Peat Girl's Logger

[mujuro]

Maybe try Retin-A 0.04% microsphere formula on your fine wrinkles?

 

[Peat's_Girl]

I've been getting some symptoms consistently.

I get nauseous/ queasy several times a day.
My depression has worsened to the point I can't even control myself in public (crying).
And for the first time ever I've become angry and aggressive (throwing things, kicking things, yelling) which is very unlike me and my personality and it worries J.
Becoming near lethargic/ fainty if I don't eat in the morning and don't have something like fruit juice (which was very scary when we went out this weekend and didn't have access to juice).

I'm not sure if this feeling of despair and doom is hormonal. I think it is because things never worked out for me and I somehow managed to stay mellow and positive.

J bought some GABA (600mg) and it worked on him after 15m of taking it. It didn't do anything for me!
It could be my annoying resistance to medications, anesthesia and supplements or the fact that mellow focused feeling is MY EVERY DAY NORMAL STATE, so I didn't feel its effects.

I also think PGe is the cause of the depression/ aggression because these symptoms arose when I started taking x6 the dose I usually take and it doesn't seem to calm me down/ subdue me like it does for the other women on the forum. I'm not entirely sure I believe it's the countering estrogen at this point because taking more makes me even more aggressive/ depressed (not to mention makes me break out).

I'm thinking that my progesterone levels could be normal and I'm doing harm by taking it.
I wish I could have my levels tested but I don't have a physician and going to the clinic and then waiting for a referral and then waiting for the tests would take months and won't even be relevant anymore...

Anyway. I'm cutting out dairy this week even though I think my real problem is the PGe and the sugar that I can't seem to use efficiently but I want to be sure.

I'm gonna use Crono as a rough estimate of my nutrients this week.

 

[Peat's_Girl]

Maybe try Retin-A 0.04% microsphere formula on your fine wrinkles?

How is the microsphere different from the other tretinoins?

 

[Jennifer]

YAY to the better quality food at affordable prices and YAY to the vitamin A clearing your skin up! Is it working on the crinkles too?

I spoke too soon... I think the PGe/ sugar is working fast to counteract any healing the vitamin A does.

No, it doesn't work on the crinkles. I've been crying about that for the past few days... I don't think they're gonna go away. I'm not even sure what they are. They look like cat scratches under my eyes, and my eyes (like the lower lid) also has tons of wrinkles I didn't notice before. All this trying and researching and fretting has gotten me nowhere, and even worse skin than people my age who drink and smoke. I'm not sure why I even bother trying anything now...

To me, this shows your liver isn't storing fuel efficiently to get you through the night. Did you run out of the white chocolate?

It melted during the night... If I'm having trouble metabolising sugars I'm not sure how it will help.
It doesn't seem to do anything so far and I still wake up several times a night to pee (not to mention, going out is a drag because I have to find a bathroom everywhere we go).

I think it took almost a year of high dosing PGe till the girls didn't feel like they were being ripped from my chest. I had completely forgotten about it till you mentioned your soreness so there's definitely light at the end of the tunnel.

Hmm... I don't think that's the same feeling. I might be overdosing for nothing because other than slight sensitivity in the tips I don't feel anything. I don't know.

My mum is queen of insomnia and she finds if she does this, she can often fall asleep.

Why would that matter?...
i sleep reversed too but it's so the light from the window doesn't bother me.

Hope the weekend sees you sun, fun, sleep and pain free. *All digits crossed*

Thanks but I can't say it was fun...

Yeah, maybe rethink the PGe and sugar then. If you feel it's hurting you, it's not worth keeping at it. You were doing well with Primal so maybe go back to it or even PHD like you mentioned and see if you get the same benefits?

I'm sorry your depression has only gotten worse. With me, the PGe helped stop that unexplainable doom feeling where I'd cry like crazy right before I'd have breakthrough bleeding, but it doesn't take away my depression that stems from situational things. Things that aren't so great in my life right now that no amount of hormones are going to fix.

