Menopause/Hormonal Support

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Diaz-Pam,

So interesting how different meds work for different people and everything is about personal choice too. I really enjoy sharing information here and I have a friend on HRT and that works for her too.  Hope you have a good weekend

[[ha...]]

Hi all. Love all the different chats too. Like you said Moya, I've learned so much in just 3 days. Wow!

 

I did HRT for 3-4 years in my fifties and pretty much missed menopause. Don't think I was on it too long to do any damage. We'll see. I definitely recommend it. Life was so much more tolerable.

 

I can't imagine having to deal w/ debilitating cramps (I had them since I was 11) and everything else plus w/d symptoms at the same time. Good luck to you guys.

[[sa...]]

Hi gals,

 

I had ovarian cancer and a FULL hysterectomy at 42 - which means I seriously lack hormones.  I am having a hard time tapering and my oncologist says no hormone therapy because it can bring back the cancer.

 

It seems by this thread that some ladies have had better luck tapering by using hormone therapy.

 

Am I just basically out of luck or do you guys have suggestions?

 

S

[[Di...]]

Wow - you've had a full hyster with NO hormone therapy at all? That's just criminal IMO!! Sure, take away the hormones that control everything in your body, but don't bother replacing them with anything. Would these clueless doctors do that to a man?

 

I guess it really has to be your call. The doctor can't refuse you something because of what "might" happen. It might not happen too. There is no proof of anything. So, if you feel your quality of life would be better with hormones, then you should have the right to demand them. If the downside is that it "might" bring back the cancer (but it might not), that could be years away. In which case the chances are you will have a better quality of life beforehand.

 

Regardless of what the pros or cons may or may not be of hormone therapy, my attitide is "quality over quantity". My life would be absolutely horrible if I wasn't taking hormones. So if it shortens my life (and there is no proof it will) then so be it. At least it will have been a more comfortable life while I'm here.

[[sa...]]

Thanks for your response, Diaz-pam.  I really haven't had many complaints as far as hot flashes go, but my sex drive sure has suffered majorly.  I went from being a road runner to now a slow turtle with only 3 legs.  I used to carry my pocket rocket with me everywhere I went, and now I could care less about an O.  Ok, too much info lol.  Hey at least I survived cancer and don't have my period anymore.  Too bad I can't have children lol... ok enough with the sarcasm.

 

What my concern is -- is the following.  Will having no hormones makes my withdrawals worse during my taper?  Let me know your thoughts and if anyone can chime in, that would be great too.  I want to get out of benzo hell so I can live life again, with or without the Os.

[[Di...]]

It's really difficult to say how a taper will go for you, because it affects everyone so differently. I can only give my experience which is that I know I could never have done my taper without being on hormones. As it was, it was still really difficult to tell what were s/x from my taper and what were s/x from my hormones, because the symptoms are virtually identical.

 

On the upside, if you do decide to try hormones, you won't need to take progesterone and that's a big plus because that is the main hormone that women doing a benzo w/d seem to struggle with the most. You will probably only need to take estrogen, although some women benefit from some testosterone as well, although I've never bothered with that.

 

[[sa...]]

Thank you so much for your feedback D.  I will let you know how it goes!

[[fa...]]

Hi everyone, i have just come across your support group and wondered if you could offer me some help and direction.

 

I started the menopause about 2 years ago, as in no periods. I'm 52 now.My oestrogen levels tested showed I was post meno, I am hypothyroid, I tapered off Zyprexa and part Zoplicone last year - too quickly, My oestrogen levels tested after this showed my levels 3 times higher, so endo said maybe still peri menopausal(!). He did not check my progesterone, my testosterone levels non existent.

 

I do get the odd hot flush, my mode is terrible. Cant decide on what is withdrawals, what is menopause, hypo/adrenal symptoms I have so many.

 

I guess reading some posts. It is best not use supplement with progesterone whilst tapering? I have chronic chronic insomnia which is why I ended taking all the meds in the first place. Would using progesterone help me sleep?

 

I am unsure what to do? Do I replace what /any hormones. My endo is not interested in anything balanced, so I am left to sort myself out! I'm in the uk and they are not as good at hormones as States.

 

Thank you

 

Also I should say that I have never ever had a sex drive.. I was undiagnosed hypo for years, my depression anxiety problems took over everything..

