Hi to you all,
Im allergic to my own estrogen and have therefore had my ovaries removed
Hi there,
I am also allergic or at least intolerant to my own estrogen. Oh, I have so many different things going on all at once that are so rare, I am sick and tired of hearing, "Well, I've never seen that before," from docs.
In the first week of my first period when I was 16, (late bloomer, are you too?) I got a killer migraine with a continuing looping Aura and I've been suffering with them for, well, you do the math, I'm 52 now :)
I average 15 migraines a month. And here's the kicker. I had my ovaries removed 6 yrs ago.
But because I did it so young, I am having unbelievable menopausal symptoms that are debilitating. I HAVE to be on some estrogen to help control them. I've tried everything else. And I'm allergic to soy, dairy, wheat, corn, licorice, black cohosh, most ginseng and on and on...Oh also, so sensitive to medications, I can't really do much about the pain. I do a lot of alternative modalities. Accupuncture usually yields the longest results.
During my pregnancy, (the reason I only have one child) I had, and I am not exaggerating here, a migraine every single day, and 24/7 morning sickness from the earliest signs of pregnancy until he came out. He's fine, thank goodness.
I don't know if anyone can relate to this, it's a bit different from what I've read. But I came over from the Chronic pain thread too.
For those of you experiencing allergic reactions to estrogen, I would LOVE to hear if you grew up in a particularly toxic environment. water pollution, near open sewer lines, or near chemical plants, electrical plants, or manufacturing plants. interested specifically in the place that you called "home" most of your time from birth to age 14.
Anyway, that's my two cents. It doesn't really help solve anything, but at least know others out there have all kinds of issues with their own estrogen. I'm sure glad somebody's "seen this before." :)
Peace and good luck....
I am also allergic or at least intolerant to my own estrogen. Oh, I have so many different things going on all at once that are so rare, I am sick and tired of hearing, "Well, I've never seen that before," from docs.
In the first week of my first period when I was 16, (late bloomer, are you too?) I got a killer migraine with a continuing looping Aura and I've been suffering with them for, well, you do the math, I'm 52 now :)
I average 15 migraines a month. And here's the kicker. I had my ovaries removed 6 yrs ago.
But because I did it so young, I am having unbelievable menopausal symptoms that are debilitating. I HAVE to be on some estrogen to help control them. I've tried everything else. And I'm allergic to soy, dairy, wheat, corn, licorice, black cohosh, most ginseng and on and on...Oh also, so sensitive to medications, I can't really do much about the pain. I do a lot of alternative modalities. Accupuncture usually yields the longest results.
During my pregnancy, (the reason I only have one child) I had, and I am not exaggerating here, a migraine every single day, and 24/7 morning sickness from the earliest signs of pregnancy until he came out. He's fine, thank goodness.
I don't know if anyone can relate to this, it's a bit different from what I've read. But I came over from the Chronic pain thread too.
For those of you experiencing allergic reactions to estrogen, I would LOVE to hear if you grew up in a particularly toxic environment. water pollution, near open sewer lines, or near chemical plants, electrical plants, or manufacturing plants. interested specifically in the place that you called "home" most of your time from birth to age 14.
Anyway, that's my two cents. It doesn't really help solve anything, but at least know others out there have all kinds of issues with their own estrogen. I'm sure glad somebody's "seen this before." :)
Peace and good luck....
Hi Everyone,
I have been unwell for 14 months since stopping Yaz Birth Control Pill. After 1 year of taking it my calves began to swell, therefore my GP advised me to come off it. Since stopping, the swelling got worse and before long my thighs, then my arms, hands and face (sometimes nose and ear) also began to swell intermittently, along with burning water retention in my legs (and weight gain), hair loss and muscle twitches. Over the past 9 months I have also developed food intolerances to a huge range of Phytoestrogens in foods, the worst being soy, and I often feel flu-like. I have now also been told I have premature ovarian failure. I am having trouble getting any GP/ Immunologist to believe me because I have no rash or itchiness and the swelling is fairly generalised and not acute.
