Environmental Estrogens

I gathered these links about environmental estrogens (xenestrogens) some time ago. I saw an online discussion about precocious puberty but realized that I didn't have anything up to share. Hope these are helpful for you. They are pertinent for fibroid treatment, infertility and cancer/precancerous diet clean-up as well.

Are Plastic Bowls and Plastic Wraps Microwave Safe?

The perils of plastic: your cling wrap could be leaching chemicals

Is It Unhealthy To Reuse A Plastic Water Bottle? [this is from way before the recent concerns raised about BPA]

That plastic water bottle's taste

Our Stolen Future -- companion website to the book that raises concerns about environmental contaminants and our health

Pew Charitable Trusts - Environmental Health
The Kid-Safe Chemicals Act: Protecting the Most Vulnerable

Xenoestrogens the cause of Cervical Dysplasia

Fibroids and Endometriosis?

In response to Deb's question about endometriosis testing on my post about infant potty training, no, I haven't specifically had tests for endo. But I did have two HSGs and have been opened up twice -- once for my myo and once for the c-section and nothing was mentioned -- not even on my medical records. Some of my other online fibroid sisters have had endo and fibroids though -- so it is a possibility. In the book The Infertility Cure both conditions are dealt with in the same chapter -- so similar can their causes be.

I've had painful ovulations before, the first one that I recall was back in 1996 when I was just about doubled over in pain at work -- a stressful computer start-up -- and I ended up going to the emergency room just to make sure I didn't have appendicitis. Wanna know where that pain was? The same location as my fibroid showed up years later. I had an ultrasound at the time and it came back clean. After all the acupuncture I've had done I think that partially the pain comes from some form of blood stagnation in that area -- and too much stress will divert the blood flow from your reproductive organs so it it possible that its all related.

Since my c-section I've occassionally felt a few jabs of pain in that area -- which is where Twyla, my new big fibroid is located. It's not too bad so I'm hopeful that she's not going to be an issue.

Lately I've thought, as people respond in surprise when my partner and I mention that we're planning on starting to TTC again later this year, that another factor besides it taking so long and the miscarriages, that also the fibroids I have are another consideration. One good thing for the moment now though is that breastfeeding suppresses estrogen production so it is possible that my fibroids will shrink substantially until my period shows up again. The reduction in estrogen also causes me to have dry skin, so dry I have hives on my upper arms, and it also dries out the girly bits so that sex is a bit uncomfortable. There's no winning.

Bad Estrogen

Sounds dramatic doesn't it but there really is estrogen known to be the bad kind, the kind that can lead to cancer. Since I'm not doing acu treatment or chinese herbs right now and its just up to me to try to fix me I decided to do some more research into PMS and estrogen. It's that time of the month (mid-luteal phase) and my breasts are so uncomfortable. The only time I've had real relief for a while was after both pregnancies, I guess due to the pregnancy types of estrogen being dominant then.

So here are some of the links I came across that interested me:

Predictors of the plasma ratio of 2-hydroxyestrone to 16-hydroxyestrone among pre-menopausal, nulliparous women from four ethnic groups

The relationship between physical activity and 2-hydroxyestrone, 16alpha-hydroxyestrone, and the 2/16 ratio in premenopausal women

DIM (Di-Indoly Methane)For Natural Protection from Estrogen's Effects

What I picked out that might relate to me are:

...that since dietary therapy alone hasn't helped, and my mother had PMS as well that there might be a heriditary factor.

...that exercise really might help my body to metabolize the bad estrogen more

...that taking DIM for a while might not be such a bad idea, at least to see if I can detect any changes.

Stupid Hot Flash or Something

I had a night sweat two nights ago and a hot flash yesterday evening that lasted quite a while. I did a FM test which showed really strong estrogen, stronger than the previous 5 days (mid-LP) which I was testing for just to see if there was any LH or reason to use a HPT (we can all have dreams right).

I read on a menopause site that some women have hot flashes even with elevated estrogen levels. I guess that would be me. But why is my estrogen peaking this late in my cycle (cd10?)(maybe its normal -- see hormonal chart on this page -- but why does it give me hot flashes and night sweats?)

