Estrogen

[secretly sad]

Don't know if this is the correct place to post this so please feel free to move it.

My doctor is going to put me on the pill but with a higher dosage of Estrogen to see if it will help with my pmt because I suffer really badly with this. I am really worried that this will cause weight gain - does anyone know if this might happen? Many thanks x

[atomic sagebrush]

Yes it can, but if you know that going in you can be prepared for it. I would eat fewer empty carbs to start with and more whole grains and fresh fruit and veg because the fiber in them can help excrete excess estrogen.

[secretly sad]

Thanks atomic. I that because of increased appetite or why do you out weight on? X

[atomic sagebrush]

Estrogen in high levels is a biological signal to your body that means something, either that you're gearing up to ovulate or that you're pregnant, and both of those events require laying in a little bit extra supplies in the larder (by larder, I mean "our butts" ). So estrogen can make you a little hungrier, but what's worse is that it makes your body store more calories as fat vs. muscle and it may slow your metabolism so less of the cals you eat are burned off.

[secretly sad]

Thank you atomic. Can I bother you with one last question? The contraceptive pill I was on was microgynon 150/30 and now I am on cilest 250/35. Is this a massive amount of change in estrogen?

[maidentomother]

The second number (after the slash) refers to the dose of estrogen. BCPs can have 20, 30, or 35mcg estrogen, when it comes to monophasic pills like both those you mentioned. Most pills have 30mcg. So yes, you are on a higher dose of estrogen at 35mcg, but not by a huge amount.

You also need to take into account the different type of progestin (synthetic progesterone) as different progestins vary widely in effects. On your old pill you were taking a progestin called Levonorgestrel which is a more powerful progestin than the one in your new pill, I.e. Norgestimate. Because Norgestimate has weaker progesterone and androgen properties/activity, even just changing to it from Levonorgstrel increases overall estrogenic activity. So effectively, you are now on the BCP with the strongest estrogen effect, in terms of both hormones.

I hope it helps your PMT. And be aware that each woman reacts differently to the various progestins, and not all women can tolerate all types of progestin. There are other high estrogen pills that you can take if you can't tolerate this latest one. On the other hand, you might find you vastly prefer how you feel on this new progestin. FX you get lucky!

[secretly sad]

The second number (after the slash) refers to the dose of estrogen. BCPs can have 20, 30, or 35mcg estrogen, when it comes to monophasic pills like both those you mentioned. Most pills have 30mcg. So yes, you are on a higher dose of estrogen at 35mcg, but not by a huge amount.

You also need to take into account the different type of progestin (synthetic progesterone) as different progestins vary widely in effects. On your old pill you were taking a progestin called Levonorgestrel which is a more powerful progestin than the one in your new pill, I.e. Norgestimate. Because Norgestimate has weaker progesterone and androgen properties/activity, even just changing to it from Levonorgstrel increases overall estrogenic activity. So effectively, you are now on the BCP with the strongest estrogen effect, in terms of both hormones.

I hope it helps your PMT. And be aware that each woman reacts differently to the various progestins, and not all women can tolerate all types of progestin. There are other high estrogen pills that you can take if you can't tolerate this latest one. On the other hand, you might find you vastly prefer how you feel on this new progestin. FX you get lucky!

Thank you very much for your reply x

[maidentomother]

Let us know how it works out for you.

[secretly sad]

Let us know how it works out for you.

I will do x