Could anyone please help and shed some light on who may be able to help me or how this could be treated? Also, please let me know if you are experiencing anything similar.
Best of luck to all of you out there.
I have been unwell for 14 months since stopping Yaz Birth Control Pill. After 1 year of taking it my calves began to swell, therefore my GP advised me to come off it. Since stopping, the swelling got worse and before long my thighs, then my arms, hands and face (sometimes nose and ear) also began to swell intermittently, along with burning water retention in my legs (and weight gain), hair loss and muscle twitches. Over the past 9 months I have also developed food intolerances to a huge range of Phytoestrogens in foods, the worst being soy, and I often feel flu-like. I have now also been told I have premature ovarian failure. I am having trouble getting any GP/ Immunologist to believe me because I have no rash or itchiness and the swelling is fairly generalised and not acute.
Could anyone please help and shed some light on who may be able to help me or how this could be treated? Also, please let me know if you are experiencing anything similar.
Best of luck to all of you out there.
Welcome to HealingWell and I am hoping we can find some answers for you.
~~Kitt~~
Moderator: Anxiety, Osteoarthritis,
GERD/Heartburn and Heart/Cardiovascular Disease.
"She Stood in the Storm & When the Wind Did Not Blow Her Away, She Adjusted Her Sails."
Phytoestrogens are plant-based compounds that act like the hormone estrogen. There are two basic types of phytoestrogens: isoflavones and lignans.
Soy products are the most common source of isoflavones, and the controversy surrounding cancer and phytoestrogens are related to soy products.
Soy allergy can be diagnossed by a prick test or a blood test for immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies. Skin allergy testing is a method for medical diagnosis of allergies that attempts to provoke a small, controlled, allergic response.
IMHO, I would look for a Dr. who deals in allergies and request some testing.
I am sure others will be along to answer questions for you.
Kindly,
Kitt
~~Kitt~~
Moderator: Anxiety, Osteoarthritis,
GERD/Heartburn and Heart/Cardiovascular Disease.
"She Stood in the Storm & When the Wind Did Not Blow Her Away, She Adjusted Her Sails."
I suspect that I have an Estrogen Allergy. Years ago I began to develop Fibroid's. I did not want to have surgery so I sought out natural treatments. I learned that fibroid's are a result of estrogen dominance so tried wild yam which balances the excessive estrogen and evening primrose oil which helps with pain and tumor prevention. This worked great and not only did I stop the fibroid problem but I eventually stopped having periods as well. I just figured it was menopause except it happened so quickly. Fast forward to about 2012 and I start thinking well I can start backing off on the wild yam now that my periods have ended. What happened was I developed a horrible rash on my hands that itched like crazy and was made even worse whenever I came into contact with rubber, plastic etc. Since I had reduced the wild yam, this of course caused my body to either produce small amounts of estrogen or absorb xenoestrogen's from the environment. The bad kind. Our Ancestors never had to deal with so much fake estrogen. So I started back on the wild yam and eventually the itching stopped but it took a long time. Now it's 2013 and I think "oh" well maybe a natural estrogen supplement will work like red clover so I try that. Everything is going great at first and I'm happy because I'm thinking a little bit of natural estrogen will help me feel more empathetic and sexy right? Sure, at first it did then the rash came back and the allergies went out of control and I developed a non stop sinus infection and just plain felt miserable. Now I am reducing the amount of natural estrogen supplement to see if that will help. I'm still not well and I still have the horrible rash but it is limited to just a few fingers instead of both hands like last time.
After experimenting on myself I have come to the conclusion that "YES", you can definitely become allergic to estrogen and "YES" it is rare but I think it is a new health condition or newly discovered health condition and that it is related to our environment and xenoestrogen's. It could be we are responding to this fake estrogen or xenoestrogen with an allergic response because our body knows that it's bad stuff and that an allergic reaction will make us stay away from it but only if we are smart enough to figure that out.
