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I know my progesterone is low, but we can't afford it. So, I'm staring antidepressants.

post #1 of 8
10/13/10 at 5:17pm
Thread Starter 
How sucky is that? Got my adrenal test that showed I am depressed in the am, but am high the rest of the day/night. That means that I can't get up in the morning and sleep at night. Anyway, they also tested for progesterone and I'm really low. We can not afford the progesterone cream/adrenal supps or a second opninon (in order to get progesteron prescribed). The ND we were seeing is just ridiculous. I am not going back to him. Also, my thyroid is a bit low and he has me on armour just to get me to the low end of normal. Grrrr. Anyway, the three things to test for w/depression are thryroid, adrnals, and progesterone. We have been trying to do this holistically, but we are out of $$. I hope these anti-depresants help. THey are pracitcally free with the oregon health plan. I can't go on anymore like this.
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post #2 of 8
10/13/10 at 5:44pm
JENinOR I hope these anti-depressants work for you. It's frustrating that you can't afford those other medications right now. When you're in a dark place you hope something will help. Let us know how it goes.
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post #3 of 8
10/13/10 at 8:14pm
That's too bad-- to know what would be better, but have to settle. I hope it helps you a lot!

At first when I saw the tag line, I thought-- hmm, anti-D are WAY higher than prog cream! But I wasn't thinking of otc cream not being on an insurance plan (told myself, duh, LOL).

Have you tried at vitaminshoppe dot com? BC I get mine there way way cheapo (if you're not married to a certain brand, you can do ok). Just a thought.

blessings!
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post #4 of 8
10/14/10 at 5:39am
Please, please, research this some more... In your situation you are not supposed to be prescribed Armour without supporting your adrenals with cortisone! (I think the slip that comes with Armour even says this.)

BTDT, taking both dessicated Thyroid and used to be on cortisone. They are HUGE when it comes to mental health. I used to have just about an impossible time getting out of bed in the morning, everything was gray, etc. Every symptom has been taken away by being on the optimal amount of dessicated thyroid. I now have my life back. (In order to raise Armour high enough, you will need adrenal support.)

Frankly, I want to be supportive but, from what I understand, antidepressants will only go so far when your thyroid/adrenals are the problem. I would not worry so much about the progesterone, as getting your thyroid levels ok and your adrenals supported might take care of that, anyway. Also, please make sure you are going "all the way" with Armour. It is a common mistake to take too little or to not increase the dosage early enough.
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post #5 of 8
10/14/10 at 1:54pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the support and care all!

Anumaria, thanks for sharing your experience. So helpful. Yes, I know that thyroid and adrenal support can make all the difference! I HATE the idea of taking the AD and not treating the cause, even though they could help. I think we are going to go the holistic route again. I think. I talked to dh last night and told him that the AD would decrease my labido to nothing, but that progesterone would actually increase it, knowing that he would somehow make it happen if he knew that. Well he's all on board to go the holistic route now. One thing I disagree with a bit is the progesterone. Getting thyroid and adrenals supported can help raise progesterone, but then again it could just slightly or even not at all. I have read testimony after testimonyof women who wanted to kill themselves and children who after a wicked time of depression found out their progesterone was low and after a short time of supplmentation were a different person. Like night and day. Symptoms of low progesterone are low energy, cloudy/confused brain function, depression, anger...just to name a few. Low progesterone also effect the thyroid, majorly.

So, although we are going the holistic route again, I'm not sure when we can afford it, but knowing this helps a littl ewith the depression, but I'm not sure if I can wait until then and not go balisitic again. We'll see. This sucks.
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post #6 of 8
10/14/10 at 1:59pm
Thread Starter 
Oh, and I have a Zoloft prescription just in case. Tempting. So, tempting.
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post #7 of 8
10/14/10 at 2:06pm
Thread Starter 
Okay so I want to share this here. Just in case it could help someone. I have a book that is my health bible. It's called Mommy Diagnostics by Shonda Parker. She is a master herbalist and I refer to her book more than another and I have lots and lots of health books. The first thing she lists for depression and Physical Intervention is...

1.Cover the basics of making sure there is not an answer to be found in correcting hormonal deficincies: thyroid function should be evaluated, those with hypothyroidism frequently experience depression; consider an adrenal stress test to measure cortisol and SHEA in the saliva as an elevated cortisol level in the morning combined with a decreased DHEA level is found in those with depression and can be addressed along the serotnin lines of therapy (botanical or pharmacuetical); estrogen/progesterone balance - PMS, perimenopause, pregnancy, postpartum, menopause are all time of signifcant hormaonal flucuation and can contribute to a lowered ability to cope.
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post #8 of 8
10/15/10 at 5:44pm
I am not in the USA, so please take this for what it is worth...

It is possible that all you need is Armour and Hydrocortisone. Not sure about there, but here HC is very cheap, though Armour is not. You could see what happend when you get your HC going and are able to get on enough Armour. If you still need the progesterone at that point, you can take another look at your financial situation.

Being hypo and having adrenal fatique is hell. Not sure how much the lack of progesterone can add to that. (Hell is hell already, afterall...)
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Mothering › Forums › Pregnancy and Birth › Postpartum Depression › I know my progesterone is low, but we can't afford it. So, I'm staring antidepressants.