 

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Hi Fatlass,

I cannot comment on the thyroid issue since I have no experience with that but I can tell you my hrt experience while I was tapering.

 

First of all, do you still have your uterus?  If not, then a simple test of whether hrt will help you is to start with the lowest dose of estradiol (bio-identical estrogen) in one of the various forms.  I am told by my doctor to give any new hormone regimen at least three months to see if it helps before making decisions to change the dose or stop using it altogether.

 

If you still do have your uterus, things get a little more complicated and this is where tapering and using hrt makes side effects a bit of a guessing game.  If you take estradiol you must take progesterone if you have a uterus.  The progesterone helps prevent the lining in the uterus from over growing and facilitates a bleed to remove the thickened lining caused by the estrogen.  You can choose to either be on a continuous regimen of progesterone and never have a bleed or take the progesterone on a cycle mimicing a normal menstrual cycle forcing a bleed monthly, bi-monthly, etc. 

 

Here is where the complication ensues; in hrt the progesterone works on the same receptors as the benzos albeit binding to a different site.  For some of us, the progesterone seems to cause sleeplessness, irritability, anxiety, mood swings, and other side effects very close to benzo tapering side effects.  Others seem to have no problem at all.  It seems the trick here is to find the right progesterone at the right dose and the right regimen for you and this can take time. 

 

I started out on a continuous regimen of 1mg bio-identical estradiol gel applied to alternate thighs daily and 100 mg bio-identical progesterone oral gels daily.  After about six months my sleep had degraded to the point that I could not sleep at all, was too energized to fall asleep and began displaying the symptoms of progesterone toxicity.  I gave up and stopped both to see if it is what was causing the sleeplessness.  After about six weeks off the progesterone I started sleeping again, but very soon after that I began again with the hot flashes and waking up hot and sweaty in the night from the drop in my estrogen levels.

 

This told me I did still need estrogen but maybe at a much lower dose than the 1mg I had previously taken,  But what to do about the progesterone?  I dug out my old patches of .5 mg and started cutting them in half and soon the hot flashes and night wakings started to fade.  I did this for a couple of months but then knew I had to initiate a bleed so I decided to take the progesterone for 10 days then stop and allow the bleed to happen.  My attempt to see if taking the progesterone in a cycle rather than on a continuous basis failed and I stopped sleeping the very night I started taking it.  I took it for three nights and did not sleep a wink so I had to stop taking it.

 

I went to see my doctor and told him everything I wrote here asking if there was another form of progesterone that I could try because in my experience this form did not agree with me.  He prescribed medroxyprogesterone which is not bio-identical but said that it may not cause the side effects I was experiencing with the bio-identical form.  He also gave me a script for a low dose patch of estradiol.  I have been on this new regimen of the E patch and the P pills both daily for about three weeks now and I can tell you that so far this combination is working night and day better than the previous combination I was on.

 

Now, with all of that said, the only real advice I can give you is that if you want to see if you will benefit from hrt, talk to your doctor, if you can trust them with your benzo situation tell them that too so that they have the clear picture and see what is recommended.  I personally would never use over the counter hormone preparations nor get them from other than a licensed doctor as the medically regulated hormones are much safer in my opinion than what you may get from a holistic practitioner.  Any hormone preparations that come from sources other than prescription may have ingredients or percentages that could really mess you up and make things worse.

 

Diaz-Pam will hopefully chime in here when she wakes up (she is an Aussie) and correct anything I may have put down in error and expand on anything else I wrote.  She and I have been playing the hormone game for just about a year now and we have found that talking to other women and each other has provided much more reliable information than even our own doctors have access to.  Basically we are all different and no one method of hrt is going to work for every woman.  Another suggestion I cannot emphasize enough is to educate yourself and be your own advocate.  The links to hormone literature in Diaz-Pam's signature are very helpful and go a long way toward removing the mystery to hormone replacement therapy.

 

I hope this info helps with your decision!

[[fa...]]

Thank you Eliz for your reply. I will have reread it all again, as tired and confused.

 

I mentioned the Hypothyroid as Oestrogen affects it working properly.

 

I do have a uterus, no periods like i said for 2 years or more now.