I know a lot of people get results in that area by taking supplements or changing up their diet, such as an ease of what they call "learned helplessness," but what I'm dealing with isn't learned helplessness. I've learned how to help myself, but sometimes life deals us a blow (or many) and for me, it's important to acknowledge the situation and the disappointment. Let myself cry and feel all those emotions and not think there's something wrong with me that needs to be extinguished with high amounts of progesterone, the perfect diet or "trying" to get happy. It only creates more stress. I'm sure your displeasure with your current physical state only fuels the depression so maybe by switching things up, it will help ease some of the struggle you've been feeling?

Anyhow, I hope you start to see the depression subside, Kitten! *bear hug*

 

[Peat's_Girl]

Hmm... I've read on that progesterone cream website (it has a lot of info even though they're selling their own cream). It seems I haven't been taking enough PGe to overcome my possible estrogen dominance and I should be taking at least 100-200mg for mild symptoms.

With PGe being 4-22mg per drop I didn't get enough on the lower spectrum.
So, I decided, on the safe side to take 25 drops per day!!! That's 5 drops 5 drops a day. And 100mg-550mg per day!
Dosage is important to me because just putting globs on my gums doesn't tell me how much I'm getting and how I'd react with less/ more.

I'm finally feeling that subdued feeling today and can barely keep my eyes from closing as I type this...
Not a pleasant feeling for a control freak like me, but I'll be damned if anything will make me depressed/ angry at such a dopey state!

Don't give up hope on me Jen!

I'm gonna read Kate Deering's oversimplification of Peat's ideas while I read Peat's articles in the morning.
And I'll keep mega-dosing with PGe.

 

[Jennifer]

Hmm... I've read on that progesterone cream website (it has a lot of info even though they're selling their own cream). It seems I haven't been taking enough PGe to overcome my possible estrogen dominance and I should be taking at least 100-200mg for mild symptoms.

Yeah, that's what I was trying to explain. Like me, you have gone so many years without menstruating so that right there tells me you're most likely dominant in estrogen. I would put money on it. So to overcome that, there's a good chance lots of PGe is required, but I knew you were rationing the bottle you had. Thyroid helps too so you probably wouldn't need as much PGe, but I don't feel safe recommending you take all these hormones without having some basic blood work done on your hormones/thyroid panel, you know?

The symptoms you're feeling are what so many women on here have experienced. I don't want you to give up. I know it sucks! It really does and your situation only compounds matters, but I think a good portion of what you're feeling are these changes in your hormones. I really wish there was a separate thread discussing everything from the mood swings, to the libido, to the physical changes in our breast/shape etc. from taking progesterone. My body is literally changing in so many ways, I sometimes feel like a girl going through puberty for the first time. It would be nice to know what's normal since I don't have much of a reference point.

With PGe being 4-22mg per drop I didn't get enough on the lower spectrum.
So, I decided, on the safe side to take 25 drops per day!!! That's 5 drops 5 drops a day. And 100mg-550mg per day!
Dosage is important to me because just putting globs on my gums doesn't tell me how much I'm getting and how I'd react with less/ more.

I think I might of mentioned before that a bottle of PGe contains about 2800mg of progesterone, if I remember correctly, so you can figure out how much you'll get per bottle and order accordingly. Even though I just glob a thick bead along my gum line about 5x a day, I got good at guesstimating it and always go through about a bottle a week. I just placed my PGe order with Kenogen this afternoon. I ordered 4 bottles that will last me all of August.

Hang in there, Ally-Kitty! I'm here for you! You and I are in this together. XoXoXo

 

[Peat's_Girl]

Thyroid helps too so you probably wouldn't need as much PGe, but I don't feel safe recommending you take all these hormones without having some basic blood work done on your hormones/thyroid panel, you know?

Oops. I already take T3! But I only managed to get that calm, subdued feeling with a mega-dose of PGe. I guess I never thought I had that much estrogen in my body. I'm fairly young, and I figured I ate moderately well through the years (avoiding most PUFAs even during my Paleo days, except those evil fish oils!)

My body is literally changing in so many ways, I sometimes feel like a girl going through puberty for the first time. It would be nice to know what's normal since I don't have much of a reference point.

Does this come with that perfect teenage girl body? Y_Y Where is the dotted line?

I think I might of mentioned before that a bottle of PGe contains about 2800mg of progesterone, if I remember correctly, so you can figure out how much you'll get per bottle and order accordingly. Even though I just glob a thick bead along my gum line about 5x a day, I got good at guesstimating it and always go through about a bottle a week.

