It's been a little over three weeks since I started tapering off the medications I've been on for the past 18 months. If you're new to my health world, I was on bio-identical hormones for a multitude of health conditions (PCOS, hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue). Quite a few of my major symptoms disappeared or eased while I was on them (joint pain, mood swings, more regular periods, fatigue, and so on), but a few in particular were only making my life worse. Much worse.

My acne (one of the main symptoms I'd originally gone in with) had not only persisted but gotten 100x worse going from moderate to severe. And even though my periods were much more regular, I was still experiencing terrible headaches and cramping several weeks out of the month.

So I decided to slowly lower my dosages of the hormones (specifically cortisol and progesterone) and cut out some of the supplements. And now that I'm three weeks into the whole change, I'm beginning to see quite a few side effects of messing with my dosages. Some that I like, some that I don't.

My skin improved last week, although this week I feel like I'm back to the same place I was before. I was using tea tree oil topically, which seemed to help. But unfortunately, I think I'm allergic to it so I'm going a week without to see if the reaction goes away (sometimes I just don't know what my body is trying to tell me). I know acne takes time to change and heal so I'm desperately trying to be patient with this one and not expect overnight results from any of my many changes.

My last period was still a few days early (that's been happening for quite awhile) and I had headaches and cramping. But I'm really hopeful that this will return to "normal" within a few months as I make a few more changes with my dosages. Even if I can get on a more regular schedule, I can work to rid myself of the headaches and cramps.

Unfortunately, the two things that I was so relieved to be rid of back in 2008 are back with a vengeance (although not as bad as before, still not what I want). My joints and bones are aching like crazy. Although it's not a consistent pain, it's still interrupting my life and my routine. I'll continue to see how this plays out and maybe increase some of my joint supplements to counteract the lack of progesterone.

But worst of all is the mood issues. For about a year, I suffered from what I can only describe as crying spells. I'd get so depressed, so down that I'd be sent into raging sobs that left me feeling like I wasn't at all who I wanted to be. Like out of body experiences, like I couldn't even control my own emotions. It hasn't gone back to that, but I'm seeing a rise in emotions. Things like missing my family (a fairly normal thing for me since they are far away/busy), studying, and burnt pasta send me into tears. They are short-lived, but not necessary. And not who I am.

Despite the increase in symptoms and the plateau in my acne, I'm not sure where I want to go from here. Do I stay on a low dose of progesterone and work with the supplements more? Do I increase the progesterone and possibly my thyroid medication to counteract the negative side effects? Or do I continue to lower them and go back to nothing?

Since it's only been three weeks, I'm leaning towards continuing with the low dose of progesterone and tweaking the supplements. Maybe the symptoms are just a withdrawal from the higher doses of progesterone. Giving myself a month or two more feels like it might be worth it, but it also scares me beyond belief. I start school back up in September, which means my stress increases once again. Stress plus raging emotions does not equal a good combination.

At least none of this is effecting my blood sugar all that much yet. Guess only time will tell if this is the route I needed to go!