Hormones and mood swings are very closely related. The real culprit is the delicate balance between two very important female hormones: estrogen and progesterone. Suzanne Somers, in her excellent book, The Sexy Years, entitles one of her chapters, “I'm Out of Estrogen, and I Have a Gun!” The truth is, if you are low in either one of the hormones, you could be, at certain times of the month, the “Wicked Witch of the West.”
Why is this? Estrogen is known as the female hormone. But too much of it can make you edgy, have a short fuse, and sometimes become downright mean. We call it estrogen dominance: too much estrogen-not enough progesterone. Estrogen is an excitatory hormone. It affects the nervous system. Progesterone is a relaxing hormone. It balances out the estrogen. So what if you become imbalanced? You are more apt to be emotional or even depressed. If you are still menstruating, you will have worsened PMS and will have moderate to severe menstrual problems such as heavy bleeding and cramping, and even endometriosis. Another sign of high estrogen/low progesterone is insomnia.
So many women come in to our clinic with the same comment: “Four to five days before my period is going to start, something comes over me that I can’t help. I even know that my period is going to start soon. I know that I am going to get my PMS. But there is nothing I can do about it. It just happens. My husband hides. My kids run. Then my period starts and like magic I'm my old self again...until next month. I hate it.”
This is low progesterone/high estrogen. We have always joked: “Use PROgesterone, not PROzac.” Progesterone is the mood leveler. It does wonders for women that are prone to anxiety and/or panic attacks. So if your mood swings get worse just prior to the beginning of your menstrual period, or at the time of ovulation, get your progesterone levels checked. Your family will love you for it!
-M. Decker, Las Vegas, NV