I started taking progesterone on my own when I was stressed out. It was calming at first but then I started not being able to handle stress less and less. I suddenly went downhill in a few weeks and started having what felt like shaky surges. A doctor gave me a higher dose of progesterone and then I started having panic attacks. They started me on thyroid meds at the same time. I quit the progesterone a week later but it takes time for it to get out of your system. When it did leave my body I didn't calm down a whole lot because the thyroid meds kicked in as well as the diet changes to stimulate my thyroid so I was having anxiety all over again. It's taken me almost two years and a lot of work to get my brain and body almost back to normal but my thyroid is now going naturally and my adrenals are good.
I started with one 100mg capsule of l-theanine once a day. Now I do 3 - 4 of those. I added gaba a month after the l-theanine. 7 months later I added tryptophan. This week I added more mag and gelatin which has lots of aminos in it. Everybody is different in what they are low in. I know that if an amino gives you a headache it means your body has enough of that particular one. Go slow.

My experience with progesterone is roughly the same....

Whenever I talk it especially 1st half of cycle...I become more agitated. I literally wake up with nerves eating my stomach.

I swear...everyone single one of my adrenal episodes starts with some dr. telling me I need to be on progesterone. Then...bam! The insomnia gets worse and then on top of it I get anxiety and panic.

I don't think progesterone actually increases cortisol just makes free cortisol more available in the body so if your cortisol is already on the high side progesterone might make it worse.

Doctors just see insomnia, anxiety and panic and prescribe progesterone. Any further anxiety or insomnia and they will up the does when the real issue is the adrenals not hormones.

Cortisol goes up to stress in the body and doctors seem to think that they can fix the pregnenolone steal with progesterone. So far that has not been my experience.

My pharmacist recommended Vitex if you do not tolerate progesterone. I will ask my dr. about this...

I really don't know, it does calm the sympathetic nervous system. Sometimes when I research a supplement I look at what other people experienced on the Amazon ratings.