Are you’re struggling with your fertility or overall health and think estrogen dominance might be the culprit? In this blog post I’m going to share some symptoms of being estrogen dominant/ have low progesterone and how you can hopefully heal yourself holistically. I am not a doctor, just a woman desperately seeking health after years of hormonal imbalances and now the most heartbreaking journey of all recurrent miscarriage.
Our hormones as women dictate so much of our daily lives. They’re constantly changing throughout the month down to the day. Hormones are complex and confusing. Because they aren’t something you and I can just see sometimes its hard to tell if hormones are really the culprit and if they are how to fix it. I hope that whatever brought you here today you find healing from. What I’ve learned from this experience is that when your health is in crisis you feel so hopeless and overwhelmed. However, what I want you to leave here feeling is HOPE. You have the power to take back your health. Knowledge is power and if you’re struggling be encouraged that you can heal even if it might take some trial and error.
My journey isn’t over but I’ve made improvements with some of the things I’m going to share here today. Instead of writing about my journey once I’ve “arrived” I want to share now in hopes theres someone out there reading who could benefit from this information I’ve searched high and low for.
In January of 2021 I landed myself a new job at a grocery store. Let me tell you retail work is no joke. I was dedicated to my job and hoped to get into management. 40+ hour weeks with early mornings, late nights, closing my department down leaving late at night only to be back in at 5am. This led to an intense hustle mentality, multiple energy drinks a day on and empty stomach and not eating for hours breaking my fast with things like donuts. To put it bluntly, I was destroying my body.
My husband and I found out we were pregnant the day we were leaving for our out of state wedding in January 2023. I can’t even begin to describe how in love we were with out little baby we had yet to meet. At 11.5 weeks pregnant we had our first ultrasound we learned our sweet baby boy had passed away weeks ago. I ended up officially passing my son a couple weeks later.
After the loss of my son I was devastated… My world felt like it was ending. I was in the worst mental state of my life. It wasn’t long before I felt ready to try again. We tried in May 2023 and felt so blessed to be pregnant again! I ended up miscarrying two days before mothers day and was absolutely heartbroken. We fell pregnant for a third time in June only to miscarry once again about a week later. After my third miscarriage I went to the doctors and left with no answers. My blood work was find and was told to just “keep trying”. We then took a break in July trying again in August. Once again getting pregnant only to yet again have a miscarriage for a fourth time…
I had been doing lots of research since my first miscarriage started supplementing, tracking ovulating, doing a heavy metal detox etc. I felt like I was shooting darts blindly because my doctor wouldn’t run any tests on me. Finally, I went to another doctor in my area and begged for a hormone panel which she would not give me. She told me was that based off my symptoms she recommend go on progesterone as soon as I get a positive. I too had suspected I was experiencing low progesterone. Upon tracking my cycle it was evident there was a luteal phase defect. However, I did not want to take that as my answer.
In 2019 I carried my daughter to almost 42 weeks with no problems. Because of this, I knew my body was capable and that this was a new issue. If I needed progesterone I wanted to know why and how to fix it. I did not want to supplement synthetic hormones to keep a pregnancy I wanted to heal my body. The only test they would do is a saline ultrasound. This test confirmed that at 23 years old I had a polyp. Upon researching, it became more evident this was another sign my progesterone was low and my estrogen was too high.
This was the final straw for me. After hearing that I knew my body was in desperate need of healing. This has led me hear to share about my experience with all of you. I’m excited to share my journey to a healthy baby and help any woman out there who needs this information.
Estrogen Dominance is when estrogen levels are abnormally high or high relative to progesterone. Our hormones are changing all throughout the month as women. Some of us however, are struggling with hormonal imbalances leading to issues with our weight, mental clarity, fertility, health problems and more. It is crucial that our hormones maintain in a healthy state for optimal health and vitality.
Estrogen Dominance happens for a variety of reasons. One being that you just have really low progesterone because the two work hand in hand together. However, many things in our modern world are leading to an estrogen overload crisis even in men. Things like the hormonal birth control, conventional meat and dairy products, BPA’s, Fragrance and so much more. These products contain xenoestrogens. These mimic estrogen in the body that cause major disturbances to our endocrine systems.
Thankfully, knowledge is power. We do have the ability to limit these harmful products to prevent and decrease our exposure to endocrine disruptors. If you are currently struggling with infertility or any of the symptoms above there’s a good chance you’re dealing with a hormonal imbalance.
