HRT Confusion

I have been on Estratest half strength for 17 years after a historectomy at age 41. My doctor & I had agreed to decrease the dosage to 1/2 pill every other day for the past 3 months and take Soy. Other than not being able to sleep & mild hot flashes I'm doing ok. Now he wants to put me on Estrace, I can't afford it (I told him this). I still have enough Estratest to continue a decreased regimine for the next 6 months. My sister-in-law has just had breast cancer & her oncologist said the Estrace she was on is what caused the cancer. I'm so confused.

[Machelle Seibel, MD]

A. Going from one pill a day to

[Isis498]

Have you looked into using a bio-identical HRT, such as Estradiol? Much better for you, all natural. Best to use it in a patch, cream, or gel, but it would probably be a bit more expensive, unless you got generic, you could check and see.  I also feel much better on it. I know the generic patches are cheaper. I like the gel the best though.

You could use it indefinitely with no worries, like those possible from synthetics, in my opinion.  Do a search on Estradiol and see what you think.

I used to use the Estratest, but it did not control the lack of sleep and hot flashes totally.  Plus it has testosterone in it, and I didn't like that fact of using it all the time.

I also started HRT at 41, am now 55, and used one form or other of it since then. Have used several kinds during that time. Unless something changes, I won't be without it.