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Post by angel6 on Sept 8, 2011 23:17:11 GMT
What I noticed is my smell seems to bother people around me more when I am a week before, during and after my period. A week before it starts people rub their nose, clear their throats and hold their fingers under their nose more then usual. Is this a hormonal problem ?
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Post by possiblehelp on Sept 9, 2011 18:43:23 GMT
Yes, it can be hormonal. Some people already have a mild form of TMAU that seems to worsen around the onset of menstruation, days preceding menstruation and afterwards. So, yes it can be hormonal it has even been studied that some normal females harboring an active fm03 enzyme seem to have a transient case of TMAU around the onset of the menses. Here's a quote from a website explaining the situation.
Transient form associated with menstruation: Studies have shown that in normal healthy women, a short episode of TMAU may occur at the onset of and during menstruation. This type of TMAU is generally regarded as the result of hormone changes, is usually temporary, and is not considered to be genetically inherited.
So, yes it can be hormonal but it has also been found in women who do have a mild TMAU already that seems to get worse around menstruation. I believe this is my case, I never smell when I'm not near my menstrual cycle but the days before it, during it and a little bit afterwards I smell bad. It's considered hormonal. I think it could be a genetic hormonal problem personally, because some people have the same hormonal problems their family members do.
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Post by Hindsight on Sept 20, 2011 4:54:46 GMT
You know what they say about hindsight. I speak from experience. When I was 29 I started to experience exactly what you mention. Terrible odor about a week before my period, during my week-long period, and a few days to a week after my period. This meant I was smelling at least two weeks out of every month! I am an elementary school teacher so this depressed me. Kids have weaker noses. I went to SO MANY doctors. None had answers. None could smell it. Many tried to refer me to a shrink. I always left in tears and feeling even more lonely and desperate than before I had gone... Then I decided to go on birth control pills. My OB GYN doc and I figured that this would be a good fix. I would now only have 4-5 periods a year. Only then the odor became a DAILY PROBLEM. Still, I took the pills for two years because it was "better than nothing" (the odor during my cycle was THAT bad. I would hear remarks like, "WHAT DIED IN HERE?"). I then went on to taking shots of Depro Lupron (sp?) which completely stopped my periods. I didn't have a cycle for nearly a year. But still had the daily odor problems. SIGH. Again, not AS BAD as the terrible period odor though so I lived with it... or tried to! Then I spoke to my OBGYN about a hysterectomy and it's been 6 months now. I am taking the lowest dose of Estrogen possible and had everything removed. I am JUST starting to have at least 1 or 2 GOOD days during the week... but I want more! I want to BE and FEEL normal EVERY DAY. Why does that feel like too much to ask for? I love teaching. I love having parent volunteers. But I hate the reactions I get and it makes me feel so lowly... and so gross and disgusting. Like an X-man mutation gone wrong. A freak of nature. Someone who is not worthy to be around others. I seriously want to quit my job because of this... I don't know how much more I can take. I hate that kids are getting runny, itchy noses around me. I hate that they have to cover their noses with their shirts or fingers/hands. I hate that I'm so disgusting. I hate that I'm so offensive. I hate that I have to chew gum EVERY SECOND of the working day to the point of getting a stomach ache and it still isn't enough. I hate that I have am constantly applying scented germ killer, lotions, deodorants in an attempt to lessen the offensive odor I'm infringing on my students. I hate that it doesn't even really help. I hate that I've learned to apply BENGAY (a medicated cream) on really bad days because it's the only STRONG odor that will mask it for at least 30-60 minutes. I hate that I take a TON of vitamins and still nothing works. I hate it that I only eat a Think Thin protein bar for lunch because food is the enemy!!!!!!!!! I hate it that I can't eat spaghetti. I hate it that I can't eat cheese. I hate it that I can't eat sugar. I hate it that no matter how careful I am with my food intake I still don't have many odor-free, stress-free days. SIGH. Sometimes I feel like I just want to curl up and die. If I didn't have a husband and two children of my own I think I would do just that. There has to be some hope for people like us.... I pray to God for all of us suffering with this EACH DAY. Nobody knows what it's like. At least people are more compassionate and understanding when the problem can be SEEN physically as in MS or Cerebral Palsy, etc. Our problem is UNSEEN and lies within our mutated bodies. We look totally normal, healthy, fine on the outside... but inside something is a HUGE MESS. Good luck.... but promise you will NEVER try birth control pills. Hindsight..... I have since read on many TMAU forums and websites that birth control pills are TERRIBLE for suffers.
