If eating phytoestrogens like flaxseed, coconut oil, soy milk, soy beans, tofu or what have you, makes your nerves hurt more, then that phytoestrogen is not helping your situation, I would cut it out.

Flaxseed is a phytoestrogen that I am apparently highly sensitive to. 1. Makes my boobs swell up and hurt more - frankly speaking, sorry for being flat out blunt... 2. brings on more hotflashes even if I am using progesterone cream.. in that case, it makes me use more progesterone cream than I would need if I didnt eat any flaxseed during the day. At night, when taking the nightly dose of progesterone cream, eating flaxseed during the day makes me pee more- as all the fluid retention caused by the flax seed I've eaten during the day.... flushes out. (this is why the boobs hurt more, flaxseed acts like a mild estrogen and causes fluid retention in the boobs and that is annoying, like how your boobs feel before your period back in the old days... only it's every day I eat flaxseed.) It therefore takes longer to get to sleep at night on account of running to and fro to the bathroom. It's annoying. If I eat flaxseed too late in the day, it makes my usual menopausal insomnia even harder to deal with.

(I'm not talking about a teaspoon a day of flaxseed here, I was eating three or four heaping tablespoons of flaxseed a day, when I was eating it, sometimes maybe as much as a third of a cup a day. I'd literally eat it like a cereal in the morning, then more throughout the day. Add to that a couple of flaxseed oil gel caps a day too. I loved the flavor so much, became so addicted to the taste over time, that I would pop the capsules in my mouth so I could taste all the delicisous concentrated flaxseed oil in the capsule, then spit the squished gel cap out.)

On the other hand... flaxseed seems to lessen the PN nerve pain symptoms. It also helps my brain feel better and more awake during the day - it is impossible for me to take fish oil anymore to get Omega 3 (like I have done previoulsy all my life) because now the fish oil causes outrageous PN nerve pain. Therefore, flaxseed also becomes my main source of Omega 3.

Also, there are two camps, camp one says to limit phytoestrogens because they can increase risk of breast cancer. Camp two says phytoestrogens actually leap in and take the place of real estrogen in the body, thereby reducing the risk of breast cancer (among other things). Also, Dr. Lee says high fiber foods remove dangerous excess estrogen from being re absorbed by the body in the colon after it has already been used by the brain. Flaxseed is a very good fiber, one of the best. I believe Camp 2 and Dr. Lee.

After the diatomaceous earth, I had even less nerve pain and therefore did not have to take flaxseed to relieve that. Then it became kinda convenient not to eat all that flaxseed because the boobs didn't hurt as much either and I didn't have to pee so much at night anymore.

Then I remembered - Oh - protects against breast cancer and one of the best fibers on earth that sweeps out dangerous excess estrogen.. and I start dutifully eating flaxseed again.

That's why.

I am pulling for you Stacy, one way or another you are going to find your way to a manageable situation, I just know it. To start with, the progesterone cream should help you, then if not, you can just abondon it. But at least your willing to give it a try and that's really important.