Jump to content

BioIdentical Hormones...Yay or Nay


Recommended Posts

I am 64 and have been in menopause since I turned 50.

 

I experience hot flashes, mood swings, vaginal tears and dryness.

 

I was taking bio-identical hormones (plant based) and they were compounded for me.

 

I took Bi-est, progesterone and testosterone.

 

My doctor took me off of them, he thought they compromised my immune system.

 

Now, all my symptoms are returned.

 

I am now reconsidering going back on them, but I am not sure if they truly are safer than

the synthetic kind.

 

I am interested in a vaginal cream.

 

I am low in estrogen.

 

There's got to be something for women like myself that can get relief and not have to worry about the risks.

 

Your thoughts please.

Link to comment

During puberty hormones are awry and no one takes anything to alleviate the symptoms. The hormones settle eventuallly.

Every female has suffered the effects of puberty and hormonal changes associated and pretty much get on with it. Even though it can be years.

As should happen in menopause .

But women going through menopause tend not to want to go through that hormonal change and effects which are different but still will settle eventually right?

 

I don’t personally believe in trying to alter the natural occurrence.

Neither HRT or Bioidentical hormones are “natural”

 

Personally I think taking anything will delay your own bodies natural progression through menopause and hence why you are still seemingly going through menopause.

You have essentially “tricked” your body into thinking it’s not going through menopause. You can take whatever you want until you are 80 years old but eventually when you stop taking it your body will go into menopause mode again.

 

My suggestion would be ride the wave. Hard as that may be. If you had done so at age 50, yes you would have vaginal dryness , hot flushes etc , but by now would have been well past it all.

 

Basically you have to go through it eventually so why not at a time when it’s ( maybe only now in hindsight) easier?

 

It’s like being on the contraceptive pill , (hormones) your period is due but if you decide to continue taking it on the supposed week off because you simply don’t want your period on a holiday in the sun or whatever, you eventually have to stop taking the pill for a week and have your period.

No one continues to take that pill for ten years with no break just so they don’t get a period ?

 

Why do it for menopause???

 

The adverse affects of HRT are worse than going through menopause for a lot of people. Once they get breast cancer they have to come off HRT anyway , suffer menopause while going through chemo and worse.

 

As for bio identical hormone replacement, well there isn’t enough data yet on it and anyone taking it now is essentially a guinea pig. But without guinea pigs we will never know.

If you are happy to be part of that research , good on you. It might be a great thing for the next generation or it might be a disaster and never to be used again.

 

What you decide to do is up to you.

You weigh up the pros and cons for you currently , the consequences of that you might not know until next year, 5 years time, 10 years time etc

 

That’s my two cents worth.

Interesting topic though and look forward to hearing others opinions?

 

In saying that, I hope you feel ok and better soon!

Link to comment

If you can find something to alleviate your symptoms and it won't make things worse, yes, take it.

 

If you had done so at age 50, yes you would have vaginal dryness , hot flushes etc , but by now would have been well past it all.

 

I'm sorry to say Billie, but that's false information.

 

My mum is 69 years old, she has never taken any kind of supplements and tried to do it au natural as Billie has suggested, no, it doesn't go away for all women and yes, it can get quite bad.

My mum is living proof of that. She suffers quite badly with the effects of menopause and has gotten quite sick over it and is still getting quite sick with it. There doesn't seem to be any stopping it anytime soon.

 

My friends grandmother suffered hot flashes and other side effects from menopause into her 80's and again, she never took anything to try and help.

 

If you live near a health food store or can phone one, call them and enquire about their natural supplements for menopause. Many have some great supplements that have worked well for many women and they can give you the best advice concerning which ones work the best and for what symptoms.

Link to comment

My mom still gets the odd hot flash, I do too. My mom did hormone replacement for years I just did it naturally. My mom said going through menopause was unbearable. For me the worst part was the unbearable migraines four days a week I had complete chronic migraine for five years barfing and barfing multiple days a week and the mood swings were INSANE. But once my hormones settled 99% of the migraines went away ,my moods are pretty steady and I have about two or three hot flashes a year. My mom is 74 and I will be 54 next month. We both started menopause early though in our 40s.

