but please here me out..) I stopped eating all of these items. My periods are back to normal. My hot flashes have disappeared. The depression is going away. The inflammation is disappearing. I then stopped eating wheat and gluten. I am finally feeling better the inflammation continued to go away and intestines are beginning to heal. If I eat the smallest amount of any of the mentioned foods it sends me immediately into toxic hell. I have another co-worker that experienced the same sypthoms at the same time and uses the same diet and her sympthoms have also disappeared. For me the soy acts like a toxin. It gives me a rash that looks and feels like a third degree burn. When the fever leaves the site the skin peels away. I stay as far away from soy as I can possibly get.

blue eyed vegan

[Gemini]

I had all the sypthoms of menopause. The night sweats, period ending, inflammation, lymph nodes swelling etc. I began to get really worried. I read the information on bioidentical hormones. I used the progesterone cream. I began to research everything I ate. I found that the meat I was eating contained synthetic hormones - growth hormones. That the meats also contained estrogen. As well as the eggs that chickens produce the milk from cows, cream, butter etc. I also found out from a co-worker who has been a vegetarian all of her life that soy contains as much estrogen as birth control (I know this is heresay...but please here me out..) I stopped eating all of these items. My periods are back to normal. My hot flashes have disappeared. The depression is going away. The inflammation is disappearing. I then stopped eating wheat and gluten. I am finally feeling better the inflammation continued to go away and intestines are beginning to heal. If I eat the smallest amount of any of the mentioned foods it sends me immediately into toxic hell. I have another co-worker that experienced the same sypthoms at the same time and uses the same diet and her sympthoms have also disappeared. For me the soy acts like a toxin. It gives me a rash that looks and feels like a third degree burn. When the fever leaves the site the skin peels away. I stay as far away from soy as I can possibly get.

blue eyed vegan

Soy is a phyto-estrogen and is used in non-food and food form to alleviate the symptoms of menopause....not reverse it. In countries where soy is the mainstay of the diet, they don't have night sweats and many the other symptoms that plague Americans to such a great extent. Soy does not contain as much estrogen as birth control either but is a substance which mimics estrogen's qualities. You sound like you may be allergic/intolerant to soy and that is quite common.

If you eat all non-organic foods and don't care where your food source comes from, you can have higher levels of estrogen in your body. Fat will also raise estrogen levels and this is why many overweight women have less menopausal symptoms then thinner women. Your use of progesterone cream most likely is what caused you to feel better, along with the gluten-free diet. Progesterone is the first hormone to tank when menopause starts BUT it can lower a long time before you actually become menopausal. It can start to decline as early as your 30's. By taking progesterone, you most likely restored the correct balance between estrogen and progesterone in your body (the ratio) and this is what is key to being happy and healthy.

Soy is not a bad food but if you eat a lot of it, your estrogen levels will rise. There usually isn't inflammation with menopause but there is plenty of it with undiagnosed celiac disease. Between your diet and the use of progesterone cream, plus easing off on soy and all that hormone laced food, you have begun to restore balance. Good job!