Some Science (to get you in the mood)

Hormones are chemical messengers zipping all around your body, all day long. They turn some actions on, they turn other actions off. We know from PMS days that surges in hormones, and worse, imbalances in hormones, can create a wide range of uncomfortable symptoms. For our ladies who may have been without hormones for some time, adding a hormone back into the body can cause some disruption in the short term as the body adjusts.

Like what?

Well, it depends on the hormones.

Vibrant Third Progesterone

Progesterone is a type of hormone that your ovaries produce. Its primary role is to help regulate the menstrual cycle and pregnancy. During perimenopause (when periods start to change) progesterone levels drop. This change in hormones triggers many physical and emotional symptoms. It can also lead to bone loss and can cause your skin to lose elasticity, firmness, and strength. By menopause, many women have very little progesterone any more.

Supplementing with Vibrant Third Progesterone can have a lot of benefits, such as: Reducing hot flashes and vaginal dryness, fighting fatigue, improving mood and sleep, relieving skin dryness, wrinkling, and thinning, preventing osteopenia (loss of bone density), increasing libido (sex drive), and even reducing weight gain.

Possible V3 Side Effects

Side effects from progesterone cream depend a lot on your individual genetics and your overall health. Some women will be very sensitive to progesterone; others will not. In certain cases, the cream can lead to moderate weight gain in the short term, although progesterone is a diuretic and will help drain excess fluid from cells and tissue. Progesterone also interacts with the thyroid gland and can work to increase effectiveness of the thyroid hormones.

Other mild side effects include drowsiness, nausea, headaches, and breast pain. These will all typically resolve with use, but if you are uncomfortable, reducing the amount you use to alternate days or half pump can be a good option. Too much progesterone can result in symptoms like PMS-like symptoms (cramps or bloating), oily skin, acne, and abnormal blood clotting.

Some women experience side effects after using the cream for several months, it is important not to use too much - and to step down dosage as your body becomes more balanced. Post menopause we don’t need the same levels of progesterone as the body made while we were cycling. The goal with bioidentical hormone supplementation is just enough!

Silky Peach Vaginal Estriol Cream

The risk of any serious adverse effect is unlikely for most women using low doses of estriol vaginally. Even women with special risks have used vaginal estrogens without problems. Silky Peach Estriol Cream can help reduce itching, tearing, pain, sexual discomfort, dryness, and loss of labia plumpness.

Side Effects with Silky Peach

There will likely be some stinging and burning to begin with as the tender vulval and vaginal tissue begins the repair process. After the skin plumps up, becomes healthier and with fewer micro-tears, the stinging will go away. How long this lasts depends a lot on how long it has been since menopause, and how much “skin repair” work is needed! This is distinct from a side effect - and it is more akin to the same stinging you get upon applying antiseptic to a graze and the itching you get when an injury is healing.

Less common symptoms include breast pain, enlarged breasts, new itching of the vagina or, genitals, headache, nausea, stinging or redness of the genital area, thick, white vaginal discharge without odor or with a mild odor, clear vaginal discharge (usually means the medicine is working). These will all typically resolve with use, but if you are uncomfortable, reducing the amount used to alternate days/half pump can be a good option.

Rare symptoms include feeling of vaginal pressure, unusual or unexpected uterine bleeding or spotting, vaginal burning or pain that doesn’t resolve within 2-3 weeks. Check with your doctor immediately if you experience prolonged breakthrough vaginal bleeding. While this can frequently be related to the uterus reacting to having a little estrogen around again, it could also be a sign of a more serious situation such as undiagnosed uterine or cervical cancer. These cancers are on the rise, especially in black women, and are frequently missed. Any prolonged vaginal bleeding should be discussed promptly with your doctor.

Anything Else I Should Know?

Changes in breast tissue is frequently related to an imbalance between progesterone and estrogen – a situation known as estrogen dominance. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have too much estrogen – it’s more that you don’t have enough progesterone. If using Silky Peach cream results in a persistent increase in breast tenderness, it will be worth using the Vibrant Third progesterone cream to balance the two hormones.

Headaches are not common, but they do occur, and these actually relate more to a generalized hormone imbalance rather than a particular side effect - we go into more depth on hormones and headaches here!

Chaos Calmer

The combination of ingredients in Chaos Calmer is designed to reduce the excitability of your brain and therefore calm you and your life down. Some people are sensitive to GABA (a neurotransmitter) and the combination of ingredients can cause excessive drowsiness. While that’s great at bedtime if you have been having trouble sleeping – it’s not a benefit during the day, especially if you have to drive machinery, work with sharp knives, or cross busy highways.

Some people are more sensitive to l-theanine. L-theanine can provide focus and cut down the chatter in the brain. For some people, taking the cream during the day works well because there is less chaos in the brain, but then it doesn’t help with sleep.

So, Are Some Side Effects Normal?

YES! If your body (and brain) has been missing a hormone or neurotransmitter for a few years, adding hormones back in may cause some short term disruption. Just watch for any symptoms that appear and maybe slow the rate at which you use the creams to help your body adjust. We are all so different - genetics, lifestyle, age at menopause, age now, all mean our responses will be different. Excess hormones are cleared out of the body through the liver and kidneys’ so keep your liver healthy and clean and make sure you always drink plenty of water to help wash hormones and their metabolites out of the body.

Aside from that, remember to listen to your body, and reach out to us with questions anytime!