@kellystreet hi! I wasn’t sure if this reply was targeted at my comment, but if so your experience sounds really similar to my own. In particular that taking birth control (which I assume contained progesterone) actually triggered your symptoms. This is exactly what happened to me. Plus the digestive issues can be related to progesterone which can cause constipation, bloating, etc.

As for a solution, I have been going a bit off script with the oversight of a doctor. In particular a reproductive endocrinologist said this treatment plan, while unorthodox, sounded very safe and viable. His other option was to put me into early menopause which I didn’t want to try. Ok so for the treatment I learned that mifepristone (which is highly regulated in the US for political reasons and almost impossible to get prescribed for this purpose although it is very safe according to many clinical trials) is a progesterone antagonist. It is also in trials as a birth control in Europe. I have been taking mifepristone at around 50 mg every week (been trialing different dose regimens) and haven’t had cramps in almost three months! I am getting my bloodwork done every 3 months to check for any liver toxicity (highly unlikely given how low this dose is) and uterine ultrasounds every 6 months (to ensure the reduction in progesterone isn’t causing unopposed estrogen which can lead to endometrial hyperplasia and possibly then cancer).

Interestingly this medication is also prescribed for people with cushings disease at much higher doses but ultimately is very expensive and normally prescribed through a specialty pharmacy. So while I did find a solution it’s not an easy one only because the meds are hard to get but not because the treatment is actually difficult or invasive in any way. I hope this helps in some way!