Long time lurker and posting here for traffic. This is a long post but if I can help just one person feel better I will be delighted. I want to tell people about my experience with I3C (DIM), as few people seem aware of it. I am 48 years old and have suffered from dreadful hormonal symptoms since my second DS was born 10 years ago, including anxiety, fatigue, lack of motivation, insomnia, moodiness, and PMS. Seven years ago my doctor prescribed anti-depressants for anxiety and I have gone from 50mg to 100mg as it got better for a few years and then got worse again. I tried HRT and a herbal oestrogen supplement and both made me aggressive and angry. In the last six months my day to day life became pretty intolerable - constantly falling behind at work due to being tired and unmotivated, needing a nap every day and then needing to go to bed at 8pm, horrible bloating, awake between 2am and 5am every night and terribly moody and anxious. A friend recommended the book Hormone Hacks which contains a small paragraph on DIM (known as I3C in the UK) and oestrogen dominance. I read through the symptoms and most of them applied to me so I ordered some I3C and prayed it would help.
Three weeks in and my life has changed beyond recognition! I have steady energy all day. My anxiety is gone, as have the bloating and mood swings, and I feel more motivated and alive than I have in years. Plus, my mental clarity is through the roof! My period arrived today with no horrible PMS proceeding it. If I had not stumbled across that small paragraph, I probably would have gone to my GP who would have simply tweaked my anti-depressants and/or HRT because it seems like these are the only tools they have available. However, just because you have a hammer does not mean everything is a nail.
I3C is a bioactive phytochemical abundant in cruciferous vegetables which helps regulate oestrogen. If you, like me, have been feeling like rubbish for years and HRT, and anti-depressants are not helping, do some research around I3C. I don't know if it will help as I can only go from my own experience, but it has completely changed my life to the point I am excited about what I am able to do/achieve now that I feel so much better!