My advice to people who suffer from estrogen allergy is that it is only by avoidance of xenoestrogen's and by balancing out your hormones that you can go into remission and stop suffering. I'm not a Doctor and cannot give medical advice. I can tell you what I used and what helped me. I got rid of all the products in the house that are possible triggers: perfumes, any product with synthetic perfume or fragrance, synthetic personal care products, anything petroleum based, air fresheners, laundry soaps, candles, carpeting and upholstered furniture because it can absorb pesticides, perfumes and carcinogens. If your really want to know just google xenoestrogens and it will tell you what things have it.
Herbal supplement wild yam to balance the excessive estrogen up to 1,500 mg a day and evening primrose oil, hydrocortisone cream, saw palmetto can also help balance out the excessive estrogen but in small amounts.
Every one is different and while one of these or all of these might help you it's at least a starting place and a possible end to suffering. All of these environmental exposures can not only cause excessive estrogen but can cause all of your hormones to become unbalanced and allow xenoestrogen's to block or attach to hormone receptors. Doctors haven't figured it out yet but they will. People that suffer from it will figure it out first.
After experimenting on myself I have come to the conclusion that "YES", you can definitely become allergic to estrogen and "YES" it is rare but I think it is a new health condition or newly discovered health condition and that it is related to our environment and xenoestrogen's. It could be we are responding to this fake estrogen or xenoestrogen with an allergic response because our body knows that it's bad stuff and that an allergic reaction will make us stay away from it but only if we are smart enough to figure that out.
My advice to people who suffer from estrogen allergy is that it is only by avoidance of xenoestrogen's and by balancing out your hormones that you can go into remission and stop suffering. I'm not a Doctor and cannot give medical advice. I can tell you what I used and what helped me. I got rid of all the products in the house that are possible triggers: perfumes, any product with synthetic perfume or fragrance, synthetic personal care products, anything petroleum based, air fresheners, laundry soaps, candles, carpeting and upholstered furniture because it can absorb pesticides, perfumes and carcinogens. If your really want to know just google xenoestrogens and it will tell you what things have it.
Herbal supplement wild yam to balance the excessive estrogen up to 1,500 mg a day and evening primrose oil, hydrocortisone cream, saw palmetto can also help balance out the excessive estrogen but in small amounts.
Every one is different and while one of these or all of these might help you it's at least a starting place and a possible end to suffering. All of these environmental exposures can not only cause excessive estrogen but can cause all of your hormones to become unbalanced and allow xenoestrogen's to block or attach to hormone receptors. Doctors haven't figured it out yet but they will. People that suffer from it will figure it out first.
I know it has been a long time since any of you wrote on this but I had to share. I developed a serious sensitivity to anything with any kind of estrogen in it. I have terrible neuropathy in my arms, legs and face. The stinging gets so bad I will cry. I am a certified social researcher and when my doctor couldn't figure it out, I put my skills to work for me. I am so much better but it took time to figure it all out.
First, xenoestrogens and phytoestrogens all make me ill. The absolute worst offender turned out to be laundry products because anything you put on your skin is absorbed by your body but the body has trouble eliminating it. Laundry products (even most of the "organic" stuff) is high in chemicals I cannot have. I switched to Sun Oxi from Dollar General, Arm and Hammer Super Washing SODA (not detergent) for washing and 1/2 cup of baking soda in the rinse for fabric softening.
I use Crystal deodorant and check everything you put on your skin. Parabens are the worst offenders.
Pollutants in water, food and cleaning products also make me really ill.
After years of being a lacto-oovo vegetarian, I had to change that because phyto estrogens make me sick now.... no nuts or seeds of any kind. No chocolate, soy or black cohosh.
I take natural Progesterone which helps huge.
No progesterone blockers like peppermint, cinnamon or rosemary.
Also, nutritionally, B100, Magnesium, Calcium D3 5000 IU, Alpha Lipoic Acid and Pure Prescriptions protein powder helps.
