HRT

[justscore]

What side effects have you experienced since starting HRT.  
I started 1 week ago today and I still have hot flashes and I have been very emotional the past few days.  Is this normal?  I am on antibiotics and have been for 4 weeks for wound separation.  Could this affect the performance of the hormones?

[Mary 53]

Hi,

I am trying to get a message off to you while I wait for the Oven repair man. Great guy who has fixed other things in the house, but I do hate the waiting...will he be here in a minute or an hour? The dogs will be ecstatic since they figure anyone who comes to the house is here to see THEM! (as it should be, actually:))

WOW...I was in Choir...high school and then Concert Choir in college. Now, that is something I admire. I always loved choir but wondered what kind of magic our choir directors used to get us to sing the beautiful pieces. I used to watch them in awe. My College Choir director still teaches at the same college and has since 1969 I think. He is great!

Sounds like you are doing well. And, I appreciate the open mind. Sometimes that is all that we need to help us fix things when they do go wrong, you know?  I just got to a point where whenever I had a medical issue, I started to look to the hormone issue and sure enough, the problem I was having was caused by some kind of imbalance...joint pains, leg cramps (the worst for which I am in constant pain if I don't keep up with the progesterone) bladder issues (also progesterone for me), and of course mental clarity (testosterone...even though I would say the three hormones I use help with that).

Years ago, my chemical sensitivity got worse than ever and I could not be around people with strong perfume on...and, some of the cleaning products would have me diving for cover. Well, it turned out I was low in Testosterone (which I have used "off label" since 2001)...and, so I read up on it again and realized that clumsiness and sensitivity to loud noises were also symptoms of low testosterone. Once I got that adjusted, I was good to go again.

Again, I will get that message off to you. And, I will have a working oven again, too!

Mary

[njw753]

Thanks for replying.  I am really gun-shy right now about saying too much.  I'm so glad to have found a forum that allows discussion of all types of products.  I am not a doctor either, nor do I think the pellets are the answer for every women.  But we deserve to know all our options.  Give us all the information and let us decide.  But to block certain things is just plain wrong.

I have done so well with the E & T that I don't feel I need the progesterone.  But some of the women that are in the Yahoo Group do use it with the pellets.  I've thought about it but figure why fix it if it isn't broken?!

I used to be a teacher too!  I taught junior high and high school choir.  I admire you for teaching troubled teens.  That's not easy but can be very rewarding.

Nancy

[Mary 53]

Hi,

I have to say that after reading your post and hearing that you were not even able to get the word out as to how  you were finally get the help you needed ( and deserve!) I am even more grateful that MedHelp has been very respectful over the years regarding our comments on the various bioidentical hormones and their effectiveness compared to the synthetic drugs that are traditionally offered. My sense is that they (at MedHelp) respect the amount of time and effort that some of us have done researching this "alternative" area of heath care/prevention and that we have presented our material thoughtfully, if not sometimes passionately. I will defend passion any day, though :)

For my part, I need to just remind people that I am not a doctor. Hey, "never say never"...right? Med School at age 54? My husband would freak! I work in Mental health and education ...children's Mental health. Currently I teach troubled adolescents. I love what I do, but I love doing this research, too, since I was one of the ones walking around in a sort of coma for months after my hysterectomy. Thank Goodness for the alternatives!

Glad you wrote and I will send a message to you as well. I have heard of the pellets but the information I have is vague. My only thought is this.....what is your thought on adding progesterone (cream) to what you already do. For me, adding the progesterone made all the difference in the world.

Take care,

Mary

[njw753]

Thank you ladies for supporting the use of bioidentical hormones.  

I want to put in my 2 cents here.  I am 54 with a total hysterectomy 20+ years ago.  Upon moving to AZ over 7 years ago, I had to find a new gyn.  I found a wonderful doctor that does bioidentical hormone pellets (she has them herself).  These are put under the skin in my hip and last 3-4 months. I get estrogen and testosterone.  My life has changed drastically for the better.

I hesitate to say too much about the actual pellets because for simply talking about them and how they improved the quality of my life, I have been banned from several websites dealing with menopause and my post about them was removed from Yahoo Answers.  I really believe the big pharma / FDA are behind these health websites.  The only question about the pellets on Yahoo Answers has an answer that says to stay away from them.  I'm beginning to feel like this is a bigger conspiracy than who killed Kennedy.  It's really scary.

[Mary 53]

Hi Bron,

I know  you have had a rough go of it lately. Hoping you are feeling better these days.