This years cycle changes, rapid weight gain, recurrent miscarriages and uterine polyp discovery, I knew something wasn’t right. It was alarming to be told I’d never sustain a pregnancy again without synthetic progesterone pills. I didn’t want to accept that my body was broken and there was nothing I could do. This is what led me here. If you’re in desperate need of healing and feel like no one is listening please keep reading.
I truly believe food is medicine and one of the most effective ways we can nourish and heal our bodies. Food holds so many vitamins and minerals we need to survive. Unfortunately, these days not all food is created equally and lets be honest… most “food” in the grocery store isn’t really even food at all. Every time we eat we’re given an opportunity to nourish our body. The choices we decide on compound the makeup of our health in either a positive or negative way.
Meat is a powerhouse of nutrients! However, when it comes to me quality truly does matter. To get the most amount of nutrition out of meat and to avoid harmful contaminants, GMO’s and excess hormones I’ll be going with grass-fed and organic meat as well as sourcing wild-caught fish. This is something I’ve been doing for awhile by purchasing my meat from Butcher Box. It’s certainly my favorite place to get the highest quality meat for the best price. If you sign up you can use my link and if you want to learn more about my hacks to get the most meat for your money along with eating high quality food on a budget check out my blog post here!
I don’t eat a ton of dairy and with living in North Carolina I don’t have access to very much high quality raw dairy. Because of that I’m going to do my best to source the best organic or grass-fed I can as well as limiting how much I’m eating just to prevent excess hormones entering my body while I’m trying to regulate mine. If you can’t find raw milk in your area usually you can find some raw cheese options in stores or online.
When it comes to combating estrogen dominance you’ll want to get in those cruciferous vegetables! Some great examples include brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, kale etc. These veggies reduce the levels of estrogen in the body and help support liver detoxification! How amazing is that?
Oh caffeine! I love to start my day off with iced coffee and cream. Turns out this isn’t ideal, not only can too much caffeine have a negative impact on our hormones as women but having it on an empty stomach does too. This is because it can increase your cortisol levels and excess stress + hormones don’t mix well. It’s best to eat some protein and fat first thing in the morning to regulate blood sugar levels and minimize a cortisol spike. I will certainly be limiting the amount of caffeine I drink and when I do to make sure I’m purchasing an organic bean. My favorite is this one from Thrive Market!
Steady blood sugar levels are ideal when trying to regulate hormonal imbalances because continuous high blood sugar spikes can contribute to hormonal imbalances. I used a blood sugar monitor and learned quite a lot about how the foods I was eating was affecting me. Specifically bread. Sad day for me the bread baker! After I went keto for a few weeks it was incredibly eye opening to see how much better I felt with steady blood sugars. I’m not going keto however, I will be going lower carb. I’m not aiming for a certain amount of carbs I’m just going to be eliminating processed carbs like bread and rice and increasing my vegetable intake which will lower my carbs naturally.
Lifestyle is certainly where I struggle the most. I’m a very anxious person who has a hard time truly relaxing. Stress can have a big impact on our progesterone levels so it’s important to do things to minimize excess stress in the body.
We’ve all heard how important it is to get adequate hours of quality sleep per night but it really is true. I used to sleep really well however, with all the stress from this past year it’s been a real struggle.
Try to do things that could help aid you in getting a good nights rest like not eating 3 hours before bed, do things that help get you in a relaxed state. For me I know I need a cold room at night, black out curtains and a quiet space. Play around with what you might need to start getting more restful sleep at night.
Moving your body is important for so many reasons. It helps support proper blood flow to the pelvis as well as help to aid in maintaining a healthy body weight. This is important because excess fat can create excess estrogen in the body.
Stress, stress, stress. This year has been incredibly stressful I found two grey hairs on my head at only 23 years old the other day, not good. Managing stress is key because mindset really plays a huge role in out health and fertility. Finding ways to destress for you personally is crucial. Whether thats reading a book, your bible, meditating or working out play around with it and take the time to really de-stress. Avoid doing too much if you can. Your health is more important that whatever it is thats causing the stress. Trust me I know it’s easier said that done and writing that alone was very convicting.
When battling estrogen dominance I’ve learned regulating your digestive system is really important. One of the ways we expel estrogen is through bowel movements. If we aren’t having regular bowel moment’s it can cause you to reabsorb the estrogen leading to too much estrogen in the body. In order to help combat this I’m going to be upping my vegetable intake (like those cruciferous veggies we talked about!) Including some fermented veggies like sauerkraut could be a great option for some gut healthy probiotics as well as getting in some more cruciferous veggies through the cabbage. You may also want to include a daily probiotic for some extra support.
