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The Monthly Cycle of hormones. Using a variety of plant based Estrogens and Phytoestrogens, I am creating my own personalized cycle of hormones present in my body. You are welcome to come along for the ride. When estrogen is prescribed, for practical reasons, it is usually done at a flat level throughout the month. The working figure is usually half of an average woman's maximum estrogen level. This means that at some stages of the month, this exceeds the normal level in biological women at other times it is below the level. While there is a little evidence that suggests cycling estrogen on and off is counter productive, there is also a lot of evidence to suggest that a flat level of hormone therapy causes estrogen receptors to become desensitized. There is also a fair amount of data that suggests progesterone levels s Estrogen, androgen and progesterone levels are NOT stable throughout an individual's monthly cycle. Estrogen has at least two peaks: A large one just prior to ovulation, and a second one just afterwards that sits under the progesterone peak. Progesterone peaks just after ovulation. The schematic below...sort of shows the peaks. There is some inaccuracy in this graph since it is based on a nominal 28 day cycle. And it is based on an average of several women. In this example the period of maximum fertility would fall on the 16th day of a
Since ovulation is so obviously a key point in defining hormone release, and since I was not born a woman, I had to decide two things. 1. When would be my "ovulation/fertile period" 2. How long would my menstrual cycle be. Ovulation and the 29.5 day cycle.According to current doctrine (largely male driven), a 'normal' woman's menstrual cycle is between 28 and 32 days. It has long been accepted that the female cycle is closely tied to the lunar month. And if one thinks about it, there are any number of sound evolutionary reasons why this should be so. After all, those women who ovulate during a full moon are most likely to conceive while frolicking beneath it's light. Even though I am bio male, my body still contains the bio rhythm information to cycle hormones through this schedule...and it is likely that there are secondary delivery systems that we don't yet understand that are tied to the full moon. Therefore, rather than 'buck the system' I decided to "ovulate" and be at my most "fertile" at the "noon" equivalent of the full moon. Namely, half way between "moonrise" and "moonset" at that time of the month. (Not going to rationalize this anymore but for those interested, the Chinese have been doing lunar fertility calendars for thousands of years... complete with gender outcomes for specific times of conception...which, based on our current understanding of genetics, makes quite a bit of sense...i.e. conceive while in estrogen dominance, more likely to produce female, conceive while in progesterone dominance more likely to produce male.) While it would be easier from a practical standpoint to decide that one should follow the doctrine of a 28 day cycle, the fact of the matter is that women don't have periods like that. (Once again, not going to quote chapter and verse on that, do your own homework) The lunar cycle is a little over 29.5 days and by an incredible coincidence, this is damn close to the average menstrual cycle of women. I'm not an endocrinologist, nor an expert in reproduction, but to ignore the empirical data that supports lunar periodicy in menstrual cycles strikes me as absurd. (Tip: If you want a cheap PhD. then reanalyze existing data on hormone replacement against lunar calendars) Since I don't have to worry about the political correctness of publishing a PhD, I have chosen a cycle that is also approximately 29.5 days and accommodates the lunar cycle in my time zone. This makes calculating dosage levels rather difficult (which is probably why pharmaceutical companies and lazy undergraduates don't do it) On the plus side, I believe it is worth the extra effort to try and stay in tune with a rhythm that is - to say the least - well established. Based on this, if I have established a proper base dosage, then the increases and decreases and the changes in estrogen vs. progesterone dominance will all make sense.
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