Is Cortisol Stealing Your Progesterone?

nataliagardneracup
Mar 22
3 min read

Today we are going to focus on the adrenal gland and particularly the hormone cortisol. We will find out what you can expect from your body when it has a healthy adrenal response and what might happen to your hormones, cycle and implantation if the stress hormone is too high.

And of course, what you can do to support your adrenals and reduce stress to improve your fertility outcome!

What Are the Adrenal Glands and Hormones?

The adrenal glands are part of the endocrine system and are located on the top of the kidneys. They produce hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, which are the body's two main stress hormones.

What Does Healthy Adrenal Function Look Like?

Healthy adrenals:

Burn body fat
Increase energy
Elevate mood - raise your vibration!
Regulate immune response in the gastro-intestinal tract
Support female hormone production such as FSH, LH, prolactin and progesterone.

What Happens When Cortisol (Long Term Stress Hormone) is High?

High cortisol lowers progesterone
High cortisol stops the anti-inflammatory process affecting the immune system (important for implantation and avoiding miscarriage)
High cortisol lowers thyroid levels (underactive thyroid is associated with implantation issues and miscarriage)
High cortisol increases adipose tissue (an increase in body fat is associated with PCOS and ovulation issues)
High cortisol decreases memory
High cortisol can contribute to depression and anxiety
High cortisol affects sleep

What is the Cortisol Steal?

When you are stressed, the body converts progesterone into cortisol to help the body cope with the extra demands upon the adrenal gland. This is called the 'cortisol steal.'

Does Cortisol Affect Other Fertility Hormones?

Yes - Stress Affects Ovulation.

When you are stressed, prolactin increases. This is one of the initial hormones I ask for at your first consultation. A raised level of prolactin can cause ovulation problems (anovulation) and contribute to PMT symptoms.

When you are stressed, FSH and LH can decrease. These are the sex hormones produced by the hypothalamus and pituitary gland in the brain. When both FSH and LH are low, this can cause hypothalamic amenorrhea (no bleed). If you haven't had a period for months, this is one of the things that we would look at. FSH and LH are part of the hormones in the day 3 blood test.

What is the Link Between Stress, IBS, the Immune System and Implantation?

The Stress Cascade:

Stress causes adrenal exhaustion, suppressing the adrenal function.
The adrenal glands produce raised levels of stress hormones.
Gut function is impaired
Food intolerances and retained pathogens are acquired.
This increases a heightened immune response such as TH1 and TH2 and NK cells.
Fatigue, weight gain, PMS, IBS, hormone imbalances, sleep problems result.
The stressed immune system may attack an embryo as a 'pathogen'.

How Can you Reduce Stress Naturally?

Acupuncture
Meditation
Exercise
Spend time in nature
Spend time with animals - raise your oxytocin
Breath work (see April newsletter for youtube links)
Yoga
Journal and burn your negative feelings
Good sleep routine.
Sleep is very important for reducing stress. The hours between 10pm-2am are focused on restoring the physical body, important for the hormone cortisol. However, if you go to bed late on occasion, aim to sleep in until 7am-9am as this two hour window is the adrenal time.

However, hearing advice to 'just relax' or 'go on holiday and it will happen' isn't as easy to execute as may be believed. In fact it usually and understandably makes fertility patients more stressed and frustrated!

It is hard to raise your vibration and stay positive when your system is clogged up with the above issues stemming from the stress cascade, such as IBS, weight gain, fatigue and adrenal burn out.

You might recognise that these manifest in your body as the following Chinese Medicine diagnoses:

Blood Stasis (painful periods, endometriosis, fibroids, immune NK cells)
Liver Qi Stagnation (PMT, mood changes, breast tenderness, IBS)
Damp (PCOS, hormonal imbalances, ovulation problems, weight gain)

At Creation Acupuncture, I offer a free fertility healing programme for all patients, which includes step by step modules to understand your diagnoses and to clear out the emotional stuck energy and blockages that have accumulated over time. This also includes guided meditations.

If you are already a patient, re-visit modules 3 and 5 to clear energy from triggers and challenges in your life and choose from the following meditations.