Any ladies here on hormone replacement therapy who can

[GPV]

tell me about their experiences?

[rso]

1. HRT

My wife has been on bio-identical hrt for years and is extremely happy with the results, her mood and physical well-being have improved exponentially while on hrt. While there apparently is a small statistical increase in possible female cancers for women on hrt, she sees her gynecologist regularly in order to prevent any such possibility.

[GPV]

6. Thanks. I definitely plan to keep up with medical appointments. Glad your wife is doing well. :)

[leftieNanner]

2. I had a complicated experience

I was having horrible hot flashes and my doctor put me on the pills - estrogen for three weeks and then switch to progesterone for one week. the first week I went off the estrogen I ended up in the ER. Doctor insisted I was having seizures. Put me on seizure meds for about a year. No improvement. Every 30 days I'd have another episode. Sound cyclical to you? Well, it was. I have a history of hormone related migraine (puberty and going off the pill to get pregnant). Turns out the idiot neurologist was WRONG - not seizures. I went for a second opinion (when he decided the only thing to do was brain surgery) and this doctor correctly identified the migraine and took me off the meds that EXACERBATED migraine.

Ultimately, my hot flashes tapered off. Then, a few years later, they returned with a vengeance. I was in a new community with a new doctor. She prescribed a compounded estrogen cream and it worked wonders. I'm still using it at age 70 and it's great.

Long story short - be sure your doctor has a complete medical history before you take the leap.

I've been very happy with my HRT for a while.

[GPV]

7. Wow! Good thing you got that second opinion! Thanks for sharing your story.

[wackadoo wabbit]

14. It sounds as if you were using birth control pills in the beginning

There's your problem. They're made with non-bioidentical hormones. I'm pretty much 100% sure that your compounded HRT is bioidentical.

What an absolutely horrible experience you had in the beginning, though! That actually sounds like medical malpractice. I'm so sorry that you had to go through it!

[in2herbs]

3. If you're including levothyroxine in your hrt I can share my experience.

First off, I am 71 yo and have been on levo since my 30's. About 20 years ago liothyronine was added (.5 mcg/day). I go to an NMD who specializes in hrt and have had yearly blood work. For the past 6 years or so my blood work has been wonky. Sometimes its Hashi, sometimes its hypo, sometimes its hyper, and then recently its been both hypo and hyper at the same time. When I reviewed several past years of my blood work against when I started taking CBD oil I noticed that the dose for levo was reduced as my cbd oil intake was increased. I began to wonder if there was a connection.

In March of this year I decided to do a self test. I had all the blood work done for thyroid testing and then took myself off of all thyroid medication. Since levo has a half life of 33 days I waited seven weeks to be retested. That test showed a high TSH with all other levels wnl. Since the only way to reduce TSH is with levo I resumed taking it but without the lio. In a few weeks I will go get another test for all thyroid levels to make sure the other levels are still wnl while my TSH is lowering.

My advice is to educate yourself on how to read the bloodwork. My further advice is to know that someone can have Hashi without having thyroditis. Though one usually occurs with the other they are mutually exclusive. My final advice is to take selenium, zinc and Vit B and D everyday. Don't take added selenium if you are in a selenium rich area, however.

The question I haven't found an answer to is this: Since levo has a half life of 33 days doesn't that mean that if, on day one if you take 50 mcg, on day 2 and beyond your body is actually taking in more levo than the 50 mcg/day prescribed?

I hope this helps.

[GPV]

8. Very insightful, thank you. Selenium didn't come up, but calcium did.

[MOMFUDSKI]

4. I took estrogen and progesterone

For about 5 years and stopped. No more hot flashes at that point. This is 25 years ago

[GPV]

9. I should have asked the doc, but do cycled resume on her? I'd be on estrogen and progesterone, but

don't know the difference tails beyond that.

[FloridaBlues]

5. Hormonal cream for me is the best. Has to be compounded from a pharmacy

And you get blood tested once a year to make sure they have the correct levels of estrogen and testosterone etc. apply to your skin daily. It removed hot flashes and mood swings. Look into it with your physician who is knowledgeable on this product.

[GPV]

10. That sounds good, thanks. :)

[Joinfortmill]

11. I was on it for 4 years after a complete hysterectomy in the 1990s

I gained a ton of weight and could not lose it. Male doctor was unsympathetic. Then I read some articles about research that indicated higher risk of heart attacks while taking hormones. I changed doctors to a female doctor and told her I didn't want to take the hormones any longer. She was fine with that, and I have been happily living into my old age, a lot thinner and with no heart issues.

[GPV]

12. Glad it worked out!

[wackadoo wabbit]

13. I've been using it pretty much nonstop since menopause

So that's nearly 20 years.

I have only ever used compounded bioidentical hormones; I would never use the "unnatural" ones (and you shouldn't either).

It's been great for me. I have more energy than people my age, am healthier (I'd be happy to message you about specifics, if you want), and am generally more cognitively fit.

HRT is highly recommended for those with an ApoE4 allele (the "Alzheimer's gene" ) to help stave off Alzheimer's. You need estrogen (which should never be taken without progesterone) to keep your brain functional.

In addition, the low estrogen levels that occur after menopause are also associated with cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, and dementia (even for those without an ApoE4 allele).

When, for a while, I was on too low a dose (my previous gynecologist had become spooked by the thought of side effects), I had symptoms of aging. At my now higher dose, those symptoms are gone.

I'm a big believer in compounded bioidentical HRT and wouldn't consider going without it. I expect to continue taking it until civilization collapses and it's no longer available or until I die, whichever comes first.