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Reverse Responding to Progesterone: Why Your Body Isn’t Failing You
If progesterone makes you feel wired, anxious, angry, emotional, or unable to sleep, this episode is for you.
In this deeply important continuation of our reverse responding series, Dr. Brendan McCarthy—Chief Medical Officer of Protea Medical Center—returns to clarify what was missing in Episode 3C and to walk you through the real physiology, compassion, and treatment strategy behind reverse responding.
Reverse responding is not intolerance, weakness, anxiety, noncompliance, or failure. It is an adaptive response rooted in threat-state physiology, chronic stress, and lived experience. Your body is not broken—it is protecting you.
In this episode, Dr. McCarthy covers:
What reverse responding actually is (and what it is not)
The difference between sulfation and 5-alpha pathways
Why labs often miss this entirely
Why “just more progesterone” makes things worse
How trauma, chronic stress, and safety shape hormone response
The importance of earning permission from the nervous system
Practical treatment pillars:
Glycemic stability
Circadian safety and sleep rhythm
Reducing inflammatory load
Gentle nervous system regulation
Slow, low, respectful progesterone onboarding
Supplement strategies used clinically (and what to avoid)
Most importantly, this episode is a reminder:
You are not the problem. Your body is doing something intelligent.
Dr. Brendan McCarthy is the founder and Chief Medical Officer of Protea Medical Center in Arizona. With over two decades of experience, he’s helped thousands of patients navigate hormonal imbalances using bioidentical HRT, nutrition, and root-cause medicine. He’s also taught and mentored other physicians on integrative approaches to hormone therapy, weight loss, fertility, and more. If you’re ready to take your health seriously, this podcast is a great place to start.
👇 Tap Subscribe to learn more about what’s actually happening in your body, and what to do about it.
📘 Read Dr. McCarthy’s Book: Jump Off the Mood Swing – A Sane Woman’s Guide to Her Crazy Hormones https://www.amazon.com/Jump-Off-Mood-Swing-Hormones/dp/0999649604
📲 Follow Dr. McCarthy:
Instagram: @drbrendanmccarthy
TikTok: @drbrendanmccarthy
Website: www.protealife.com
💬 Got a question or topic for a future episode? Let us know in the comments!
View all episodes
By Dr. Brendan McCarthy
4.7
2020 ratings
If progesterone makes you feel wired, anxious, angry, emotional, or unable to sleep, this episode is for you.
In this deeply important continuation of our reverse responding series, Dr. Brendan McCarthy—Chief Medical Officer of Protea Medical Center—returns to clarify what was missing in Episode 3C and to walk you through the real physiology, compassion, and treatment strategy behind reverse responding.
Reverse responding is not intolerance, weakness, anxiety, noncompliance, or failure. It is an adaptive response rooted in threat-state physiology, chronic stress, and lived experience. Your body is not broken—it is protecting you.
In this episode, Dr. McCarthy covers:
What reverse responding actually is (and what it is not)
The difference between sulfation and 5-alpha pathways
Why labs often miss this entirely
Why “just more progesterone” makes things worse
How trauma, chronic stress, and safety shape hormone response
The importance of earning permission from the nervous system
Practical treatment pillars:
Glycemic stability
Circadian safety and sleep rhythm
Reducing inflammatory load
Gentle nervous system regulation
Slow, low, respectful progesterone onboarding
Supplement strategies used clinically (and what to avoid)
Most importantly, this episode is a reminder:
You are not the problem. Your body is doing something intelligent.
Dr. Brendan McCarthy is the founder and Chief Medical Officer of Protea Medical Center in Arizona. With over two decades of experience, he’s helped thousands of patients navigate hormonal imbalances using bioidentical HRT, nutrition, and root-cause medicine. He’s also taught and mentored other physicians on integrative approaches to hormone therapy, weight loss, fertility, and more. If you’re ready to take your health seriously, this podcast is a great place to start.
👇 Tap Subscribe to learn more about what’s actually happening in your body, and what to do about it.
📘 Read Dr. McCarthy’s Book: Jump Off the Mood Swing – A Sane Woman’s Guide to Her Crazy Hormones https://www.amazon.com/Jump-Off-Mood-Swing-Hormones/dp/0999649604
📲 Follow Dr. McCarthy:
Instagram: @drbrendanmccarthy
TikTok: @drbrendanmccarthy
Website: www.protealife.com
💬 Got a question or topic for a future episode? Let us know in the comments!
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