Finally, natural sources of iodine help reduce estrogen sensor sensitivity. I Iorodol but I hear great things about Lugol's iodine too.
I hope this helps people. I am not a doctor remember. This worked on me after I experimented upon myself. I also conducted an extensive and FORMAL literary review of medical studies and sought medical opinion
First, xenoestrogens and phytoestrogens all make me ill. The absolute worst offender turned out to be laundry products because anything you put on your skin is absorbed by your body but the body has trouble eliminating it. Laundry products (even most of the "organic" stuff) is high in chemicals I cannot have. I switched to Sun Oxi from Dollar General, Arm and Hammer Super Washing SODA (not detergent) for washing and 1/2 cup of baking soda in the rinse for fabric softening.
I use Crystal deodorant and check everything you put on your skin. Parabens are the worst offenders.
Pollutants in water, food and cleaning products also make me really ill.
After years of being a lacto-oovo vegetarian, I had to change that because phyto estrogens make me sick now.... no nuts or seeds of any kind. No chocolate, soy or black cohosh.
I take natural Progesterone which helps huge.
No progesterone blockers like peppermint, cinnamon or rosemary.
Also, nutritionally, B100, Magnesium, Calcium D3 5000 IU, Alpha Lipoic Acid and Pure Prescriptions protein powder helps.
Finally, natural sources of iodine help reduce estrogen sensor sensitivity. I Iorodol but I hear great things about Lugol's iodine too.
I hope this helps people. I am not a doctor remember. This worked on me after I experimented upon myself. I also conducted an extensive and FORMAL literary review of medical studies and sought medical opinion
Are you taking estrogen supplements? Please don't even mention or think about suicide. Stress will make your allergies worse. I sympathize with you since I, too, suffer from allergies. I am not sure if I was experiencing an allergic reaction to estrogen, but before I completed menopause, I used to wake up in the middle of the night scratching my skin raw. This happened every month, about ten days before my period. It would last for several days and then stop. Some months were worse than others. I would take a cool shower during the outbreak and sometimes use an icepack. Benadryl helped, as well. I wonder if you tried to cool your body with showers and icepacks if your symptoms would become more tolerable. By the way, I never took estrogen supplements, so I must have been reacting to my own body. Now that I no longer have periods ( I am 61), the monthly hives have stopped. I hope this helps you.
Can someone please give me the name / number / email to the doctor that help you with your diagnosis. I have severe rash and hives before monthly cycles - I take itchy medications daily and when I tried a low does estrogen pill I could not breath and had horrific chest pains that felt like a hear attach.
aalja@bellsouth.net
aalja@bellsouth.net
In answer to your question. Yes, I also have developed an estrogen allergy. I think I was always sensitive to estrogen before it became miserable and like you had headaches every month but estrogen allergy did not happen till I became older.
I tried taking some natural estrogen supplements like Red Clover which was okay but made me gain weight like crazy. Then I tried to use an energy supplement that had licorice in it and that caused a horrible rash and weird skin conditions that appeared to be anything from sarcoidosis to glanuloma annulare, psoriatic arthritis or contact dermatitis. The glanuloma annulare was triggered by an allergic reaction to rubber, latex or nitrile gloves. All of the gloves have estrogen mimic chemicals in the materials. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9699867. I also became allergic to my rubber thong shoes and a bra that had lining in it with material made from some kind of chemical. http://madamenoire.com/605228/are-the-chemicals-in-your-bra-making-you-sick/
https://debradeangelo.com/tag/rash-from-victorias-secret-bras/
The list of places where you can absorb excess estrogen is long. If you lived before the industrial age, most likely you would not have an estrogen allergy. Now we have a pervasive onslaught of chemicals and xenoestrogens from the environment so that our estrogen levels are not normal in any way shape or form. There is the estrogen you were born with then there is the estrogen that comes from the toxic environment of man made products. As Women age they become estrogen dominant and often have too much estrogen. Because of all the envriomental factors coming into play now, that is going to happen at a much younger age and all estrogen related cancers will increase as well as all estrogen related autoimmune disorders.