I feel like I'm such a hormonal mess and I don't know if its genetic, environmental or what but for all the acu and herbs I've done (not too many herbs) why is my body still such a freak. I feel broken.

And since my mother's hormonal pattern was really similar to mine and she's recently been dx with breast cancer its even more concerning ya know?

I just came across this page about CFS and some of my symptoms/pattern are there, particularly the kidney yang/spleen qi and kidney qi deficiency. I want to be balanced, not deficient.

Athletically Induced Amenorrhea/ Female Athlete Triad

A woman posted to an online group about her high school aged daughter having amenorrhea and low estrogen. The gynecologist wanted to put the girl on birth control pills to boost her estrogen. Since I had already come across references to this condition during my searches I went out looking for more links so that she and her daughter could see there were other ways to treat this condition that did not include hormones.

The female athlete triad is three conditions that show up together in women athletes who overexert themselves: osteoporosis, amenorrhea and disordered eating.

Here are some links to learn more about what they know about this condition:

ATHLETIC AMENORRHEA

Amenorrhea in Adolescent Athletes

Female Athlete Triad

Female athletes face risks in overtraining

Menstrual Disturbances in Female Athletes


Poor diet, excess exercise can mean weak bones, heart trouble for young women

The Opponent: the Female Athlete Triad


From a quick scan it sounds like the issue is dietary and that increasing calcium and D intake (don't forget about magnesium, and likely zinc as well) might help improve hormone production/balance.

Do a google search on the terms "athletically induced amenorrhea" or "ballet amenorrhea" (lots of ballet dancers have this problem), also "female athlete triad" and you will find more info.

You also might be interested in this article from a traditional chinese medicine standpoint:

Restoring the Flow -- TCM and Amenorrhea

Birth control patch linked to higher fatality rate/ Estrogen thickens blood?

Birth control patch linked to higher fatality rate
Report: Device has three times greater risk of stroke, blood clot
than pill

"Blood clots are an accepted risk from hormonal birth control because estrogen promotes blood coagulation."

Had you heard this about estrogen? In Traditional Chinese Medicine
blood stasis as one of the causes of fibroids. Chinese herbs that I
took last year that did cause a reduction in my fibroid size included blood thinners (which I noted since I used them during my period accidentally and had some crazy bleeding for a few hours). Very interesting...

BTW--

Since I'm Ms. Infertility I've had lots of blood work done to check
on my hormones, I've tested borderline low for progesterone and
elevated estradiol (at least at last check)

How many of you have had your cycle day three bloodwork done by the
way? It's a common panel dones for women who are trying to conceive,
especially when you are experiencing infertility, but I'm not sure
how common it is for regular ob/gyn care. I don't expect that many
women to have had their progesterone level checked (7 days post
ovulation), another common blood test done for fertility. I just
wonder how many of us are running around with hormonal imbalances
that are going unchecked, treatable perhaps by diet and lifestyle
changes.

A little bit off

I've just started back in with infertility testing again and had my CD3 yesterday. So, my panel came back normal for FSH and LH, with just a teench more estrogen than normal. I want to get my prolactin tested as I think it might be a little bit high, perhaps in a subclinical way. I've looked up hyperprolactinemia in the past and have a lot of links. Today I was looking for the relationship between estrogen and prolactin and came across some interesting things that I thought I would share along with some other facts I've picked up along the way...

• Too much or too little prolactin causes infertility
  
• Prolactin excess can be stimulated by excess estrogen (this include using fertility drugs)
  
• Prolactin has been linked to low progesterone during the luteal phase
  
• Stress can elevate prolactin levels
  
• Dopamine regulates prolactin levels
  
• Stress can deplete dopamine levels in the brain
  
• Estrogen deprivation kills dopamine cells in the brain
  
• Excess estrogen leads to dopamine depletion
  
• Low progesterone leads to excess estrogen production
  
• Excess prolactin is linked to hypothyroidism
  
• Hypothyroidism and low progesterone can sometimes be linked to excess estrogen
  

And all of this could be on a subclinical level. Are you seeing the chicken and the egg here? So, for those of you who are relatively normal body weight and are experiencing infertility without other causes, such as IR or PCOS or a blockage, this might be one option for the hormonal imbalance that is impairing your fertility. A whole lotta little things being off just a little.