Yeah, I stopped caring about rationing... But I also thought that since the progesterone stays in your cells you can gradually decrease it after the first week of megadosing.
I was thinking of doing 10 days of 5x5, then the next week 4x5, and slowly reduce to one dose a day.
What do you think? How gradually would I have to decrease and how can you tell if you're going too low?

Hang in there, Ally-Kitty! I'm here for you! You and I are in this together. XoXoXo

 

[Peat's_Girl]

OK. Good energy today.
Not much back pain even though I haven't changed much in terms of movement/ sleeping position.

I think I can finally feel the PGe working with a mega dose of 100-550mg per day.

I woke up today and discovered some blood. I thought I got my cycle at first but it seems to have stopped, so it could also be spotting.
I don't know if I should continue the PGe while I have my period or stop until the bleeding stops. Any ideas?

I'm really enjoying drinking juices. I have pear, apple and pineapple at home. And my favourite is the super pulpy pear juice. Even though I've been drinking so much juice (3-4 cups, plus some coke with meat) I feel like I don't pee as much as before.

I'm using the Crono and I know my glycine isn't balanced because I don't take any gelatin right now and eat quite a bit of meat --not to mention I've cut out dairy this week (GHA! I miss it!). But I have bone broths often in the hopes that it'll help.

Today I'm making chicken neck soup! ;D

Last few days I had beef hot dogs (no gross ingredients, just salt, sugar and vinegar) and grilled lamb.
I also eat sauerkraut for the acidity. It doesn't bother me and it's a way to get some acidity and salt.
Watermelon and lots of fruit juices. I have coke with the meat.
Like I said, I mega dose with PGe, and also take magnesium and calcium and T3 (25mg broken down into 4 pieces throughout the day).

I must admit I'm not getting enough carbs. 150g and less. But I feel pretty good nevertheless. It's so hard to get good fruit, I'm thinking of buying canned fruit or something.

Xoxoxo

 

[Jennifer]

Oops. I already take T3! But I only managed to get that calm, subdued feeling with a mega-dose of PGe. I guess I never thought I had that much estrogen in my body. I'm fairly young, and I figured I ate moderately well through the years (avoiding most PUFAs even during my Paleo days, except those evil fish oils!)

The first sign to me would be your periods. From the time you first started menstruating, were they regular and without much PMS symptoms or were they irregular and/or heavy/clotting and with major PMS symptoms or even non-existent all together at some point? I already know the answer, just wanted to plant that reminder seed. :)

Does this come with that perfect teenage girl body? Y_Y Where is the dotted line?

It depends on what teenage girl body you're referring to. Do you mean the perfect post puberty young woman body or the skinny boy teenage girl body? I'm talking about the young woman's body with curves. Granted mine will never be mountains. More like gentle rolling hills. I don't think progest-e works that kind of miracle. Hehe!

Yeah, I stopped caring about rationing... But I also thought that since the progesterone stays in your cells you can gradually decrease it after the first week of megadosing.
I was thinking of doing 10 days of 5x5, then the next week 4x5, and slowly reduce to one dose a day.
What do you think? How gradually would I have to decrease and how can you tell if you're going too low?

Not to be vague, but you're going to have to listen to your body on this one. The biggest telltale signs for me are a loss of my menstrual cycle and not my libido, but that bodily reaction we talked about. I lose it completely. I'll still have an interest in sex probably because it's also an act of bonding, affection and love to me, but basically I'm not as easily aroused and I lose that bodily reaction. So for me, I can't go by my interest in sex, but that intense arousal as this always indicated my progesterone levels were up and my blood tests always confirmed this. Also, note your moods day to day and any PMS symptoms when you start menstruating.

Sorry if that was vulgar!

Hope you're feeling better today and hope you got a good night's rest!

 

[Jennifer]

Oops...was typing my response and missed your last post.

YAY for the spotting! That's great!

I'm glad you're enjoying the juice. If you can't get good fruit and like canned, go for the canned fruit! I love canned pears and mandarins. I may pick some up and give them a shot.

Are you having any PMS symptoms? You could always adjust your PGe dose to that.