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Post by bethemiracle on Sept 20, 2011 14:44:35 GMT
So sorry for how things have been. Could there be an answer in this hormone thing? If it gets worse during the menstrual cycle and on birth control pills, could it be estrogen making it worse? If so, then maybe progesterone would make it better because I think they have a balancing effect on each other, i.e., if one goes up the other goes down and vice versa. I'm not sure if it is estrogen that increases during your period or if you're getting extra estrogen from birth control pills, but if it is, could estrogen be causing the proliferatin of TMA? I think it would be easy to get progesterone, which maybe would decrease the estrogen. I don't know, I'm not recommending, just thinking, if this is TMA that's causing the odor, maybe it's built up so much from taking the birth control pills so long and a dose of antibiotics along with probiotics and maybe following the TMAU protocal would make things better. I would love to experiment and try progesterone (I know my doctor would prescribe it for me if I asked) to see if it would lower the estrogen level and what effect it would have, but I can't smell myself so I'd have no way to check the results. Another arguement for this possible theory is that most people seem to get worse around menopause also. Does estrogen increase during menopause? I don't know, but time after time people say they are worse around their period and around menopause. Also, thinking back, when this got bad for me I was just entering peri-menopause and had a lot of things checked and my doctor said my estrogen was high and I had symptoms of "estrogen overload." Just something to think about
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Post by Working on it on Sept 20, 2011 18:21:57 GMT
I had a hysterectomy several years ago due to fibroids, but it didn't help my odor at all. Up until a few months ago I had been able to manage my odor condition for 4 out of 5 workdays by eating a 90% fruit diet Sunday through Friday evening. The other 10% of my diet during that time period is made up of garden salads. Friday evening and Saturday I eat whatever I want and as much as I want. On Monday the odor is somewhat reduced and by Tuesday it's gone.
However, over the last few months it seems to be taking longer for the odor to diminish (odor until wednesday). I still have my ovaries and I think that increased estrogen due to early onset menopause may be the additional odor producing culprit.
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Post by bethemiracle on Sept 20, 2011 21:24:29 GMT
Can we reduce the odor with progesterone, which would reduce the estrogen, as far as I understand?
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Post by paige90 on Sept 23, 2011 19:37:05 GMT
I understand that it is likely a hormonal problem, but if the odor gets worse during this time, does that mean you most likely have TMAU? Couldn't the odor get worse if you had some other kind of problem, such as an overgrowth of some sort? I've seen that many illnesses seem to worsen at this time (such as IBS and fibromyalgia). This problem is happening with me, but I pray to God that this doesn't mean that I have TMAU.
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Post by cynthia on Sept 27, 2011 16:16:10 GMT
Six hormones serve as chemical messengers to your reproductive system. These hormones include: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) Luteinizing hormone (LH) Estrogen Progesterone Testosterone During your menstrual cycle, GnRH is released first by the hypothalamus. This causes a chemical reaction in the pituitary gland and stimulates the production of FSH and LH. Estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone (yes, the "male" hormone) are produced by the ovaries in reaction to stimulation by FSH and LH. When these hormones work harmoniously, normal menstrual cycles occur. Estrogen and progesterone levels are at their lowest during menstruation. On day one of your menstrual cycle the hormones estrogen and progesterone are as low as they will be at any other point in your cycle. Prostaglandins are at their highest level at this time. Could it be prostaglandins I was thinking it was testosterone since mine is high but now I'm not so sure.
