Thu, Jul-26-12, 23:16
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New Member
Posts: 19
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Plan: Atkins
Stats: 242/225.2/150
BF:
Progress: 18%
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Whofan
The Women's Health Project stopped their study of women on conventional HRT early because of health scares, including of course cancer, primarily breast cancer. Bio-identical HRT on the other hand takes longer to show improvement, but I understand that there have been no cancer or other health scares associated with it. If I'm wrong, somebody here will contradict me I'm sure, and I'd be glad to know about it.
I was on Bio-identical HRT for a year or two after hitting a menopausal wall. Absolutely no energy, no joy of life, etc. It happened suddenly, up until then I was trucking along happily and suddently...bam. The bio-identical hormones took a few weeks to kick in and then I was back to my old self: good libido, weight loss, laughing, energy, and so on.
They are expensive, because not covered by insurance (not the actual hormones themselves, which are about $35 per prescription, but the consultation with a doctor). They are also tailored to the individual and that takes time to get right. For example, the testosterone in mine was too much at first. I understood what it must be like to be a 16 year old, horny, boy! But with some trial and error we got it just right.
On the other hand: I stopped the bio-identical hormones when I couldn't afford it anymore. Recently I needed a topically applied vaginal hormone and my GP prescribed a chemical form of estrogen. I was very wary, having researched man-made chemical hormones before and their results. But it was cheap, so I used it 3 times a week for 3 weeks. It worked great. Then I had a full blown period. I am 62 years old. It scared the sh#t out of me! My advice is don't take the conventional HRT, in fact run away from it. Save up your pennies and go for the bio-identical kind.
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Thank you for telling me about your experience. May I ask why your doctor wanted you to take hormones at 62?
I have read some about this study. The progesterone I am taking is natural, although no natural form of the estrogen was available (I don't live in the U.S.). My doctor tried to put me on a synthetic progestin as well, but I told him I wanted to stay on the natural progesterone (called Prometrium in the U.S.). So I'm not sure how the combination of synthetic estrogen and natural progesterone will play out. I am going to try it and see what happens this month.
I would love to see a naturopath but nothing like that seems available here.
My doctor wants me to have a "normal" menstrual cycle. When I had the d&c last fall I had polyps and mild hyperplasia of the endometrium. So he wants to see me shedding this endometrium. I don't know. Sometimes I think that if it all wants to shut down now, why not let it? But he thinks that I am sporadically producing estrogen and not progesterone (my testosterone, prolactin, etc. was all normal) so he wants to regulate it all so I won't end up with occasional months of all estrogen and no progesterone.
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