 

[Peat's_Girl]

The first sign to me would be your periods. From the time you first started menstruating, were they regular and without much PMS symptoms or were they irregular and/or heavy/clotting and with major PMS symptoms or even non-existent all together at some point? I already know the answer, just wanted to plant that reminder seed. :)

Plant away, but for my numerous readers, I'll answer the question. When I was around 14-15 and I got my period it was regular and I had no pain or PMS symptoms whatsoever.

Not to be vague, but you're going to have to listen to your body on this one. The biggest telltale signs for me are a loss of my menstrual cycle and not my libido, but that bodily reaction we talked about. I lose it completely. I'll still have an interest in sex probably because it's also an act of bonding, affection and love to me, but basically I'm not as easily aroused and I lose that bodily reaction. So for me, I can't go by my interest in sex, but that intense arousal as this always indicated my progesterone levels were up and my blood tests always confirmed this. Also, note your moods day to day and any PMS symptoms when you start menstruating.

I sort of know what you're saying but as you know the situation is far too complicated for me to tell!

Sorry if that was vulgar!

*Looking around*
I don't think anyone noticed! ;P

 

[Peat's_Girl]

Oops...was typing my response and missed your last post.

YAY for the spotting! That's great!

I'm glad you're enjoying the juice. If you can't get good fruit and like canned, go for the canned fruit! I love canned pears and mandarins. I may pick some up and give them a shot.

Are you having any PMS symptoms? You could always adjust your PGe dose to that.

OMG! I just wrote an email asking you if you tried canned fruit and that you should! We're just crazy synced! Now all that's left is to sync our periods and we're good to go... -_-

 

[Peat's_Girl]

OK, let's dry this in my infamous OCD format.

Sleep:
I don't think it could be any less restful than if I slept on a bed of rusty nails.
Lying awake, mind wandering, constant peeing, being too hot, being not warm enough, blah, blah, blah.
I thought the PGe (+GABA) would knock me out but it seems that that subdued feeling was just a one time thing.

Food:
Made that chicken neck soup and it was a big hit in the house... (ME!)
It had potatoes, spinach, carrots, celery, garlic, onions and lots of basil and cardamom. So, it's an all-around balanced soup. The necks are a b**** to eat though, not to mention potentially death threatening. ;D

I also broke my no-dairy week with a dark chocolate pudding, because at the time I thought, conveniently, "Yeah, chocolate is its own food group" and only half-way through the pudding realised I'm having dairy.

Digestion:
It's unremarkable.

Energy:
OKish.

Pain:
OK. Eureka! *bath tub overflows and is left empty*
Back pain = lack of sleep. So, it's not really anything I've been eating!
*Shoves a cheese wheel into her mouth*
All right, so it's just an excuse to eat dairy again... I guess I'll wait till the week's over.

And no Ray Peat forum post would be complete without a special corner dedicated to bowel movements...

BM:
You run? She runs! We all run from dia-rhe-a!
I get the runs so often that I've finally learned to spell diarrhea. (I always see the bowl half full! >;D)
OK, fine I'm exaggerating, it wasn't that bad. Not like my around-the-clock-midnight-runs (sounds like a specialty mail delivery service ;D) the other night. It just happened once and it seemed like your average, every day bowel movement only it was a lot more liquidy than is optimal.

New Developments:
There aren't any!!!
(So why did I include this in point form?)
What I thought was an impromptu visit from Aunt Flo, was actually a visit from Uncle Spot.
(I'm running out of lame jokes here. Get it? Spotting? D'oh!)
This PGe business is driving me bananas! ('Cause it's more Peat friendly than nuts Ohh! I still got some!)

Xoxox

 

[Jennifer]

Plant away, but for my numerous readers, I'll answer the question. When I was around 14-15 and I got my period it was regular and I had no pain or PMS symptoms whatsoever.

I was 14 too! *high five* My blood sister!

*Looking around*
I don't think anyone noticed! ;P

Oh, man! Should I have been more descriptive? I can be more descriptive! Anything to keep your targeted audience happy. What is your targeted audience? The shy, silent types, right? Hmm...this could be awkward! :P

OMG! I just wrote an email asking you if you tried canned fruit and that you should! We're just crazy synced! Now all that's left is to sync our periods and we're good to go... -_-

Do you want me to sync mine to yours or do you want to sync yours to mine? Answer carefully or we'll be creating a shortage in feminine care products. Okay, now did I say too much? Hehe!