I'm going to explore this theory with my doctor in the coming weeks especially since I believe I have signs of excess prolactin.

Menstrual Irregularities

Here's a page which illustrates/explains different types of menstrual irregularities:

http://www.femalehealthmadesimple.com/FileTwelveFinal.html

"Any woman of childbearing age who has missed more than two consecutive periods -- but was not pregnant -- needs to investigate it and possibly have her period induced. Preventing the development of hyperplasia is the reason."
From: Endometrial Hyperplasia, WebMD

"Excessive estrogen stimulation can lead to significant increases in uterine lining thickness. The tissue becomes hyperplastic or atypically hyperplastic . It may become cancerous."

(and)

"Inadequate ovulation may cause excessive, irregular, or frequent menses recurring less than every 3 weeks. Inadequate ovulation leads to an excess of estrogen, which stimulates growth of the menstrual lining, and a decreased level of progesterone - which normally would be present in levels that would adequately thin the menstrual lining and prevent excess or irregular bleeding."
From: Dr Decker, Heavy Menstrual Cycles Management Options

"We like to see a lining of at least 8mm in thickness when measured by ultrasound at the time of maximal thickness during the cycle (see above ultrasound images of an 11.5 mm lining). There is some ongoing debate as to "how thin is too thin", as well as to "how thick is too thick". In general, 8-13 mm is good, less than 6 is potentially a problem, and greater than 15 or so could possibly reduce chances for a successful pregnancy."
From: Uterine problems causing infertility or miscarriage

Interesting facts about estrogens

Estrogen, that is too much estrogen without enough progesterone to counterbalance it, is theorized to cause disease such as fibroids and endometriosis. Here's a complilation of information about estrogens.

"over 30 different forms of estrogen have been described; the most common forms tested are estrone [E1], estradiol [estradiol-17 beta,E2], and estriol [E3]"
http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/estrogen/glance.html

"The majority (over 90 percent) of the estrogen present in a pre-menopausal woman's body is made in the ovaries. A smaller additional quantity of estrogen is produced by the adrenal glands and peripheral tissues such as fat, liver, and kidneys by converting androgens to estrogens. Estrogen hormones are also formed in the placenta during pregnancy."
http://www.dhyansanjivani.org/Estrogen.asp

"Increasing FSH levels during the late luteal phase leads to an increase in the number of FSH receptors and ultimately to an increase in estradiol secretion by granulosa cells."
http://www.endotext.org/female/female3/female3.htm

"Estradiol-17b (E2), a steroid hormone, is the most active estrogen in the body. In circulation, E2 is primarily bound to sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG)."
http://www.dpcweb.com/medical/reproductive_endocrinology/estradiol.html

"Estriol is produced predominantly in the liver as a metabolite of estrone and estradiol."
Is Estriol Safer Than Estradiol?

"For the first 4-6 weeks of pregnancy, estrone originates primarily from maternal sources such as the ovaries, adrenals, or peripheral conversion (57). Later, the placenta secretes increasing quantities of estrone from the conversion of circulating maternal and fetal DHEAS. The placenta continues to be the major source of circulating estrone for the remainder of the pregnancy (53). Estrone concentrations are less than 0.1 ng/mL during the follicular phase and may reach a maximum of 0.3 ng/mL during the luteal phase of a normal menstrual cycle. Following conception, estrone concentrations remain within the luteal phase range through weeks 6-10 of gestation(54). Subsequently there is a gradual increase to a wide range of 2-30 ng/ml at term (53,54,57) (Figures 6 and 8)."
http://www.endotext.org/female/female13/female13.htm

Estrogen Dominance Syndrome
by Ronald Hoffman, M.D.
Conscious Choice, September 1999