Estrogen. Do you think it might have some influence on BPD

For a long time Ive wondered about how hormones might be the cause of some BPD behaviour.

There are several tings that made me think of this. Dilated pupils was what got me thinking about it and apart from opiates the hormone oxytocin can cause this. We also produce our own opiates such as serotonin. I also wondered about oxytocin as it is the bonding hormone which in the beginning made me wonder if pwBPD didn't react to oxytocin and that was why relationships when they ended seemed to be forgotten about. It has actually been proven that pwBPD react differently to oxytocin and rather than making them more trusting it has the opposite effect.

Then I got onto thinking about cortisol and behaviours which I witnessed in my exs ( almost fanatical) that are recommended for reducing cortisol.

Another thing was that both my exs couldn't tolerate estrogen based oral contraceptives. I have also read here how post menopause a lot of symptoms can go into remission (not for everyone but for some). I wasn't sure if estrogen could be a factor until I read that men also produce it. This then made it a possible culprit as it also explained why less men where diagnosed than women as men don't have the fluctuations in estogen that women have. I also realised there was a period in my exs pregnancies when the behaviour disappeared. During pregnancy estrogen drops. My exgf also avoided non organic vegetables as she said they didn't affect her like non organic. I found this odd but a lot of the pesticides are estrogen based.

So after all my reading I have a theory with no scientific back up apart from what I have read written by professional but has not been linked together.

My theory is that every brain has a different pattern which is passed down genetically. There are differences with the brain in a pwBPD that have been shown in brain scans. Some are only small but may cause a big difference in how things function. If these differences change the way that estrogen is handled then the body will try and find a different way to cope with it. My theory on this is as cortisol can reduce estrogen then the moods and rages associated with some pwBPD could be their way of reducing estrogen.

There are a number of reasons why if this is true that I don't think it would have been picked up on. irstly I dnt know if anyone has looked. Secondly if the differences make a pwBPD less tolerant to estrogen then their levels wouldn't need to be elevated from normal for it to cause problems.

What I would like to ask if you have managed to get this far is does anyone else have experience with estrogen causing an increase in BPD behaviour? Whether it is reduction post menopause, increase during menstral cycle, increase with oral contraceptives or estrogen based creams?

hI DT,

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Ok then let me be the first i guess...

Well firstly i do think hormones have a lot to do with moods and unbalanced behaviors in me at least. i have recently got help with some hormone balancing device, but only time will tell...research here where i live doctors says that the device helps through menopause, heavy cycles, PMT, hormone balance

I think many women will admit they are a little more angered/irritated through their cycle,
Estrogen levels do change and ofc has to have some truth in it definitely.

And many ladies cant take certain contraceptives containing Estrogen, So yes i think it could possibly have a lot to do with the unbalanced hormone Esp for the rage side.

BPD men could also be out of balance with Estrogen levels to i guess

Definitely "food for thought" DT

I don't find my BPD "episodes" are correlated with my monthly cycle

So I can't say for sure. I do feel kind of estrogen dominant in general though.

I read recently that ASPDs have higher than usual testosterone. So I think hormone levels can have an effect on behavior.

I know a lot of men with BPD too though. So I don't know for sure the answer to your questions.

The thing is estrogen is produced by men aswell as women. So as I said its something that makes even more sense to me knowing this as my exs behaviour was worse at times of heightened estrogen and that males with BPD would be more flat with their behaviour thus making it less obvious which is possibly why less men are diagnosed than women even though statisticly its a 50/50 split.

There was something else that I read but I wouldnt class it as conclusive as it was only speculation with nothing to back it up and that was difficulty conceiving for pwBPD. I don't know if it is the case and from my experience I couldn't say how long my ex wife was off of contraception before she fell pregnant as she told me she was on it still. She was however desperate to get pregnant and I only found out she had stopped taking the pill when I found her on her back with her legs up against the wall after we had sex. That was when she finally spilled the beans and told me she had stopped and wanted to have a baby.

Perhaps. I don't know if it's so much estrogen as it is a hormonal imbalance though. When I was sick a few years ago I was having trouble making my own testosterone, and that went on for a while. During that time, my BPD symptoms were really bad, it was one of my worst phases. I honestly felt like I was going nuts. When my dr finally found the issue and we sorted it out, my symptoms improved within a few months and I felt way better. Got off the hormone supplement, my levels remain stable as they should be, and I still am having none of the same issues (unless there's a clear trigger, but during the other time it was constant).

witchessabbath wrote:Perhaps. I don't know if it's so much estrogen as it is a hormonal imbalance though. When I was sick a few years ago I was having trouble making my own testosterone, and that went on for a while. During that time, my BPD symptoms were really bad, it was one of my worst phases. I honestly felt like I was going nuts. When my dr finally found the issue and we sorted it out, my symptoms improved within a few months and I felt way better. Got off the hormone supplement, my levels remain stable as they should be, and I still am having none of the same issues (unless there's a clear trigger, but during the other time it was constant).

That is interesting as testosterone is linked to estrogen as it is a precursor for progesterone which is what balances estrogen in both men and women.

If your testorone levels where low then you wouldn't produce progesterone so estrogen would become dominant.

Thanks for the feed back so far. What Ive got has firmed my belief that estrogen could be a key player with BPD.

DT1095 wrote:

witchessabbath wrote:Perhaps. I don't know if it's so much estrogen as it is a hormonal imbalance though. When I was sick a few years ago I was having trouble making my own testosterone, and that went on for a while. During that time, my BPD symptoms were really bad, it was one of my worst phases. I honestly felt like I was going nuts. When my dr finally found the issue and we sorted it out, my symptoms improved within a few months and I felt way better. Got off the hormone supplement, my levels remain stable as they should be, and I still am having none of the same issues (unless there's a clear trigger, but during the other time it was constant).

That is interesting as testosterone is linked to estrogen as it is a precursor for progesterone which is what balances estrogen in both men and women.

If your testorone levels where low then you wouldn't produce progesterone so estrogen would become dominant.

Thanks for the feed back so far. What Ive got has firmed my belief that estrogen could be a key player with BPD.

Interesting. I never knew that would be the case. It would explain a lot, because I gained some weight during this time (not all from hormones lol a lot was #######5 lifestyle too) and I'm pretty sure I have a bit of breast tissue now underneath the fat.

All of the information I have found can be googled quite easily.

A few other things that have me wondering about it are both my exs suffered migraines which is linked to elevated estrogen. Both my exs where anaemic which can be linked to low progesterone. They also have trouble regulating their weight and that is another thing seen with estrogen dominance.

I get migraines along with my monthly cycle. I definitely get really bad PMT some months and I get annoyed and tearful very easily. I don't think that's BPD, as most women I've spoken to get those symptoms too. I suppose it can't help with BPD though.

PMT can cross into a disorder though and people have done stuff like stab their husbands because they've been driven crazy by their hormones.

CloudShark wrote:I get migraines along with my monthly cycle. I definitely get really bad PMT some months and I get annoyed and tearful very easily. I don't think that's BPD, as most women I've spoken to get those symptoms too. I suppose it can't help with BPD though.

PMT can cross into a disorder though and people have done stuff like stab their husbands because they've been driven crazy by their hormones.

I also don't think it is BPD I do however feel that it may add to BPD. I know when my exgf dysregulated the experience was identical to when she was in her worst part of the menstrual cycle.

I cant help but feel that the influence of certain hormones is derogatory for pwBPD and that if the proper treatment of those was available (not an easy thing to do as hormones are in constant flux) then pwBPD would be able to lead less intense and more stable lives. I don't think they are the culprit for BPD just a side effect.