So pudding, huh? That's what I've been craving. I like adding whipped cream and mixing it up into a mousse. I could live off that stuff!

By the way, Spot's the dog. When you see Spot run, then you know you're getting somewhere.

 

[Peat's_Girl]

I was 14 too! *high five* My blood sister!

I wish! I always wanted an older sister! -_-
You'd make an awesome one.

Anything to keep your targeted audience happy. What is your targeted audience? The shy, silent types, right? Hmm...this could be awkward! :P

They're just like my many invisible friends. Same personality, same attitude in life ("Dude, don't be seen!"). What can I say, I'm magnetic!

Do you want me to sync mine to yours or do you want to sync yours to mine?

Well let's see. If you bleed 3 weeks out of a month and I bleed 2, we're bound to sync up somehow!
Kotex will have to put our pictures on their products as 'Buyers Beware'. ;D

So pudding, huh? That's what I've been craving. I like adding whipped cream and mixing it up into a mousse. I could live off that stuff!

How do you make yours?

By the way, Spot's the dog. When you see Spot run, then you know you're getting somewhere.

Yeah, I'm getting to the point where I put the Kenogen staff's children through college. Y_Y

 

[Peat's_Girl]

So it is a cycle after all! (And not the one with wheels ;c)

And it's not fun. I'm in A LOT of pain and the PGe doesn't seem to be alleviating it with 5 drops 5 times daily!
I don't know what to do... Drink the damn bottle?
I hope this passes.

I don't have much of an appetite so I've been trying to get some soup down.
I know it sounds implausible from Peatian p.o.v but sugar seems to make the pain worse for me.
Maybe dairy will help? If I make it to the store in one piece.

 

[Peat's_Girl]

Hello my numerous readers.

*Crickets chirping*
*A ball of hay rolls by*

Anyway...

This is day 4th of the bloodbath. I'm still alive. Sort of.

[Hey, I will not apologize. The ever so popular male masturbation thread is going on and so shall I. I will keep describing my period, and writing the word 'period', not to mention using periods!!! (but not here because it's not the end of a sentence), every chance I get.]

I've dropped T3 until I get this PGe and diet business figured out.
I stopped counting the PGe does but all I know is that the bottle I started a few days ago is looking squishy!!!

Still bleeding like a wounded tomato (and sure feel like it) and have acquired an array of new complaints:
* Pain in the lower back and belly
* Migraines
* Sucky, yucky feeling

What does that spell?
I'm a clever girl.
I deserve a cookie.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO COOOOOOOOOOOOOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Here's some symptoms that didn't make it into my nifty little list: diarrhea, insatiable hunger, oily skin and scalp.]

WAIT. HOLD UP THE PHO' (as in Vietnamese bone broth). My skin and scalp went back to their oily-selves! The dryness is subsiding! Hurra! (Sort of.)

OK. I have a confession to make. Every time I had problems with the Peat diet I would go out, as an act of gastronomical rebellion, and eat PUFAs and wheat.
So it'd be like 2 weeks off flawless, unappetising low-fat, no-starch Peating, followed by a weekend of ***t-festing that would leave my house looking like the Kool Aid man broke in with a few of his close friends (the colonel and some pizza mascot (there's gotta be one somewhere!)).

Anyway. I've decided that the only way I would ever stick to not eating grains (save for rice) is if I instilled some sort of tangible reward system (something that drives me to find every f***ing thing in an RPG game and get every achievement in other games). So, I'm gonna put a sticker on my calendar for every day I go without wheat and each times I have wheat, the stickers will be tripped away (oh noes!).

If it works for 5 year olds it will surely work for me! ;B

But I'm staying away from Crono because the same sort of OCD causes me more harm than good when there are a million nutrients to calculate and "achieve".

Today's food:
A can of rice pudding (vanilla, salt, whole milk, rice).
Juice (cocktail of apple, blueberries and blackcurrant).
HD chocolate chip ice cream.
Parmigiano reggiano.
Chocolate 50% and milk (sadly all chocolates available to me have SL).
Roasted chicken with skin and its juices (so butter and I guess rendered chicken fat, spices and salt).
Tabasco sauce (the sheer quantity deserves its own bullet point!).
A handful of Bugles.
Canned bartlett pear. (Are you supped to consume the juice they're in too?!)

