Menopause/Hormonal Support

[[ja...]]

I don't see any difference Downtowngirl.

 

Love Jackie

[[Gi...]]

Great topic. I cannot find a primary who will talk to me about any health related matter after I bring up the Valium.

Three years out from surgical menopause, now what?

[[pe...]]

This might be covered somewhere in this thread, but I wonder how I would find out if I would benefit from HRT?

Are doctors open to having this conversation with a woman in her late thirties? How would I make sure not to get over medicated?

 

Thanks,

Peace2

[[Di...]]

Hello!  I'm not new to bb but new to this support group.  So glad you are here.  I am mid 40's and had a complete hysterectomy 5 years ago.  I did without hrt until about a year and a half ago.  I started taking estradiol at 1 mg oral/day for hot flashes about a year and a half a go.  This past weekend my dr. did not get my refill faxed in so I have been without since then.  I am 84 days since my jump off from 18 years of klonopin use and have also reduced my Cymbalta dosage this past weekend too...so lots going on with my body.  I am having hot flashes/sweats but not anymore than I did while taking hrt.  Keep in mind I have only been off of hrt for 6 days.  Should I have noticed withdrawal from stopping it c/t?  If I don't have any increase in hot flashes should I stay off of it?  I am just so tired of taking medicines for 18 years that I really want to try to become medicine free.  Thanks in advance for your replies!

 

I've done a lot of reading on various menopause forums, and the consensus seems to be that if your symptoms are going to return they will return regardless of whether you do a fast or slow taper off HRT. This makes sense I suppose because the symptoms are caused by the lack of a hormone, so whether you taper off fast or slow, that hormone is still going to be lacking.

 

Six day might be a bit soon to know if your symptoms are going to return. It could take a couple of weeks for your levels to fall to where you will know what is happening.

 

It will have to be your call as to whether you stay on HRT or not. I personally don't see it as taking a "medication". For me it's more like taking a supplement, and there are a lot of long term health benefits from taking estradiol, so I don't have any plans on stopping mine any time soon. 

[[Di...]]

Thanks for your welcome jackiebrown!  Do you feel like the hrt helps you sleep?

 

HRT definitely helps me sleep. My major meno s/x was insomnia.

[[Di...]]

Great topic. I cannot find a primary who will talk to me about any health related matter after I bring up the Valium.

Three years out from surgical menopause, now what?

 

Not everyone who has had surgical meno needs HRT. It will depend on what symptoms you are experiencing. I'd suggest you read some of the links in the first post on this thread.

[[Di...]]

This might be covered somewhere in this thread, but I wonder how I would find out if I would benefit from HRT?

Are doctors open to having this conversation with a woman in her late thirties? How would I make sure not to get over medicated?

 

Thanks,

Peace2

 

Are you having symptoms? It's going to depend on the doctor. Just as there are a lot of doctors who are very ignorant and stubborn about benzos, there are just as many who are ignorant and stubborn about HRT.  A lot of doctors could also be inclined to poo-poo symptoms for someone under 40, but there are definitely a lot of women who enter peri-meno in their 30s.

 

It would be unlikely to be over-medication from HRT because generally doctors start you off on the lowest available dose and then monitor your symptoms, rather than rely too much on blood tests, which can be a bit unreliable. Take a look at the links in the first post. There is a lot of interesting information there.

[[do...]]

anyone know if estradiol has any effect on tinnitus/hyperacusis?

[[Di...]]

I don't know, but if those things were caused by low estradiol levels it could help. If they're caused by other things though, probably not.

 

As with a lot of things related to hormones and menopause, the full research just isn't there. However, I did just find this link to a Hyperacusis Forum where the question was asked.

 

http://www.chat-hyperacusis.net/post/hyperacusis-connected-with-menopause-5700387

[[do...]]

Thanks for the post...very interesting!

[[Ne...]]

I have a question. Back when I was younger (around 19) it was discovered that I had a hormone imbalance - I had too much testosterone- and was prescribed a pill called loestrin. In general, I would notice that every time I'd start the placebo week, I'd go into a full blown panic attack. this was the first time I'd ever experienced that. I experienced the same thing on yazmin.

 

Anyway. I'm only 26, so I'm not sure HRT is safe for me BUT, if I still have a hormonal imbalance, do you think it's worth looking into as I go through a taper?

[[na...]]