 

NHS only check one form of Oestrogen, there are 3 aren't they? I know they did not/will not check Estriadiol, what

you are suggesting, also I did a few years ago try progesterone on it's own, but found I used too much, didn't

notice much difference, but then I have a cortisol issue, where I think I got cortisol steal or something going on.

 

Also having read some posts, with tapering off the drugs, and stopped tapering for now. Progesterone (for some like you say), is a bad idea, so really I didn't know what to do. It didn't help me sleep at the time, maybe it will now.

 

I will probably have to get my own tests done, as without checking progesterone its useless, also my

oestrogen keeps changing, as I was pre - last time. I have so many problems/issues I am not sure if its

the withdrawals, hypo, menopause.

 

My docs are no good at hormones, my endo is not interested either. I will have do this myself. If I can afford to do it,

with all my halt issues I haven't worked for a long time, and live off my savings (not great).

 

So I will reread your message, and if you have any other comments please let me know. Thanks

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Samone and Fatlass,

I have had hormonal problems all of my life and now in menopause (4 years), I do suffer from hot flushes but found Promensil double strength (red clover) which helps to my surprise. I used Vagifem for a while because I found sex difficult, it worked great and helped with the flushes too but it gave me dreadful cramps so not worth the pain. I would recommend vagifem if you don't get the side effects like I did.

 

I am tapering benzos and off AD's - started this year and I am having problems with what feels like hot flushes but I think it is withdrawal - it is hard to know what's what but my face just breaks out in a sweat, my body too and it is embarrassing. I get a burning sensation, like sunburn and the more anxious I get, the worse it gets so I think it is due to w/d rather than hormones. I can almost bring a flush on by thinking about it so  :-[ Why do we have such complications I hope it does not get worse as I go lower with my benzo. It is a worry and if necessary, I will approach my doctor for HRT but it is not given easily in Ireland and doctors here do not rate hormonal problems much either so

 

Diaz-pam and Eliz have such great information!! I am loving this thread - nothing like the empowerment of self help and women working together. Good luck ladies 

[[Di...]]

Hi fatlass (love your name ..lol)

 

There a 3 types of estrogen - Estrone (E1), Estradiol (E2), Estriol (E3). Basically the only one us meno ladies need to be concerned about is estradiol (E2), so you should definitely be tested for that as part of a meno blood test, and I'm sure the NHS would do this. In fact I'm certain of it because I read a lot of posts on the UK menopause forum called Menopause Matters. You may want to check that out because there are a lot of very clever ladies there who will be able to give you the low down on all things meno and HRT in the UK. This link will take you to the main site where there is a lot of information, but if you look down the left hand side you will find the link to the forum. http://www.menopausematters.co.uk

 

However, I will just say that a lot of doctors aren't that interested in doing blood tests for hormones, because the tests aren't that reliable. Our hormones vary a lot on a daily, even hourly, basis so a lot of doctors will just go on symptoms. My meno issues started 4 years ago, and in all that time I've only had one lot of blood tests done. Whenever I've asked my doctor about it she just says "what are the tests going to show us that we don't already know?", and she's right. I'm post-meno and my hormones are basically crap....

 

If you have already been 2 years without a period, then I'm not sure why your doctor would say that you could still be peri - unless there was another reason for you to not have periods for that long. The rule is that once you've had no periods for 12 months then you are officially post-meno. However, I'm not a doctor so there could be other reasons.

 

As Eliz said, she and I have been doing the meno/hormone tango together for quite while. Like Eliz, I had major issues with the the bio-identical progesterone (know as Utrogestan in the UK and Prometrium in the US), but that could have been related to doing a benzo taper at the same time, because I didn't always have issues with it. It's only over the last 12 months or so that I have.

 

I have also switched over Medroxyprogesterone. I've only used it for one cycle so far, and that went a lot better, but I want to experiment with it a bit more before I say it's the right one for me, or before I switch to a continuous (period-free) routine.

 

It's hard to know what you should do, but if you feel you aren't getting the right kind of help or support from your doctor you do need to keep looking until you do. Check out the Menopause Matters forum, because I'm sure you'll find it interesting. There are also a lot of other links in the first post of this thread that you might find interesting too.

[[sa...]]