I'll update as the day progresses.

Here's my first sticker: YAY!


(OK, that's the only thing that looks like a sticker to me.)

 

[javacody]

I'm glad you're feeling better.

I suggested canned and cooked fruit to you like a month ago. You are hard headed, aren't you?

Applesauce is awesome stuff if you ask me. Look for fruits in jars. That plastic lining in cans is ***t. And it sounds like you don't need any more estrogens swimming around in your blood stream.

I'm willing to bet you $1 Canadian that your digestive tract is what is causing your high estrogen. And now that you've admitted to inhaling pufas like a college student inhales bong smoke, I think we can understand why you are having problems.

But I'm not judging. Because I've been there. I still go there at times. It ain't easy once you're broke down. And most people who ain't broke down just don't ******* get it, do they?

**** them. And the horse they rode in on.

I'm paying attention to this. You are helping me. My daughter has many of these symptoms and once you figure it out, I have an idea what to try with her.

When I get my pizza or fast food, I try to minimize the damage. My pizza is cheese pizza only, but usually lots of it (cheese, my favorite is double mozzarella, cheedar, and provolone!). And if I get a burger, I get JUST a burger. No fries. Nothing fried in veggie oils whatsoever. And no mayo or sauces (other than ketchup and mustard).

I'm starting to make my own versions of these things at home. But when you feel like you're dying, it's really ******* hard to shop and cook, isn't it?

You're going to get cravings. You're going to want things. Restricting too much will only hurt you in the long run. Let your hair down. Eat some Bugles. Eat some ice cream. Drink some coke. Be happy. Cuss like a sailor. Have orgasms. Enjoy the little things!

 

[javacody]

Also. A song for you.

I heard this last night when I watched Hector and the Search for Happiness. Good movie. Almost as good as the Secret Life of Water Mitty.

[bbvideo=640,360]https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=23&v=3dAWPsrraBk[/bbvideo]

 

[Peat's_Girl]

I'm glad you're feeling better.

I am?!

I suggested canned and cooked fruit to you like a month ago. You are hard headed, aren't you?

Hard headed but not hard bodied Y_Y
I don't remember that. I think at the time I was caught up with so many nutrients to avoid that I wasn't listening!

I'm willing to bet you $1 Canadian that your digestive tract is what is causing your high estrogen. And now that you've admitted to inhaling pufas like a college student inhales bong smoke, I think we can understand why you are having problems.

True!

But I'm not judging. Because I've been there. I still go there at times. It ain't easy once you're broke down. And most people who ain't broke down just don't f***ing get it, do they?

You mean broke as in poor or broke as in emotionally/ physically broken down? 'Cause yes to both. ;c

f*** them. And the horse they rode in on.

I think it was a jackass. >;D

I'm paying attention to this. You are helping me. My daughter has many of these symptoms and once you figure it out, I have an idea what to try with her.

Wow, really? I thought I was just plugging away to no one but kept at it hoping that when my dusty bones are rotting away in some crypt (yes, I plan on taking over as a dictator and decreeing my own crypt, thank-you-very-much!), some unfortunate soul will stumble on this and will be like, "Aha! This worked!" or "Oh, God, she failed so miserably that it killed her (yet brought her fame and fortune as a dictator, go figure) so I will do the exact opposite!"

I'm glad you have your eye on me Cody.
(Yes this is a plug for a dirty joke. Use it wisely.)

You're going to get cravings. You're going to want things. Restricting too much will only hurt you in the long run. Let your hair down. Eat some Bugles. Eat some ice cream. Drink some coke. Be happy. Cuss like a sailor. Have orgasms. Enjoy the little things!

Ah! Brilliant! I've searched high and low for bugles all over the city and today the store near me decided to stock them! Thanks for whatever voodoo you were employing!

You're absolutely right. Restriction got me in this mess so it won't get me out. Especially if I still don't know what I'm doing. I think eschewing wheat is a start. Religiously tracking my sleep and cycle is another!

Hey, the fact I'm having a period after years of absence is something!