Estrogen supplementation during menses

[Guest guest]

Hello, dear ladies,

I'm reading the posts silently most of the time- and learning a lot in the

process. Even if most of what I read is not applicable to me, it still broadens

my understanding, plus, I can pass the knowledge to my friends who may need it.

I have a question for myself, though, this time.

I just added a little estrogen to my regimen and I wonder if what I am

experiencing now is normal.

The history:

Cycling regularly, no misses, no hot flashes, etc. If I'm in the early stages of

perimenopause as chronologically I am already in my 40ies, I don't know it. My

health markers are pretty young- I took a good care of my health all my life.

However, from the onset of menarche and all my life, I had symptoms of estrogen

dominance.

I have been taking only progesterone cream with great results for about 3 years

now. I am taking it in a cyclic manner (2 lines twice daily during the second

part of the cycle), but I also add a tad (~10 mg- 0.5 line, once daily) on the

`off' days as it really helps me with anxiety, especially during ovulation. That

works for me. My body fat is low (I'm an athlete) and I always put the cream on

the thinnest skin. No accumulation signs or side effects so far. (Before I even

started on progesterone, I took care of my fatigued adrenals – I went pretty

smart about it.)

During these 3 `progesterone' years, I made about 5 attempts to add just a

little estrogen – since, for myself, I decided, that I will not wait for my

levels to drop significantly and will try to keep them as youthful as possible-

so that I can keep all my receptors. (Staying young is my main motivation.) None

of those earlier attempts worked. My anxiety and rage returned each time I tried

to add estrogen. Adding more progesterone on top of that didn't make any

difference. So, I gave up for a while, deciding that I likely still had too much

of my own to be supplementing. (The blood tests would show 300-400 estr. at

ovulation.)

The present:

Lately, however (~ 3mths ago), I started to experience fatigue and `PMS', plus

accentuated hollowed appearance during the menstruation itself. The latest blood

test, even though I might not been at the `top' point when I took it), showed

the lowest estrogen ever for me- 270. It's very likely that my estrogen is

finally starting to drop—and that affected my periods.

I read that blunting the significant drop in estrogen just before menses

sometimes can help reduce menstrual symptoms. So I decided to attempt adding

estrogen again. I added 1 line (1 mg) once a day to raise my baseline and lessen

the `drop'. It was a success this time! I felt great. I continued doing 1 line a

day- and still doing it now.

Now, to the problem. My first cycle with estrogen was perfect. However, my

second ended at just 19 days (normally, it's 29 days)

Also, I actually saw small pieces of my lining coming out - in fact, this last

menses started not with blood per se, but with pieces of lining just falling out

of me. Otherwise, I felt fairly well.

So, I would appreciate if someone could educate me: Can estrogen make your

lining unstable? Why would adding estrogen shorten one's cycle? Before, during

my unsuccessful attempts, when I tried it even for a few days, my cycle would

become a little longer, not shorter- and, according to my previous

understanding, estrogen is supposed to make the lining more stable, grow it

more, etc.

Thank you in advance for any knowledge/experiences you can share with me,

Viki