I enjoyed reading everyone's feedback.  Since I had ovarian cancer and a full hysterectomy I was advised by a fellow BB and my oncologist not to mess with HRT... so based on that, I'm off this thread!  They say cancer and HRT do not mix! Oh well....

 

Good luck ladies!!  Muah!

[[fa...]]

Thanks DP - love your name too!!

 

I will check out the website menopause matters thanks. The oestrogen test I had done as in uk, I don't think they call the same as yours - although it might have been Oestrodial, so that will be the same as Estradiol?!

 

Even so, will not check Progesterone, but interesting I have just read that he was willing to give me Testosterone, as my levels barely existent, but yet it says you should not use testosterone without oestrogen? Is this right?

 

My endo hopeless too.

 

You know the bioidentical progesterone you mentioned - what is it made from? horses urine one?.

I would use the progesterone but worried about the withdrawal situation and cortisol steal.

It is all so complicated. Although the one big I do know for sure is I am a total mess!!!!

[[Di...]]

I enjoyed reading everyone's feedback.  Since I had ovarian cancer and a full hysterectomy I was advised by a fellow BB and my oncologist not to mess with HRT... so based on that, I'm off this thread!  They say cancer and HRT do not mix! Oh well....

 

Good luck ladies!!  Muah!

 

The connection between HRT and cancer is an over-rated one based, in part, on a very flawed study done more than 10 years ago. Unfortunately even doctors often believe the misreporting done by the media.

 

It also comes done to quality over quantity. Even if I knew that me using HRT meant I was going to get cancer when I'm 70, I would still use it because life without HRT, for me, just wouldn't be worth living. I've been down the no HRT road, and it was horrible, and I was suicidal, but everyone has to make their own choices about HRT. Just because this is my choice doesn't mean it has to be anyone else's choice. I just want everyone make their decisions based on actual science and not what the media reports, which sadly is what happens a lot.

[[Di...]]

Thanks DP - love your name too!!

 

I will check out the website menopause matters thanks. The oestrogen test I had done as in uk, I don't think they call the same as yours - although it might have been Oestrodial, so that will be the same as Estradiol?!

 

Even so, will not check Progesterone, but interesting I have just read that he was willing to give me Testosterone, as my levels barely existent, but yet it says you should not use testosterone without oestrogen? Is this right?

 

My endo hopeless too.

 

You know the bioidentical progesterone you mentioned - what is it made from? horses urine one?.

I would use the progesterone but worried about the withdrawal situation and cortisol steal.

It is all so complicated. Although the one big I do know for sure is I am a total mess!!!!

 

Oestradiol and estradiol are exactly the same thing. It's just different spelling in different countries - a bit like colour and color..lol..

 

I'll have to be honest and say that I don't know a lot about testosterone or whether it should be taken in connection with estradiol.

 

Utrogestan (the UK bioidentical progesterone or Prometrium in the US) is made from plant material (soy and yams I think), but the difference between it and the other yam/prog creams that you can buy over the counter is that the molecules are synthetised in such a way to make them identical to the molecules in human progesterone. I have no idea how that is done, I just know that's what makes it "bioidentical" as opposed to the over the counter stuff which is not bioidentical.

 

Horses urine is used in "equine" estrogens, but if you use estradiol/oestradiol that is "bioidentical" like the Utrogestan. It's made in a similar way - plant material is used and synthetised to be an exact copy of the human estradiol. I think the names of the HRTs that use equine urine usually start with PREM - like Premarin and Premique.

[[Di...]]

For those who might be concerned about the recent comment, regarding HRT and cancer, I just thought I would post some excerpts from my favourite doctor’s book, Dr Elizabeth Vliet "Screaming to be Heard". She is an expert in female hormones and works tirelessly to overcome a lot of misunderstandings, and just plain scaremongering, that goes on about HRT.

 

What about ovarian and cervical cancers? The evidence is that hormones are not the major risks for these cancers. They are both diseases of aging.

 

Ovarian cancer is now understood to have a significant genetic component as well as being related to aging. It is crucial that you know whether you have a family history of ovarian cancer so that you can be more closely monitored. Cigarette smoking and infertility drugs have also been associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer. 

 

She goes on to write a lot more about various cancers (breast, endometrial etc), and how HRT is not linked to them, but this is her bottom line….

