Help w/ PMS and estrogen dominance

Please help me with my hormones! My problem is breast tenderness and swelling as well as water retention. Every month my breasts start swelling painfully beginning about 2 weeks into my cycle (I have a 28-29 day cycle) and worsening until I get my period. Then I have cramps, though not horrible, 1 advil helps. I have a pretty light flow.

I am thinking it is probably estrogen dominance even though my flow is light. I used a plant based progesterone cream for a few months and that really helped, but I wanted my hormones to be naturally balanced. I used oral birth control for 1 year 14 years ago but since then have only used a barrier method.

What I've tried:
-I have been Primal/Paleo for almost 2 years. For the last 7 months I have been 100% compliant, before that I would cheat 10-20% of the time with gluten free food.
– Jack Kruse's leptin reset
- Cold showers for 2 month's (Kruse's cold CT)
-cutting all caffiene out
-supplements: magnesium, iodine, fermented cod liver oil, high vitamin butter oil, maka, b6 and biotin, Protandim mock up (an antioxidant), msm powder

Help me and my inflamed boobies

sounds like your body is trying to tell you it needs an extra hand at house cleaning. Have you tried Wholy tea ? It assists your body nutritionally to properly balance itself. Read up on it on the internet and I found the best prices for it on ebay >I don't sell the stuff and I'm not trying to endorse it for anyone. I just find it has helped me out in so many ways , I am also taking red reishi mushroom so you may want to read up on the internet on that too. Best wishes and I hope this helps you out. I am low on my hormones and the reishi mushroom helped me with that , it helps to balance out your body and the wholy tea helps to keep me internally working properly too

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[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3]i am experimenting with dong quai for hormonal balance right now as i am also suffering all sorts of out-of-whack symptoms making life very uncomfortable. it's only been 6 days, so i can't yet say much. just offering the info.

btw, i take d3, k2, and magnesium and eat bone broth most days. pastured eggs about daily and liver several times per week. even though my uterus remains angry, the rest of my health has improved dramatically.

as far as your diet, how do you think your o3-o6 ratios are? could that be adding to inflammation?

i know some on here think iodine will save the world, but please be very careful with it.[/SIZE][/FONT]

I take DIM (Diindolylmethane (DIM) is a stable indole found in cruciferous vegetables which promotes a beneficial estrogen metabolism in both women and men.) for estrogen dominance.

I take Agnus Castus (Vitex agnus-castus, also called Vitex, Chaste Tree, Chasteberry, Abraham's Balm or Monk's Pepper, is a native of the Mediterranean region. It is one of the few temperate-zone species of Vitex, which is on the whole a genus of tropical and sub-tropical flowering plants.... Clinical studies have demonstrated effectivness of standardised and controlled medications produced from extract of the plant in the management of premenstrual stress syndrome (PMS), and cyclical breast pain (mastalgia). The medication is recommended in Germany.) for pms symptoms.

Have you ever had your thyroid checked as well? I have a lot of these issues and think my thyroid is part of the problem. I am also pretty sure I'm not ovulating every month---and months when I dont, then the estrogen dominance is way more pronounced. how old are you---close to menopause...or in peri-menopause? This womanly thing is hard, right?!

solstice, have you been checked for PCOS?

I'm trying a cream too...I feel like I suddenly spent more time in PMS land than anywhere else, and it's not good.

Thanks guys!

Sounds like I have some supplement experimenting to do. Where to start...

I'm 32 and I just started tracking my temps. it appears i do ovulate. I have had some trouble with my thyroid in the past so it could definitely be the issue.

@ noodletoy- why be careful w/ iodine?

Primal peops are the best!

keep tracking for upcoming months!
I brought up PCOS to my docs and they all looked at me like I was nuts---cause I was within the correct weight range and didnt have excessive facial hair (that was their only basis!)

What's your D3 blood level? You need 50-80 ng/ml to have the building blocks necessary for hormone balance. Also Zinc is key.

CLO is not the best source of supplemental D3--the A to D ratio is backwards. Carlson's Solar D gems are good & in a CLO base. Don't supplement blind. Get your D level tested. Zinc can be tested via a Zinc Tally test available online (Google is your friend!)

Vitamin E.
Take it every day for a few weeks. Not a megadose, just a regular dose. While a healthy primal diet & balancing other vitamin levels has improved my overall sense of well-being, the PMS breast pain went away after taking vitamin E. I think I took it for maybe a month or two, very casually. Good luck!