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Post by bethemiracle on Sept 27, 2011 17:13:27 GMT
For most people the odor gets worse a week before their period and maybe during, then lessens after their period. So whatever hormone rises before the actual period itself seems to make it worse. Because then when your period comes, the hormones change again and the odor reduces. Seems to me it is whatever builds up or rises right before the actual period. Which hormone is that? A total different thought, could it just be the build-up in the uterine wall just contains a lot of TMA (or whatever your particular culprit might be), then it sheds during your period and the odor is reduced??? In which case it would seem to be helpful to always keep your lining "shedded" and not let it build up, which may also be building up your particular trigger bacteria, whether it be TMA or something else. I am convinced hormones have a BIG part in this, at least in making it worse, and if we could figure it out, maybe by adjusting them we could "control" the odor even more than with the diet. What hormone is it in the birth control pill that makes people worse when they take it? If we could find out which pill it is that they are taking and which hormone they are getting which makes it worse, that would be helpful. I'm not sure, but I think it's my understanding that some pills deliver estrogen and some deliver progesterone. A lot of people seem to get worse while going through menopause. What hormone increases during that time? If we know, we could decrease it. Like I think I've written before and most people probably already know, estrogen and progesterone balance each other. If you have too high estorgen levels you take progesterone and it will reduce your estrogen. If you have too high progesterone if you take estrogen it will reduce your progesterone levels. Obviously, in theory, if estrogen is the problem we could take progesterone and if progesterone is the problem we could take estrogen. It seems to me maybe high estrogen is more likely causing the odor to worsen. My doctor said I had estrogen dominance, which I believe could be treated with progesterone cream, but I was afraid to take it? Any thoughts?
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Post by cynthia on Sept 30, 2011 17:55:21 GMT
I'm not positive but I think estrogen is less during menopause. If we could find some charts that would help.
My problem didn't start until puberty, so it's definitely hormonal.
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Post by cynthia on Oct 3, 2011 16:24:26 GMT
I contacted an amazing lady from the UK forum about birth control pills. She said it's the estrogen and progesterone in the BC pills that causes our problem to worsen.
I took them on and off years ago but I can't recall if they changed my odor.
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Post by bethemiracle on Oct 3, 2011 17:16:23 GMT
Most people on the forum said the pill made their odor worse! I think some pills deliver estrogen and some deliver progesterone. I think one or the other makes the odor worse. I think some folks have said their odor improved after menopause, so does that mean maybe the estrogen is high while you're "going through" menopause then when you're through it, it drops? Just like I think estrogen raises right before your period, hence the odor worsens, then it drops during your period, and the odor subsides??? If I could experiment I would but I can not detect mine. i have a prescription for progesterone cream but I'm afraid to use it!!!
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Post by Angel71 on Oct 5, 2011 22:23:41 GMT
Hi all, I'm a newbie here. I came across this info and thought it may be of some interest. I too feel that hormones play a big part in this. Progesterone In the week before your period, the level of progesterone in your body rises. Progesterone has a sedating effect, which may make you feel listless and fatigued. Estrogen During this time in your cycle, estrogen levels decrease. Declining estrogen levels lead to bursts of another hormone called noradrenaline, which can keep you from reaching REM sleep. Testosterone Testosterone levels also decline leading up to your period, lowering energy and endurance. Sensitivity At this point in your cycle, you are more sensitive to sounds, smells, and pain, which may have an effect on your sleep patterns. Ooo that's my first post I feel like i've come out the closet
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amber
New Member
Posts: 10
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Post by amber on Aug 6, 2012 14:09:52 GMT
hey angel71, just wanted to say happy birthday if you are still around. i know how difficult it is to make that step and get in touch on this forum, even when everyone on here understands. when you spend most of your life alone and forsaking social interaction, anything is a gigantic hurdle to climb but if i can get there you can too. hope this day and every day is getting better for you, amber x
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Post by Frustrating on Oct 22, 2013 2:56:14 GMT
I'm not positive but I think estrogen is less during menopause. If we could find some charts that would help. My problem didn't start until puberty, so it's definitely hormonal.
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