Alternatives to DIM

[Jstyle]

I went on 200mg/day of DIM in my mid-30's and it helped so much! It was a miracle at the time. I'm still taking it in my early 40's now, though at 100mg/day. My last DUTCH test showed low estrogen and I've been having symptoms of that as well. Are there any alternatives to DIM for phase 1 detox that won't lower E1/E2 estrogen as much? Thanks!

[Lara]

To be honest, I would take the Dutch finding of low estrogen with a grain of salt. On which day of your cycle was the low estrogen reading? And are you having ovulatory cycles? Because if so, then (by definition) you have enough estrogen. And if you're having regular ovulatory cycles, then 100 mg DIM should be fine -- that is, if you still need it. I usually think of DIM as a short-term treatment. For which symptom are you taking it?

Finally, if you're not cycling (ie. not ovulating), then step 1 is to figure out why not, and work to correct that. If you have entered a state of amenorrhea or not ovulating, you probably don't need DIM. Or put it another way, DIM would not be a priority supplement in that situation and might do harm.

[Jstyle]

I have a 26-27 day ovulatory cycle so I did the test on day 19. I started taking DIM for PMDD in 2016 (for me that was cystic acne, breast pain, frequent cyclical headaches & migraines, extra painful cramps, fatigue, irritability, etc).

[Lara]

The fact that you're ovulating means you're still making a good amount of estrogen.
But, generally, it would be find to try some time off DIM to see if you still need it.