This might be covered somewhere in this thread, but I wonder how I would find out if I would benefit from HRT?

Are doctors open to having this conversation with a woman in her late thirties? How would I make sure not to get over medicated?

 

Thanks,

Peace2

 

Might seem strange for a male to chime in here, but my doc checked me for a hormone imbalance. There is a simple saliva test that checks the levels of estradiol, testosterone, progesterone, DHEA, and cortisol. Both men and women have these hormones but in different amounts of course.

 

My doc said the ratios are more important than the actual values. A woman in her late 30's needs this test because hormones are declining 15 to 20 years before menopause.

 

 

[[Ra...]]

DP - a few pages back you commented that compounded progesterone cream is not absorbed well.  Maybe that varies by person.  I certainly seem to absorb it well.  In fact too well as we reduced it the last time I had my saliva tested in March.    I'm planning to have it tested again in August.  We'll see what the level is then. 

 

[[Di...]]

I can't remember specifically what I said, but I could have been referring to how well it is absorbed in relation to opposing estrogen.  Progesterone cream is certainly absorbed, because there are a lot of women who self medicate and suffer from progesterone toxicity, but I do know that there has been no research to prove that it is absorbed well enough to oppose estradiol. That's why most mainstream doctors are against using compounded hormones for menopause, because the uterus may not be protected enough. That's not to say that it should be a concern for women who use it. It's just that there is no actual scientific evidence, so I would prefer to avoid it. It's not necessary anyway, because there are plenty of regulated alternatives, that do have the science to prove their effectiveness.

 

I'm not sure if this is the post you are referring to, but this information is coming from the Australian Menopause Society, and I have also read it in numerous other medical books and websites.

 

http://www.menopause.org.au/for-women/information-sheets/34-bioidentical-hormones-for-menopausal-symptoms

 

I think one of the most concerning things is this.... "The risk of cancer of the uterus may be increased with the use of compounded bioidentical hormones when estrogen is used with compounded progesterone cream, as the progesterone is poorly absorbed and therefore does not protect the uterus. (See AMS HRT pamphlets)".

[[Di...]]

I have a question. Back when I was younger (around 19) it was discovered that I had a hormone imbalance - I had too much testosterone- and was prescribed a pill called loestrin. In general, I would notice that every time I'd start the placebo week, I'd go into a full blown panic attack. this was the first time I'd ever experienced that. I experienced the same thing on yazmin.

 

Anyway. I'm only 26, so I'm not sure HRT is safe for me BUT, if I still have a hormonal imbalance, do you think it's worth looking into as I go through a taper?

 

I honestly don't know. It would be something you'd need to discuss with your doctor. There is a big difference between the BCP and HRT. The ratio of hormones is completely different, because they're doing different jobs. So it would depend on whether your doctor thought the higher estrogen would help.

[[Gi...]]

I am so depressed, I just feel overwhelmed. (no self-harm). Remember that song "there's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza"....then goes on "well fix it dear brother"...

And so on, every step has a big problem that leads 'round to other problems, so nothing gets solved and life is just stopped. That is me.

So many problems, I cannot get out of bed. Completely unacceptable.

My enthusiasm for the taper is waning, yet I have to get off the Valium. At 24 mg, I cannot think at all. Yet, my body wants more.

And, I act like a real jerk around the house. I do nothing, am afraid to leave the room, and am short tempered.

[[Di...]]

I'm sorry you're feeling this way Ginger. Do you feel your hormones are playing a part in how you are feeling? Have you talked to your doctor about all this?

[[Sm...]]

I'm still on my mini estrogen dose. I've just started getting paranoid about it though.

I dunno. I think I constantly get hit by one thing or another I'm waiting for something to go wrong: cancer or endometriosis.

 

It does help me taper though. I'm not sure I could have got this far without it. And when I got my bloods checked I was wearing my mini 1/8 of a patch and the estrogen rates weren't high at all.

 

So I dunno... How bout you just tell me reassuring things DP? 

[[Di...]]

What's up Smiffo? You sound a bit down at the moment.

 

The patch is helping you feel better with your taper, so that's all you need to think about at the moment. That's enough for anyone to focus on. When your taper is finished you'll probably be able to stop using the patch and then you won't have to worry about hormonal things for years. By the time you get to menopause age all sorts of things could be different with the treatment anyway.