 

Studies throughout the world to date do not show that estrogen itself is acting as a carcinogen (Dr Vliet’s emphasis). Estrogen, whether produced in the body or taken as a hormone supplement, can enhance growth of an existing estrogen-sensitive tumor. To date, the majority of medical studies also do not show a significant increase in risk of breast cancer in women who use birth control pills or women who take postmenopausal estrogen therapy, unless they are also alcohol on a regular daily basis and using Premarin as the type of estrogen.

 

The bottom line is that we all have an increased risk of disease and death as we get older. The important point is to do what we can to reduce the risks as much as possible, particularly for those that are preventable, with lifestyle changes and appropriate use of bioidentical natural hormones.

 

Note that where she said “Estrogen, whether produced in the body or taken as a hormone supplement, can enhance growth of an existing estrogen-sensitive tumor”, means that taking estrogen supplements in itself does not have any increased risk over our own naturally occurring estrogen. So in other words if you’re going to get it, you’re going to get it, whether you take HRT or not.

 

This is one of the things I find most annoying about the HRT misinformation. How many times have you heard someone say, “She got breast cancer because she took HRT”? No, sadly she got breast cancer because she is a woman and women have estrogen. Whether she used HRT or not made no difference at all, but it's always HRT that gets the blame.

 

I want to emphasise that if you don’t want to take HRT or you don’t need to take it, that’s fine. You’re lucky or it’s your choice, but often times all this misinformation just ends up confusing and scaring women, and that prevents them from making an informed decision about what they want to do.

[[Cr...]]

Hi ladies

I posted here a few months ago. I had a brutal, fast 19 month taper off Klonopin. During my taper after a large cut I would miss one period. I did a weekly micro taper starting June 18  then jumped July 11th. It was the worst experience of my life. I thought the taper was hard but nothing was as bad as the jump. I have missed two periods as of today. My cycles are long (35 days) but now I am at two missed periods. At what point do I go to the doctor ? I went not too long ago and was offered birth control but cautioned it could make all my symptoms of depression and anxiety worse. I was a mess on birth control when I was on meds so I'm afraid. I just don't know what to do I feel so nervous about it. 

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Hi ladies

I posted here a few months ago. I had a brutal, fast 19 month taper off Klonopin. During my taper after a large cut I would miss one period. I did a weekly micro taper starting June 18  then jumped July 11th. It was the worst experience of my life. I thought the taper was hard but nothing was as bad as the jump. I have missed two periods as of today. My cycles are long (35 days) but now I am at two missed periods. At what point do I go to the doctor ? I went not too long ago and was offered birth control but cautioned it could make all my symptoms of depression and anxiety worse. I was a mess on birth control when I was on meds so I'm afraid. I just don't know what to do I feel so nervous about it.

 

Hi Craziimina,

I personally am not a fan of hormonal birth control and was never able to use it successfully during the child bearing years so I cannot recommend it.

 

Regarding the missed periods I have some information that might explain why you are having them and maybe ease your mind.  The Pituitary Gland regulates all hormone production to include non-sex hormones.  This gland does get affected by benzo withdrawal as many systems in our bodies are which of course explains the wide variety of withdrawal side effects experienced by all of us. 

 

If I were in your shoes, I would not be worried about missed periods until six months or more go by.  The female body will actually repress menstruation during periods of extreme stress, weight loss and physical activity as experienced by athletes, prisoners of war and people with severe depression.  It does not necessarily mean there is something wrong with you to miss a few periods.  You may want to give the post taper healing process some more time for your body to start returning to homeostasis on its own.

 

Of course if you have any other family history or health issues that mean a missed period should be cause for worry, you could ask your doctor for medroxyprogesterone which is frequently prescribed for women who do not menstruate regularly.  If, however, your estrogen and progesterone levels are out of balance because of benzo withdrawal, there is always a risk of making things more complicated by adding hormones before you are menopausal and or before you have healed from the withdrawal process.

 

If waiting to see if this resolves naturally is not something you want to do, I would suggest having the conversation with your doctor and see what he / she recommends.

 

I hope you feel better soon 

[[Cr...]]

