SOLUTIONS FOR DISEASES OF MODERN CIVILIZATION
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Female Hormone Panel
Short cycle, memory trouble, and fatigue.
This woman was having a short ovarian hormone cycle and trouble with her memory. Also, she felt fatigued on most days. Although the doctor might order further testing, we discussed output from the Female Hormone Panel (FHP). This test is used to "map" hormonal events of the cycle. A short cycle often is the result of progesterone dropping too soon in the luteal phase. Also, low progesterone can greatly affect brain function and easily could be related to symptoms like memory problems.
What the test showed was fairly normal estradiol throughout the cycle. Progesterone was abnormal in that most of the samples were at follicular-phase levels, or just slightly above, with the exception of one very high value on day 14 of her cycle. The fact that her progesterone was low, shot up high, then crashed back down to low levels by day 16 explained why her cycle was short that month. When the progesterone drops that much, it signals the brain that the woman is not pregnant, so start another cycle. Of course not all months produce exactly the same hormonal levels, but consecutive months are usually similar.
I suggested the doctor consider sublingual progesterone supplementation throughout the luteal phase of the cycle and continuing through day 28 (the length of the patient's cycle in the past).
Giving the patient graduated progesterone augmentation through the luteal phase will help retrain her brain and ovaries to respond more normally. We see this entrainment occur over the course of several cycles. Of course, the better the patient's overall health and the younger she is, the better results we expect.
Warm regards,
Dr. Mark Rhodes, Ph.D.
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