Question: I am 51 and having severe depression which I believe to be due to menopause. I have been put on HRT by my doctor. I feel worse on the estrogen tablets but seem a bit better on progesterone. Am I doing this right?Larry’s Response: You are on the right path. The symptoms you experience (including depression) are usually associated with what we call estrogen dominance.
This is NOT too much estrogen, but an imbalance between progesterone and the chemicals in your body that ACT like estrogen (plasticizers, pesticides, milk hormones, and so on). There is a false belief “out there” that all women need estrogen at menopause. Truth be told, however, women – and men too – need additional progesterone, not more estrogen. The whole estrogen and menopause idea was fostered back in the 1960s as an effort to sell HRT, primarily Premarin, and PremPro.I am not totally familiar with the progesterone products that Dr. Lee’s people sell. However, having read Dr. Lee’s materials and meeting him, it is probably natural progesterone (USP). The key to proper progesterone supplementation is to use it according to a cycling schedule. Apply a small amount daily from days 1 through 12 (calendar days), twice daily from the 13th to the 26th, then stop until the first of the next month.The dose should be in the 20mg range. I recall that Dr. Lee’s products were sold containg hundreds of milligrams in an ounce. The trick is to determine how much delivers the 20mg dose. If you provide the progesterone information on the container you have I will tell you how much will deliver 20mg.

I hope this is helpful. If anything is unclear, please write and ask.

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