Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary
Leading the change to better periods and hormones
Progestins such as drospirenone, levonorgestrel, or medroxyprogesterone are not progesterone. That’s because progesterone is not a generic term like estrogen. Instead, progesterone refers only to the hormone made by the corpus luteum or taken as oral micronized progesterone.
Progesterone is usually soothing to mood but can sometimes cause anxiety. A negative mood reaction to changing levels of progesterone is called neurosteroid change sensitivity or premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and affects about one in twenty women. Also, see Top 6 natural treatments for premenstrual mood symptoms.
Progesterone has been both ignored and mistakenly blamed for side effects it does not cause. How did that happen? First, progesterone was discovered after estrogen, so, according to endocrinology professor Jerilynn Prior, missed being part of the tidy hormone dichotomy of “testosterone for men and estrogen for women.”
For some women, stopping normal dairy products can relieve period symptoms. But why? In the latest episode of my podcast and YouTube video, I discuss the inflammatory effects of A1 casein and how a mast cell histamine response can drive period problems such as premenstrual mood symptoms, heavy bleeding, and pain.