Link to comment

I briefly tried bio-denticals, and they do have risks. The first month I loved it and slept like a baby. Then I bled for 3 weeks straight and got off them. I take the prescription Estrace vaginally a few times a week. It's less of a risk than the pills and skin creams for vaginal dryness to insert that type of treatment vaginally.

 

I've endured night sweats in varying degrees starting in peri and have had them for 15 years. I'll probably be one of those women who have them until I die.

Link to comment

I had a male dr for years who eventually retired. I've been on HRT for years, the lowest dose possible and with that I still cut the patch in half. I still have symptoms but they are manageable.

 

The message ingrained was that it was just ok, my choice but came with risks. It was a cloud of concern that hung over me.

 

My new dr is a woman who specializes in menopause and had a lengthy discussion with me regarding the benefits of natural HRT and the risks are low versus the benefits that are high and change your overall quality of life as well as having health benefits.. She was almost sad me that our first meeting was spent with me unessasarily defending my choice.

 

Some studies and attitudes are outdated and it would be helpful to talk to a specialist. My dr has written articles in medical journal Jamal and participated in case studies supporting the benefits of HRT.

 

I understand it's a personal choice and devided. I have an autoimmune condition and my estrogen crashed at 35. I've tried to wean off and go without but it just isn't an option for me. I asked about bioidentical, which I could choose but she said there wasn't much difference between that and a natural estrogen replacement.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Link to comment

I have been on Estrogel and Promeitrum for 10 yrs due to extremely debilitating menopause symptoms. Worst one was no sleep for months and almost losing my job due to poor performance.

 

Dr first gave me sleeping pills (what a mistake). Second opinion Dr thought it was all in my head, gave me Ativan, then later antidepressants. Both were totally ineffective at getting to the root of the problem - which was low estrogen.

 

I started becoming very vocal to Drs insisted I be tested for hormone levels. Sure enough I basically had none! I found a physician who supported bio identical hormone therapy. I started on that and my whole life turned around, I felt normal and slept throughout the nite.

 

I have tried to go off slowly but it results in bleeding and going back to the same problems I had. Dr tells me to get a breast exam each year and they are all clear for many years.

 

As long as I get regular check ups I think the benefits outweigh the risk in my case. As well, I found out that the Estrogel I put on my arm bypasses the liver and the gel does not involve as much estrogen getting into your body.

 

I have to watch out for other external estrogen foods, essential oils and herbs that increase my hormone levels so that the risks of too much estrogen in my body are kept to a minimum.

Link to comment

There are a few menopausal women at my church who are taking bio-identical hormones and swear by them. They prefer the most natural route for alleviating their menopausal symptoms and with least amount of adverse side effects. The only downside is that insurance doesn't pay for it so seeing a bio-identical doctor and buying bio-identical prescriptions are an out-of-pocket expense. Some insurances cover it though. There are other bio-identical hormones other than the ones you've mentioned. Some are made out of yams.

Link to comment
Andrina.....is the Estrace a safe alternative? How long have you been on it? I have heard plant based is a better alternative than animal based, but there is more of a risk with animal-based synthetic hormones.

 

Of course any medication has the possibility of side effects. You just have to research everything you're thinking of and decide for yourself. I've been using Estrace for 2 years and haven't experienced any negative effects that I know of. I wasn't willing to have painful sex the rest of my life and my gynecologist recommended the product.

Link to comment

The cream works great. The best thing about is that you can adjust the amount needed, and lower the dose to twice or once a month. Been on it for years now...no problems. a lot of the symptoms can be helped with eating apples, drinking kidney cleansing tea, exercise, take magnesium supplements, drink lots of water.

 

Eating soy and take those stupid herbal menopause supplements are a big waste of money.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...