Lara Briden's Forum

Hormone therapy can be appropriate for older women in some circumstances. Best to work with your doctor. In the US, qualified naturopathic doctors can be found on the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians website.

Post-menstrual symptoms can be from iron deficiency.

In general, it's okay to combine an antihistamine with P5P.

Progesterone and magnesium can be taken at the same time.

Have you been tested for thyroid antibodies? Because positive thyroid antibodies (even with normal TSH) can be associated with hypothyroid symptoms, including spotting. See the thyroid discussion in my books.

Of course, there could be other factors.

First, the hormonal IUD does not exactly control PCOS symptoms... It can prevent the abnormal buildup of the uterine lining, but that's it. It does nothing for androgen excess (e.g. acne, hirsutism, weight gain). In fact, because levonorgestrel (the medication in the hormonal IUD) is androgenic (tes...

The simplest strategy is to start to watch for signs of ovulation (e.g. fertile mucus and twinges in the pelvis). When that happens, delay the start of the progesterone for a few days while you assess for the temperature rise.

I've got a new book coming about insulin resistance, where I discuss testing in more detail. With that lab, the closest test would be the glucose tolerance test (https://www.labcorp.com/tests/101200/gl ... o-protocol) with insulin tested as well as glucose.

Symptoms during and just after the bleed can be associated with iron deficiency. Has your doctor mentioned anything about that?

I've just recorded a new podcast episode about the role of histamine and dairy in premenstrual allergy-type symptoms.

Have you read my perimenopause book Hormone Repair Manual? Depending on what phase of perimenopause you're in, your own estrogen levels could still be quite high. In which case, estrogen can usually just be stopped without tapering down. And yes, progesterone can be used on its own at a higher dose....