Wow thank you so much for that information.  Honestly after I jumped it felt like I was dying so the absence of my period was the last thing on my mind. I was in one constant mind altering panic attack for about 3 weeks. It makes sense, how could my body function normally I didn't eat for about 3 weeks after the jump. Now I am very slowly starting feel a little better. I have no family history or history of my own for it to cause any concern. I'm not bloated or in pain just not getting a period. My rational brain tells me it's the benzos relax let your body heal. My irrational messed up benzo brain is telling me something is wrong. I will try to relax.

[[...]]

Well yesterday morning I forgot to take my medroxyprogesterone tablet and did not remember it until I got home from work.  I mulled over whether I should take it right then, wait and take my regular dose this morning, or just stop altogether (am on a continuous regimen of 2.5mg starting three weeks ago) and see if I have a bleed after a few days.

 

I decided to stop and wait.  I do not feel any worse for wear without it today and it will be good to see if it is indeed preventing the build up of the lining in the uterus or not.  If it does cause a bleed, I think I will stay off of it for two months before going back on again just to see if I fair better with just the estradiol vs the estradiol / medroxyprogesterone combination.  This is all still very experimental especially this early in post taper withdrawal and I certainly had no plans to experiment this close to the end of my taper but I suppose fate had other plans.  The last time I stopped taking the micronized progesterone I had a big improvement in sleep.  It will be interesting if I have the same experience this time.

 

Soldier on Ladies!

[[...]]

Hi all,

 

I'm n the middle of all the hormone hell as well... Thought I would jump in! Not to confuse any conversation but I do take testosterone . Along with estrogen and progesterone, I just jumped June 8 th . Ad had been on and off the hormones for the past year. For what it's worth, I feel like estrogen is helpful with depression. We I was off of it, I was a crying mess, and much more depressed. It is a fine balance though , and finding thrift dose has been difficult . Especially they WD... For now I am staying with a very low dose of each, and trying to hang on until WD settles down.ma few good books I have read on the subject are : Outliving your Ovaries , and Hormones and the Mind. The later was written long ago and had great discussion about studies of women in their 40's and 50's , going thru peri menopause and menopause with sever depression etc... They were not succeeding on antidepressants alone , but when this endocrinologist added estrogen and then sometimes testosterone , women's mood and energy improved. He explained in the book how estrogen was like the " lock " and "key" for neurotransmitters like serratonin, dopamine etc... That we "needed" estrogen for mood etc... ( sorry , I can't explain it better than that).

 

Ironically, my mood went down hill ( and my health ) once I stopped the birth control pill 11 years ago. Had been on it for 27 years. I am now 51. I've been dealing with depression /anxiety ever since. I believe ( although no proof) , that my brain was use to a certain amount of hormones with the BC pill. When I took it away, I became depressed etc... I've been trying to get the hormones back to a decent level for that's few years. It's really hard especially given my benzo issue . I think if I had stayed on BC pill, likely would have never been on AD or Benzo and be in the place I am .....

 

The Outliving your  Ovaries author, also an endocrinologist claims the whole cancer and HRT conversation is also not well explained. She stated that the studies have shown that "oral" estrogens are the primary concern, and transdermal are not a concern ( they avoid first pass liver metabolism ).

 

Elizabeth, curious about progesterone causing a problem with your sleep??? I'm sort of just the opposite . I am taking a very low dose of 20mg compounded (transdermal ) progesterone and find that sleep is better, but almost too much . Very difficult to get awake in the morning and draggy during the day at times. My GYN said some women have a real problem with progesterone and simply can't take it. Have no idea why. I've been wondering about the "metabolism " issue and if we just process it differently or more slowly etc..

 

Sorry for the long winded post and hope I didn't confuse the conversation . I think hormones play a real role in our mood, energy etc....

 

Hope all feel well real soon. Glad to continue this thread. We can all benefit for others experiences ....

 

 

[[Di...]]

Please don't apologise for putting in your 2 cents worth. It's always helpful hearing everyone's POV. Hormones are extremely confusing for most of us, so all of us are going to have different experiences, and opinions.

 

You are so correct when you say how much we need estrogen. It is the primary sex hormone for females. We basically have it in abundance since puberty and no one ever says anything about it being "dangerous". Yet suddenly when it gets taken away from us at menopause, and some women choose to supplement with it, suddenly some quarters maintain it becomes dangerous to us. It doesn't make sense to me. If we needed it for 40 odd years for our bodies to function normally, why would we think that our bodies would still function normally when it's taken away?