I just wanted to say that I took a look at that website you mentioned. Always glad to hear of new hormone websites. If I may, I just wanted to advise you to continue researching this body of work. There were a few problems with some of the information that I saw. Just a little thing, but they got the name of the drug company that puts out the Vivelle patch wrong. I am a Vivelle user and maybe a bit overprotective :) about this sort of thing. Vivelle is made by Novartis. Also, they mentioned a product that was ethinyl estradiol and norethindrone acetate is what makes up the FemHRT combipatch. Just wanted to make sure you knew that they both were synthetic hormones and not bioidentical. No wonder you had problems while you were on it. I am sure I would have, too. I could not take the birth control pill back when I was in my late 20's because of breakthrough bleeding. Norethindrone acetate is a product (progestin) that is in birth control pills. In retrospect, I am glad that I did not use it longer than I did since I ended up with problems later in life and will never be sure if that contributed to my problems or not.

Now, having said that, the regular Combipatch by Novartis is regular estrodial (a bioidentical) but they added that darned Norethindrone acetate again. Why did they have to mess up a good thing? (again, my opinion).

One more thing, they mentioned an Oral Estrace, but kept referring to it as Estrodial but said more than once that it turns into Estrone once it has gone through the liver. From what I have read, Estrone is a rather harsh Estrogen. Then they went on to say that Estradial is unsafe..after saying that is treated as a different estrogen in the body. Confusing at best. My understanding is that Estrodial is the main estrogen that curses through out body while we are in our 20's.

PLUS, the reason TRI-EST has lost favor with compounders is that Estrone (the third estrogen in Tri-est) is not the greatest estrogen and not needed since we produce it in menopause anyway as a by-product from the fat in our system. The main compounded estrogen product is now Bi-est which is Estrodial and Estriol (very, VERY abundant in Pregnant woman and considered Very weak...has been used in Europe for years). But then Progesterone is produced BIG TIME, too, in pregnancy, but that is another discussion.

That's it. After 8 years of studying this stuff, I continue to develop a critical (don't mean that in a bad way) eye, so I thought I would share my observations.

Take care,

Mary

[Mary 53]

Bron...All....
I appreciate your interest in the whole hormone situation. It is a huge jungle out there and one that has affected me and my friends personally. I just want to clarify that Katie, Jan, and I were not answering questions from a person new to this whole thing (and in fact, as you see in a more recent thread, Justscore did not even start this thread, but somehow a glich in the system got her name kicked in on all of this. The thread was started last Spring and surfaced again in January and then again just this month. ). Anyway, the responses from us were for the doctor who printed an excerpt from a very long and detailed response to a petition presented to the FDA by Wyeth (back in April 2006).

Mainly what we are talking about here is what I guess some would consider "thinking outside the box" as many of us have found relief from the debilitating effects of menopause by looking into safer alternatives should we choose hormonal replacement therapy.

One quick excerpt if I may,

"DrErika says that in a full page ad in major U.S. newspapers, the HOME (Hands Off My Estrogens) Coalition www.homecoalition,org denounces the FDA for using unfair and dishonest tactics in an attempt to protect Wyeth's synthetic products from the increasing popularity of bio-identicals."  

This was printed back in January and you can read her dispute/concerns in her blog on her website should you be interested in researching this further.

Unfortunately, Dr. Erika Schwartz along with others, such as Christianne Northrup, Reiss, (my sister's doctor in Boston...published ...I will get her name if anyone wants) all are now considered "alternative" practitioners as far as I understand it. Hopefully someday all (traditional and alternative doctors) will see eye to eye and this whole area of healthcare will not be so totally confusing. But, honestly, even if I was a newer person reading all of this, I would want to know all that I could know so that I could make the most informed decision.

However, as I said, the responses citing the FDA and a pharmaceutical co. were not meant (in my opinion) to be a general response to those interested in hormones and I would certainly HOPE that if someone stumbled onto this thread, it would not shut the door for them from looking into the products that will help them feel well and keep them safe if used correctly. The posts aired concerns about how it does seem at times as if we are being told what we can and cannot do without benefit of all of the alternatives out there. Misinformation is bread when someone in authority says..."This is how it is going to be from now on" and then you find that, indeed, it might be a one-sided conversation.

I am not against drug companies. Oh my gosh, no. And, I have three nieces who work for the FDA. As one poster said, "All due respect to the FDA" but heck, who knows?...our stories (very real and sometimes, yes, very passionate) may encourage agencies like the FDA to look at ALL aspects of a story and hear not just the drug companies, but the women out there whose lives are better knowing about the alternatives to traditional "drugs" to treat menopausal symptoms.

It is well known that much of our medical heritage here is to "Treat" rather then to "Prevent." I hope for the sake of the next generation that this trend will be reversed. And, if the hours I spend writing on this forum help in anyway I will be content if it just raises awareness. Having said that, what you don't know about me is that I am THE most Non-political person I know. But, after 8 years of studying this issue, it is hard to stay quiet when red flags are raised that only give half of the picture.