# The Reasons for Differences ##### Untangling Pain ---  --- ## tl;dr - The research has no single definitive answer for how oestrogen, progesterone, and testosterone affect pain. - My own experience did not fit the standard pattern, which pushed me to look more closely. - You can have hormone levels in a typical range and still be especially sensitive to their changes. - The combination of hormones matters, and that combination shifts across a cycle and through life. - Hormones can have opposite effects in different contexts, so your pattern matters more than a one-size-fits-all rule. > [!abstract]- Transcript > > So you can see that how estrogen and progesterone and testosterone, how they affect our pain is really complex. There is no one definitive answer that I can give you, you know, that you need a certain amount of this hormones and it will help with pain. And you need them in this part of your menstrual cycle. > > And this is something I really struggled with at the beginning of my journey with hormones. You know, I thought that there should be a definitive answer. Some things I was seeing were saying that, that women experience more pain during their period and less pain, during other parts of their cycle. > > I know for me personally, I didn't fall into those standard categories with the research I was reading and I couldn't work out why I was experiencing pain at points where other women and research on women was suggesting that my pain threshold should be higher and I shouldn't be experiencing pain at this point in my cycle. > > This led me into researching more and trying to understand myself. I wanted to understand personally, why I was so different and why do some women experience more pain with higher oestrogen, whereas some women have less pain with higher oestrogen? Or why do some women struggle with higher progesterone levels? Whereas some women seem to benefit from these higher levels? > > The conclusion I came to is the fact that every woman is unique. And that's probably my standard answer now. That every woman is unique. That hormones are complex, that women are complex. I did come also to the conclusion that there are three possible reasons for this uniqueness and for these differences. And these are the same reasons for some women experiencing, say, PMS, where others don't. > > What is the reason for these differences? Why are women so unique? So there are three reasons for these differences. > > Number one, we've got individual differences in sensitivity. > > Number two, different combinations of hormone amounts. > > And number three is the paradoxical effects of oestrogen and progesterone. > > So we're going to just look into these a little bit closer. > > Firstly, individual differences in sensitivity. So these are individual differences in sensitivity to oestrogen and progesterone. So it's not necessarily that there are abnormal levels of these hormones, but instead it's all about how different we are and how we respond to them. > > So how sensitive we are to them. > > The analogy I tend to use is like with caffeine, for example. Some people are really sensitive to caffeine. I'm going to hold my hand up with that one. Whereas others can drink loads and loads and loads and not be affected at all. > > So this is the same with hormones. Our individual sensitivity determines whether we experience symptoms or not. > > Now the second thing is with regards to different combinations of hormone amounts. So again, we're not just looking at abnormal levels. Because I think pretty much most women have normal levels and that's even in perimenopause. When we're being told about oestrogen dominance and things like that, it's actually normal for us to have more oestrogen during perimenopause. It's not about abnormal levels. > > But we each have different concentrations of hormones. And different combinations of these concentrations. And I found a study which was talking about HRT and how the combination of oestrogen and progesterone can cause some issues when it comes to tension, irritability, and depression. > > But it got me thinking about how these different combinations that each of us have. And obviously, these change throughout our cycle, throughout our life. And it's these combinations that may have an effect on our pain. > > And thirdly, it is the paradoxical effects of oestrogen and progesterone. > > We've already discussed it may be due to individual sensitivities. And we've just mentioned about the different combinations of hormones and how they may create different effects. But to take this a step further, as we've talked about, hormones can have two different opposing effects on the body. For example, progesterone has been found to reduce pain. > > And it's also been found to increase pain, and the same is true for oestrogen. So again, this paradoxical effect appears to be dependent on the individual hormones, the different combinations of hormones, and the individual differences in sensitivity that we all have. Next lesson → [[Untangling Pain – Module 3 Lesson 05 – Nervous System Sensitivity|Nervous System Sensitivity]] %% ## Extra ## Version 1: Full Hormones and Pain – There’s No One Definitive Answer So you can see that how oestrogen and progesterone and testosterone, how they affect our pain is really complex There is no one definitive answer that I can give you You need a certain amount of these hormones and it will help with pain — and you need them in this part of your menstrual cycle My Early Struggles with Hormonal Understanding This is something I really struggled with at the beginning of my journey with hormones I thought that there should be a definitive answer Some things I was seeing were saying that women experience more pain during their period and less pain during other parts of their cycle My Experience Didn’t Match the Research I know for me personally, I didn’t fall into those standard categories with the research I was reading I couldn’t work out why I was experiencing pain at points where other women and research on women was suggesting that my pain threshold should be higher and I shouldn’t be experiencing pain at this point in my cycle A Deeper Dive into Research and Self-Understanding This led me into researching more and trying to understand myself I wanted to understand personally, why I was so different Why do some women experience more pain with higher ooestrogen, whereas some women have less pain with higher ooestrogen? Why do some women struggle with higher progesterone levels, whereas some women seem to benefit from these higher levels? The Conclusion: Every Woman is Unique The conclusion I came to is the fact that every woman is unique That’s probably my standard answer now Every woman is unique Hormones are complex Women are complex Three Possible Reasons for Uniqueness and Differences I did come also to the conclusion that there are three possible reasons for this uniqueness and for these differences These are the same reasons for some women experiencing, say, PMS, where others don’t What is the reason for these differences? Why are women so unique? So there are three reasons for these differences: Number one, we’ve got individual differences in sensitivity Number two, different combinations of hormone amounts Number three is the paradoxical effects of ooestrogen and progesterone 1. Individual Differences in Sensitivity These are individual differences in sensitivity to ooestrogen and progesterone It’s not necessarily that there are abnormal levels of these hormones Instead, it’s all about how different we are and how we respond to them How sensitive we are to them The analogy I tend to use is like with caffeine, for example Some people are really sensitive to caffeine — I’m going to hold my hand up with that one Whereas others can drink loads and loads and loads and not be affected at all This is the same with hormones Our individual sensitivity determines whether we experience symptoms or not 2. Different Combinations of Hormone Amounts We’re not just looking at abnormal levels I think pretty much most women have normal levels, and that’s even in perimenopause When we’re being told about ooestrogen dominance and things like that, it’s actually normal for us to have more ooestrogen during perimenopause It’s not about abnormal levels But we each have different concentrations of hormones And different combinations of these concentrations I found a study which was talking about HRT and how the combination of ooestrogen and progesterone can cause some issues when it comes to tension, irritability, and depression It got me thinking about how these different combinations that each of us have Obviously, these change throughout our cycle, throughout our life It’s these combinations that may have an effect on our pain 3. Paradoxical Effects of Ooestrogen and Progesterone We’ve already discussed it may be due to individual sensitivities We’ve just mentioned about the different combinations of hormones and how they may create different effects To take this a step further, as we’ve talked about, hormones can have two different opposing effects on the body For example, progesterone has been found to reduce pain And it’s also been found to increase pain The same is true for ooestrogen This paradoxical effect appears to be dependent on the individual hormones, the different combinations of hormones, and the individual differences in sensitivity that we all have ⸻ Resources or Mentioned HRT study (on tension, irritability, and depression) Concept of ooestrogen dominance Analogy: caffeine sensitivity ⸻ ⸻ Resources or Mentioned HRT study (on tension, irritability, and depression) Concept of ooestrogen dominance Analogy: caffeine sensitivity %%