I'M PROGESTERONE DEFICIENT!!!

Disclaimer: Men, if you are not comfortable with the word cycle in relation to women, do not read this.

I have noticed for several months now that there seem to be two sides of me. For half of the month I feel normal, in control of myself and my life. I feel like me. Motivated, productive, happy. For the other half of the month, I feel awful. I feel out of control. I feel weak, grumpy, short-fused, and like I can't handle my life. I get discouraged easily and have a hard time with focus. I have eliminated all but the essentials (school & church) trying to stay healthy but I have still struggled a lot. I couldn't think of one more activity/responsibility that I could get rid of.

About 6 weeks ago, I started to think that maybe something was wrong with me physically - a chemical imbalance of some sort. It didn't feel like only a mental battle. I feel like I know how to manage my mental thoughts to avoid feeling down but this felt different. It felt like something was off. I felt out-of-whack. Thanks to Oprah's shows on hormones, I started researching hormones. I came up with the theory that maybe I didn't have enough progesterone (the calming hormone). I went to a gynecologist that specializes in hormone replacement a month ago. He decided to test my hormones to see if they could find something. We had to wait until day 21 of my cycle. In the meantime I broadened my theory. Because of so much emotional stress (with moving and the challenges of Bob's job), I think I have stopped ovulating. And since I am not ovulating, my body is not making enough progesterone. I am not being naturally calmed (at least for part of my cycle) and this makes life for everyone difficult during this time.

Today was my lab follow-up with the gynecologist. He confirmed my theory. I am very deficient in progesterone. (My other levels looks fine.) My progesterone level should be at least a 10 and it is 1.9. I am thrilled! For awhile, I thought I was going crazy. It is SO comforting and reassuring to know that I am not out-of-control but simply out of balance inside. I am going to start using a natural progesterone cream once/day for the last half of my cycle. I am very hopeful that this simple treatment will help mellow me out and get my body on its way to working well again. I am so relieved and hopeful now. I'll update to let you know if the treatment works. I'm pretty sure it will.

P.S. From what I have read, a lot of women become progesterone deficient around age 30. If you think you might be, do some research and get tested.