Hormone Imbalance
I am not a medical professional, whatsoever, but I spent so many years researching the possible cause of our infertility that I have become very knowledgeable on the subject despite having no degree to show for it. Through the years of infertility that I struggled through I spent many hours researching the subject and I’d imagine that most others in my situation can say the same thing. Whether we choose to or not we manage to become experts on a subject that we never intended to study.
Through all of that time spent searching for answers I came up with my own idea of what was wrong…hormone imbalance, particularly a problem with progesterone. I seemed to have erratic charts the second half of my cycle and a short luteal phase. I shared my concerns with my RE who quickly dismissed them after my progesterone levels came back within the normal range after testing. I, too, was puzzled by that and, at the time, accepted that he knew what he was doing and that I didn’t. That surrender pushed me into further and further testing and procedures that proved to be, not only fruitless, but unnecessary.
Upon further personal research I became aware of the idea of estrogen dominance and became more and more convinced that this was the problem. The solution for that seemed to be progesterone cream and I bought some and began using it. However, I got no positive results from that and many other women have found the same thing even though it seems as though estrogen dominance is still the problem. Now, I know that adding progesterone isn’t necessarily the solution to estrogen dominance. It can actually cause more problems. It isn’t adding more progesterone (although some do have positive results with that) but finding a solution that makes the estrogen/progesterone ratio right. It is all about balance. You can cause a larger imbalance by adding too much of something. My progesterone levels may have, indeed, come back “normal” but apparently my estrogen ratio to that was off, thus causing an imbalance. It wasn’t until I found a way to get them in harmony did I conceive and carry a baby to term.
If you suspect that you have a progesterone issue or estrogen dominance please educate yourself. Don’t be discouraged if your doctor doesn’t share your concerns or disregards them completely. Don’t accept that your levels are fine if you don’t think that they are. Remember that there are still so many unknowns in the area of unexplained infertility. The diagnosis, itself, is testimony to that. Don’t lose hope.