This is another huge must when balancing hormones. Being intentional doesn’t stop with what we put in our bodies. What we put on also matters a ton because like I mentioned earlier fragrance is a huge endocrine disruptor and unfortunately, I bet you most things you are using have fragrance at the minimum. I know how hard it is to hear this because I’ve been there feeling like everything you love is harming your health and doesn’t seem possible. In reality though we are dealing with an immense health and fertility specific epidemic in our country and the products we use are widely to blame especially when it comes to knocking our hormones of balance.
Check out my blog posts below on my favorite non toxic products to get you started!
I want to start off by saying I’m a big fan of supplements. The right ones though… The supplement industry is quite large and tainted with false marketing. Many supplements on the market aren’t very high quality filled with toxic ingredients or are synthetic vitamins which often times are not recognized by the body which can be harmful to your system or quite frankly a waste of money as you might literally be excreting them through your urine.
The human body is smart and isn’t easily tricked. It recognizes when something isn’t authentic. Thats why I firmly believe in using high quality whole food supplements. I’ve vetted and research all of these very heavily but I always encourage you to do your own research.
The prenatal I use is from Dr. Axe’s brand Ancient Nutrition called Prenatal Multi. I absolutely LOVE this prenatal for so many reasons. Firstly, it includes Folate which is the active form of Folic Acid you always hear about. I am personally not a fan of Folic Acid. To put it shortly there is a common gene mutation called the MTHFR gene mutation. The reason this matters is because if you have this gene variant your body may have a hard time converting Folic Acid to the active form of Folate that your body needs. Most aren’t aware they have this gene variant which is why I believe its best to supplement with the active form or to just allow your body to do one less thing.
This prenatal is also whole foods based meaning you’re getting all it’s amazing nutrients from easy to recognize nutrients from real food. The Ingredients are incredible packed with superfoods like organic ginger, beef liver, bone broth etc. I truly cannot speak highly enough of this prenatal and brand.
Organ meats are a powerhouse of nutrients! Currently I’m using Ancestral Supplements Beef Organs! There are so many benefits to include organ meats in our diets especially for those of us who are struggling with health. For years organ meats have been intuitively known to be natures multi-vitamin packed with B-vitamins, COQ10 and SO much more. B-vitamins are incredible for combating unhealthy levels of estrogen in the body and healing hormonal imbalances.
Omegas have a positive impact on women’s hormones. Us as women need fat and proper omega levels to maintain a healthy hormonal balance. Quality is crucial when picking a omega supplement and there’s a few things to look for. First, a high quality and pure omega is very important because unfortunately there are lots of impurities coming from our oceans and farmed fish like heavy metals, pesticides, plastics etc. Things like heavy metals and plastics are really harmful to our hormones so we want to be making sure we aren’t doing more harm than good. My favorite Omega 3 supplement that I highly recommend is Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omegas.
Estrogen dominance can be created when progesterone is low relative to your estrogen levels causing this estrogen to progesterone imbalance. Supporting your hormones with a boost of progesterone can help level out your hormones and bring up your progesterone. Progesterone is crucial for supporting and maintaining a pregnancy. It’s also important to see a rise in progesterone during your luteal phase for thyroid health and even maintaining a healthy weight.
Progessence Plus is wonderful because it’s a made from wild yams and bio-identical to the progesterone we as woman create. When we take synthetic progesterone it can do things such as increasing our cancer risk which is something I certainly don’t want to mess with.
You know how we talked about the importance of cruciferous vegetables? This DIM supplement from Amazon. packs in a TON of those nutrients in one capsule to help combat your estrogen dominance. This is a new supplement to me so I’m very hopeful that it will help assist in clearing my estrogen load.
Another product from Ancient Nutrition is their Alkaline Greens Powder. I’ll be honest this supplement doesn’t taste the best but you do get used to it with time. I’m incorporating this in to help aid in detoxification of my liver and digestion. These are both are excellent ways to rid your body of toxins and excess estrogen.
I hope that after reading this you start to feel some hope. I know how devastating it is to not be able to sustain your babies or to deal with health issues. We deserve the right to feel healthy in our bodies and have the ability to transform our health. I want to remind you that I am not a doctor this is just information I’ve found along my desperate journey for health and healing. Above contain links that I may receive a small commission on. These links help me to grow my blog none of these products are sponsored just the things I personally use and love!