 

Of course some women cope okay without it at menopause. At least that's what they say. However I have a number of friends who never felt they needed to take HRT, yet nearly all of them complain about something like sleeplessness, depression, IBS, osteopenia/osteoporosis, flushes, forgetfulness etc. So I actually wonder how many of them would have benefited if they had taken estrogen in their 50s. Most of them are too old to start now, because generally you are supposed to start HRT before the age of 60, and most doctors won't prescribe it after that age.

 

I haven't read the "Outliving your Ovaries" book, but I wonder if the author specified what kind of oral hormones she was referring to. The equine estrogens (eg Premarin) are taken orally, and they have been shown to cause problems, but estradiol is a much safer estrogen to take because it is identical to our own natural hormones. This can be taken transdermally or orally.

 

The WHI study that was conducted over 10 years ago, and caused all the scares over HRT, used equine estrogens, and the women were also all over 60 years of age, so were already more prone to issues of cancer and heart disease. It was a very flawed study, using the wrong kind of estrogen on the wrong women, and came out with some very flawed findings, but the media wasn’t interested in giving all that information. All they wanted were the sensational headlines to make women scared of taking HRT, because heaven help us if women were actually allowed to take a medication that made them feel good (Viagra anyone?). Now 12 years later that stigma is so engrained that even some doctors believe it. The International Menopause Society has completely dismissed the findings of the WHI, and there have been far more reliable studies conducted using estradiol, that don’t draw these same conclusions, and in fact prove the benefits of using it, yet the media has no interest in reporting on them. It’s all so stupid.

 

Yes, progesterone is indeed a very curious hormone because of how differently it affects women. For me it definitely affects my sleep adversely, however I can't be absolutely certain that my benzo withdrawal didn't have something to do with that because the very first HRT I went on was a combined HRT and I was on that for 10 months and I never had any problems with it at all. I also wasn't taking any valium then either, so how much has being on a benzo affected how I reacted to a progestogen? Time will tell.

 

Now that my taper is finished I'm keen to find out how it affects me now. Like Eliz I'm also taking medroxyprogesterone, but on a monthly cycle at the moment, but I want to try taking it on a continuous basis in the next couple of months. Hopefully by that time I will have no valium left in my system at all, and I won't have problems with it - fingers crossed.

 

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Hi DLW,

I am sorry to read about your experience with the cessation of birth control starting your dependence on benzos.  This whole experience has me very dismayed at the lack of information available to us and the shocking lack of education of our doctors to the issues related to menopause.  How many of us could have avoided this if we and our doctors knew more about the hormone changes and the benefits of hrt?

 

Anyway, for me personally I know that the micronized progesterone did not agree with me.  You seem to have hit it on the head - it seems the only reason it would have built up in my tissues and caused so many side effects is if I was not metabolizing it properly.  So far I am not having the same experience with the medroxyprogesterone but it is early yet as I have not been taking it long.  I do know that if it does not end up working for me I will not try another method, I will just get the historectomy and be done with the progesterone game altogether.  I have a sick uterus with fibroid tumors and it is probably just a matter of time anyway. 

 

My plan is to play it by ear until after the new year and if by then I am no closer to figuring out the progesterone mystery, I will just get it over with. 

 

I hope you find your balance soon and start to feel better.  For me it is just the intermittent insomnia that is the stubborn side effect.

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Hi girls , just catching up . Eliz, I to had the dreaded fibroids and endometriosis . Had my uterus removed in 2008. Ovaries in tact . Not sure where you all are from, but I am east coast US . Majority of natural HRT replacement docs give progesterone "regardless "  of having a uterus it not. I'm not sure I agree, but I've been taking it anyway . The claim is that our brains need progesterone and we need it to balance estrogen etc ... Look up Dr John Lee and Progesterone...

 

It truly does calm you. For me this baby dose seems to be too calming and not sure if it's interfering with WD. All brain effects , so who knows what's going on upstairs right now !!!  Like you said , time will tell.

 

Help me with "medroxeyprogedterone "? Not sure what that is ?

 

Thanks !