 

Focus on the benefits of the estradiol - brain, heart and bone health, better skin, more vitality, better sleep etc. Look at how far you've come in less than a year. You've more than halved your V dose. 

 

YOU GO GIRL!!! 

 

 

[[ih...]]

I second DP. I am thriving on my HRT now I have found the dose that works for me & have no intention of coming off ever. (There are no sex hormone related cancers in my extended gene pool & I would be much more cautious if that were the case).

[[Sm...]]

Yea it is good stuff really

It is helping me taper

And if I need it later on I'll be on it sistaz

 

I just worry because I'm still so young that I could get over estrogenised. I'm just so used to things going wrong DP. Sometimes I expect something bad to happen. I want another child and so endometriosis as a consequence of estrogen came up. Then I thought 'ah well surely I'd get cancer too'. I'm a bit better now. I know it isn't helpful thinking that way but I'm so used to life knocking me around I get so I think if anything can go wrong it will go wrong.

But... the blood tests say I'm not high in estrogen so presumably I'm not and that is what matters.

[[Di...]]

I know how easy it is to think the negative stuff. I've been down that lane in just the last day or two myself - wondering if I'll still be dealing with the up and down hormone/meno stuff when I'm a 75 year old lady, and wondering if I'll have to start fighting with a pre-pubescent doctor who won't want to prescribe HRT to me anymore.

 

But we can only live one day at a time, and focus on the now. Things usually sort themselves out without us meddling too much. You will be benzo free one day soon, and you will still be young enough to have another baby. Hang on to your dreams Smifster. 

 

[[Sm...]]

thanks DP

[[...]]

Hi everyone,

I am finding so many different chats here, this site is wondeful I have never found so much information in one place about the main concerns and worries of my life!!

 

I am in menopause and had terrible problems with hot flushes but I found Promensil - red clover, a natural medicine that actually works for me which is something of a miracle because I don't normally find help from anything that is not a major chemical. I think it is important to recognise that I have come off anti-depressants and lyrica recently (pain killer for fibromyalgia) as I know the side effects of most of these cause sweating too. Whatever the case, I take a promensil every day and I have not had a problem with hot moments since.

 

Sometimes the hot moments are pure anxiety as I used to be drenched in sweat - fight flight responses to panic attacks and anxiety in my 20's.  I find walking on busy streets (agoraphobia) causes me to sweat, even on the coldest of days but hopefully the promensil will fix that now. I am only on them since early summer!! The test will be in the winter

 

I have a gynecologist who is half Japanese, half German and she told me soya tablets only works for asian women so I stopped buying them. I found that fascinating but maybe they work for some people here?

 

Great to share information.  I had major cramps/reaction with vagifem two years ago so had to stop using it.

 

Gingeroot, I hope you feel better soon. I too got overwhelmed when I had so much work to be done on the house and there just did not seem to be an end to it and I was doing all the painting and feeling so stressed out, it just did my head in as there is nothing more lonely than painting large teak built in wardrobes, doors and windows, white. Undercoat after undercoat and then top coat and then the next door, next window, skirting boards etc..... Hubby would come home from work abroad at the weekends looking to be fed and watered and was too tired to help!! I felt no self worth, everything was piling on my shoulders, I was so low.... so I checked around locally, got a few prices on jobs, haggled them down until I could afford it and just the bigger jobs done on a budget and even some of the painting too.  I now have the house in order a few months later (it was tough with workmen daily) and worth it. I also got a gardener who comes and does the heavy work for me. I am beginning to realize it is not my job to do everything here and at this age, after a lifetime of working, I owe it to myself to get the jobs done when I cannot do them. I am trying to learn to be good to myself.  Hope you realize you not alone and see how you can minimise the overwhelming jobs that need to be sorted out. Make a list and get people to do them - family/friends/workmen, whatever is possible.

[[Di...]]

Hi Moya

 

It's good to hear that you've found something that works for you. My cousin always swore by Remifemin, so perhaps if the Promensil stops helping you, you could try that.

 

I wish I could have used some of these OTC things, but sadly my symptoms are just too severe and I needed the actual hormones. Not that this is really a bad thing, because there are lots of benefits with taking estradiol. I just wish I didn't have to bother about the progesterone side of things. Life on HRT would be so much easier without it. However, so far my new routine of taking medroxyprogesterone for 10 days each month has been okay. Time will tell though.