To Mary 53

[PJ565]

Mary

I recieved your post.  There is certainly alot to think about. I am going to go the bookstore tonight and check some of those books out.  The whole after the surgery and hormone issue is what scares me the most in this.  I all ready have low libido & vaginal dryness I keep thinking perhaps from all the problems I having that have brought about the need for a hyterectomy?  

[Mary 53]

Hi,

Thanks for letting me know you saw the post. I appreciate it. As you can see from other postings, this whole hormone issue is a bit controversial. It can also be very confusing with much conflicting information.

Balance is the key. I was out of balance regarding the two main female hormones, Estrogen and Progesterone, for so long that this alone is suspect as to why I have had problems for years as far as GYN issues go. I was one step away from Cervical Cancer in 1998. I had the LEEP procedure done for Severe Cervical Dysplasia, not related to HPV, since I did not have the virus. A year later a cyst on my ovary was drained and malignant cells were found, thus the total hysterectomy some weeks later.

Estrogen is not a bad thing in general, it is what makes us female, but when it is out of balance in our system, the results can be devasating.  The symptoms of low Progesterone and a poor ratio to the estrogen in my body was evident for a long time and if only I had known more about it! But, even though bioidentical progesterone has been around since the 1950's, who would have thought to supplement our bodies with it. As you can see, it is still controversial and is often misunderstood. My hope is that the next generation will have a much better understanding in this area and women can get help if and when they need it without having to jump through hoops....as I feel I have had to do at times to get the right answers for me. The reason it has appeared as a fad of sorts lately is that it is getting a lot of buzz in the media...and unfortunetly, often not portrayed well.

I had the excess weight struggles in my teens, fibrous breasts....years later, periodic lack of ovulation (thus no progesterone for that month) which affected fertility (we have one child, age 21), much clotting during periods, "flooding" during periods, and then the positive paps starting when I was 45....then the cyst issue...Seratonin is affected by low progesterone, as is anxiety.
We all know what can happen when Estrogen levels fluctuate....mood swings, irritability, night sweats. Dr. Erika Schwartz does a nice job in one of her books explaining why it is that this generation in particular has had a more dificult time with menopause, be it natural, or surgical. Certainly not everyone is going to have the same experience since it is such an individual thing...but, I guess I figure knowledge is power and the more information you have at hand, the better prepared you are to deal with whatever you may be confronted with as the years go on.

My wish is that all women would have an easy go of it during menopause. I did not have an easy time. I needed help and had to find out all about this on my own, even though the Oncologist started me on the bio Estrogen patch and sent me home....thus, even though I was on a bioidentical, I was becoming unbalanced....and, my weight was 20 pounds higher than it should have been, so I was creating an estrogen by-product called Estrone in my system from the fat stores, just adding to the imbalance. Once I added the Progesterone, and lowered the Estrogen, things went well. According to the reseach  you will be covering, one of the things about Progesterone according to the research is that it has a protective value....if you are balanced (going by symptoms/blood tests or saliva tests) you should be able to expect health and well-being. Again, this is where it is imperative you study up on all of this and decide if this is the route you want to go. If you decide against this, at least you will know what is available out there should you run into problems later.

I still refer to Dr. Northrup's book on Menopause, too. I was just reading about Phytoestrogens and some of the misunderstandings about how they affect the system. Northrup has tons of info on supplements and other treatments having nothing to do with hormones.

I will be eager to hear what you might have found at the bookstore if you don't mind sharing that information. Try not to let all this overwhelm you. One of the posters a few posts down (I think the thread title is something like "Estrogen Replacement") mentioned googling different words to come up with more info on treatments available regarding hormones. You might find that helpful, too.

Till next time,

Mary