What to avoid:
http://rachaelpontillo.com/xenoestrogens-12-ways-avoid-24-ways-spot/
Autoimmune disorders caused by estrogen dominance:
http://www.functionalps.com/blog/2012/03/25/autoimmune-disease-and-estrogen-connection/
Last but not least. How to balance out all that estrogen and get some relief. I am just going to list the supplements and leave you to research, choose and experiment on your own. I can't really flat out tell you for several reasons. The most important reason is drug companies make a killing off these autoimmune disorders. They sure as hell don't want you to get better because that will kill their profits. The other reason is drug companies constantly try to kill the competition or any natural herbs, medicine etc. that might help people. This is not intended to treat, diagnose or cure. Just sharing a list of things I found helpful. They will not cure estrogen dominance but some of these things may turn it off so you are not in a constant state of misery, inflammation or facing bigger cancer risks.
Evening Primrose Oil (for inflammation and to reduce breast cancer risk)
Flax Seed Oil (reduces tumor size)
Wild Yam capsules (balances estrogen dominance)
Saw Palmetto (balances estrogen dominance)
Thymus glandular's capsule or tablets (repairs damage to thymus by estrogen and chemical damage)
Hydrocortisone Cream (to relieve itching and redness caused by estrogen/chemical contact to skin
Get your thyroid checked
Other hormones that can become out of balance due to xenostrogens
Thyroid (affected by pthalates in perfumes, plastizers, etc)
Adrenal (becomes out of balance first before thyroid)
Thymus (damaged by benzene's, xenoestrogens and other chemicals
The liver is also affected by xenohormones http://www.womenlivingnaturally.com/articlepage.php?id=73
Hope this helps.
I tried taking some natural estrogen supplements like Red Clover which was okay but made me gain weight like crazy. Then I tried to use an energy supplement that had licorice in it and that caused a horrible rash and weird skin conditions that appeared to be anything from sarcoidosis to glanuloma annulare, psoriatic arthritis or contact dermatitis. The glanuloma annulare was triggered by an allergic reaction to rubber, latex or nitrile gloves. All of the gloves have estrogen mimic chemicals in the materials. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9699867. I also became allergic to my rubber thong shoes and a bra that had lining in it with material made from some kind of chemical. http://madamenoire.com/605228/are-the-chemicals-in-your-bra-making-you-sick/
https://debradeangelo.com/tag/rash-from-victorias-secret-bras/
The list of places where you can absorb excess estrogen is long. If you lived before the industrial age, most likely you would not have an estrogen allergy. Now we have a pervasive onslaught of chemicals and xenoestrogens from the environment so that our estrogen levels are not normal in any way shape or form. There is the estrogen you were born with then there is the estrogen that comes from the toxic environment of man made products. As Women age they become estrogen dominant and often have too much estrogen. Because of all the envriomental factors coming into play now, that is going to happen at a much younger age and all estrogen related cancers will increase as well as all estrogen related autoimmune disorders.
What to avoid:
http://rachaelpontillo.com/xenoestrogens-12-ways-avoid-24-ways-spot/
Autoimmune disorders caused by estrogen dominance:
http://www.functionalps.com/blog/2012/03/25/autoimmune-disease-and-estrogen-connection/
Last but not least. How to balance out all that estrogen and get some relief. I am just going to list the supplements and leave you to research, choose and experiment on your own. I can't really flat out tell you for several reasons. The most important reason is drug companies make a killing off these autoimmune disorders. They sure as hell don't want you to get better because that will kill their profits. The other reason is drug companies constantly try to kill the competition or any natural herbs, medicine etc. that might help people. This is not intended to treat, diagnose or cure. Just sharing a list of things I found helpful. They will not cure estrogen dominance but some of these things may turn it off so you are not in a constant state of misery, inflammation or facing bigger cancer risks.
Evening Primrose Oil (for inflammation and to reduce breast cancer risk)
Flax Seed Oil (reduces tumor size)
Wild Yam capsules (balances estrogen dominance)
Saw Palmetto (balances estrogen dominance)
Thymus glandular's capsule or tablets (repairs damage to thymus by estrogen and chemical damage)
Hydrocortisone Cream (to relieve itching and redness caused by estrogen/chemical contact to skin
Get your thyroid checked
Other hormones that can become out of balance due to xenostrogens
Thyroid (affected by pthalates in perfumes, plastizers, etc)
Adrenal (becomes out of balance first before thyroid)
Thymus (damaged by benzene's, xenoestrogens and other chemicals
The liver is also affected by xenohormones http://www.womenlivingnaturally.com/articlepage.php?id=73
Hope this helps.
Finding this thread was a gold mine of information. I've been having issues with rashes and my stomach ever since I started puberty. I could never find out what was causing my hives. It got to be pretty severe throughout my adolescence, but calmed down when I was about 18. The hives never went away completely, but they became less frequent and less severe. My hives are a chronic case, btw. They will persist for months, sometimes multiple reactions at a time, unless I get on steroids.
Recently, I started birth control at 25 and the hell I went through in high school is repeating itself with and added symptom, folliculitis. At first, I thought the birth control was just causing acne. My last two reactions were so severe that I had to get on medicine for it because it was spreading EVERYWHERE. on top of that it was accompanied by hives, my first tip that it was an allergy. Since this only started after starting birth control, I thought that might be the cause and searched the internet where I found this thread. Finally, answers! During my first reaction, I was on steroids and antibiotics. I brought this information to my doctor. This current reaction, my doctor suggested trying the steroids on their own to see if it was allergies. The hives and folliculitis started going away within hours of being on steroids. I already have an appointment to switch birth control.
Reading further into this thread, I'm realizing that a lot of the allergy triggers all have one thing in common: estrogen. Food and soaps give me hell. From hives, to bloating/gas, to fatigue, to subdermal itching they all give me some sort of allergic/intolerant reaction. Thank you everyone!
Recently, I started birth control at 25 and the hell I went through in high school is repeating itself with and added symptom, folliculitis. At first, I thought the birth control was just causing acne. My last two reactions were so severe that I had to get on medicine for it because it was spreading EVERYWHERE. on top of that it was accompanied by hives, my first tip that it was an allergy. Since this only started after starting birth control, I thought that might be the cause and searched the internet where I found this thread. Finally, answers! During my first reaction, I was on steroids and antibiotics. I brought this information to my doctor. This current reaction, my doctor suggested trying the steroids on their own to see if it was allergies. The hives and folliculitis started going away within hours of being on steroids. I already have an appointment to switch birth control.
Reading further into this thread, I'm realizing that a lot of the allergy triggers all have one thing in common: estrogen. Food and soaps give me hell. From hives, to bloating/gas, to fatigue, to subdermal itching they all give me some sort of allergic/intolerant reaction. Thank you everyone!
Ooo my! I have the same weird allergy. When I was a young teenager, my doctor suggested birth control in order to regulate my very non-regular periods. I think it was after a week or 2 of taking the pills ,that I began to break out in itchy hives everywhere. It just continued to get worse and I also started to have swelling throughout my body and a fever and felt kinda ill. Seemed to link to the pills so we switched to a different brand. Same thing began to happen so I stopped taking them. Then he suggested the patch ,because it's absorbed in the body different or something. Days later I began to break out in hives all around the patch. So my doc said at that point the only common denominator was the synthetic hormones themselves and he wasn't sure if it could pose a problem if or when I got pregnant. However I've had 2 boys and was fine, thank goodness! But I often wonder if that would have been a different story if I had a girl. Idk
Mostly when I mention BC on my allergic meds ,they just kinda look at me like it's not possible, until I describe the reaction.
Mostly when I mention BC on my allergic meds ,they just kinda look at me like it's not possible, until I describe the reaction.