Stopping bioidenticals- bear with me
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Started back on and the crushing fatigue is diminishing. It's interesting. I felt fine for a couple of months and then BAM.
So, I'm slowly heading back to the dose I was at, and going to stay there for a while. Then check back in with my naturopath.
Oh, and yes, the scale went up a couple. But that was to be expected.
Cheers!0 -
Thank you for sharing your journey! Still in the learning stages, yikes:-P0
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Thanks. It's a constant learning process!Thank you for sharing your journey! Still in the learning stages, yikes:-P0 -
Thank you for sharing! I started Vivelle patch and progesterone (naturo thinks it was higher dose than I needed) a few months ago and I went off both this week. Naturo is ordering Biest topical cream from a compounding pharmacy and said it would be a lower dose. Wondering if I will drop a few lbs.0
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Good luck!Thank you for sharing! I started Vivelle patch and progesterone (naturo thinks it was higher dose than I needed) a few months ago and I went off both this week. Naturo is ordering Biest topical cream from a compounding pharmacy and said it would be a lower dose. Wondering if I will drop a few lbs.0 -
The fatigue was the reason I went onto HRT in the first place. It was unlike any tiredness I have felt before. Sleep didn't ease it - my whole body felt heavy and everything was an effort. Unfortunately, in the UK bio-identical progesterone is hard to come by - my doc didn't know of any licensed here for NHS use. The private BHRT docs are few and far between so charge a fortune (£500 for a hormone test, £260 for a first consultation and then £100 for the first prescription).Started back on and the crushing fatigue is diminishing. It's interesting. I felt fine for a couple of months and then BAM.
So, I'm slowly heading back to the dose I was at, and going to stay there for a while. Then check back in with my naturopath.
Oh, and yes, the scale went up a couple. But that was to be expected.
Cheers!
I'm struggling through with the synthetic progesterone but none seem to suit me so far. Was also thinking of stopping but the thought of that fatigue again really put me off and your experience has reinforced that thought.
Will go back to docs and keep battling for different progesterones. If anyone is in the UK and managed to get bio Progesterone recently on the NHS give me a shout. Has anyone tried teeny amounts of Testosterone too for energy?0 -
A couple of years ago, my luggage was lost, with my prescription in it (dumb me). My doc sent a script to a pharmacy in the UK who was able to prescribe http://www.drugs.com/mtm/crinone.html for me, as I was going to BE in the UK for 2 months. My body tolerated that pretty well.
The fatigue was the reason I went onto HRT in the first place. It was unlike any tiredness I have felt before. Sleep didn't ease it - my whole body felt heavy and everything was an effort. Unfortunately, in the UK bio-identical progesterone is hard to come by - my doc didn't know of any licensed here for NHS use. The private BHRT docs are few and far between so charge a fortune (£500 for a hormone test, £260 for a first consultation and then £100 for the first prescription).Started back on and the crushing fatigue is diminishing. It's interesting. I felt fine for a couple of months and then BAM.
So, I'm slowly heading back to the dose I was at, and going to stay there for a while. Then check back in with my naturopath.
Oh, and yes, the scale went up a couple. But that was to be expected.
Cheers!
I'm struggling through with the synthetic progesterone but none seem to suit me so far. Was also thinking of stopping but the thought of that fatigue again really put me off and your experience has reinforced that thought.
Will go back to docs and keep battling for different progesterones. If anyone is in the UK and managed to get bio Progesterone recently on the NHS give me a shout. Has anyone tried teeny amounts of Testosterone too for energy?0 -
How are you doing now? I just started the bio identical 2 weeks ago...I am really disappointed to read that you put on some weight when you started them and did I understand that you felt your bloat was worse on them than off? My saliva test should my progestrone was almost non existent and I am in adrenal failure...my weight has crept up 30 lbs in last year...my night sweats and hot flashes are what drove me to the doc finally, I was nuts with them...my emotions are everywhere (even though I have had some life changes that are also responsible) I have suffered with bloating for 3-4 years...I can waked with flat belly and by early evening I look 7 months preggo and swear I will get stretch marks...and in the last 6 months what was muscular has turned squishy...I am hating this time of life! any advice would be awesome...
I am on progestrone & estridol....but my testostrone was also low0 -
How are you doing now? I just started the bio identical 2 weeks ago...I am really disappointed to read that you put on some weight when you started them and did I understand that you felt your bloat was worse on them than off? My saliva test should my progestrone was almost non existent and I am in adrenal failure...my weight has crept up 30 lbs in last year...my night sweats and hot flashes are what drove me to the doc finally, I was nuts with them...my emotions are everywhere (even though I have had some life changes that are also responsible) I have suffered with bloating for 3-4 years...I can waked with flat belly and by early evening I look 7 months preggo and swear I will get stretch marks...and in the last 6 months what was muscular has turned squishy...I am hating this time of life! any advice would be awesome...
I am on progestrone & estridol....but my testostrone was also low
In the end I've re-added the progesterone. And that's been good.
Your symptoms sound worse than mine. Goodness! I hope you find some relief!
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Started back on and the crushing fatigue is diminishing. It's interesting. I felt fine for a couple of months and then BAM.
So, I'm slowly heading back to the dose I was at, and going to stay there for a while. Then check back in with my naturopath.
Oh, and yes, the scale went up a couple. But that was to be expected.
Cheers!
In the end (well, for now), I'm back on the progesterone, but not the estrogen.
And I'm trying to really focus on eating right for this stage of life. I was so danged tired, and had stopped sleeping. That's getting better.
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It's now been almost exactly a year and I'm back on the estriol now as well. I went to see my PCP, and he suggested it, for now.
This has been a wild ride, and I feel like sometime this spring things ramped down again. Every 3-6 months feels like punctuated equilibrium minus the equilibrium. It doesn't feel like my hormones are up and down. It feels like a sharp drop all at once every few months. This last time (I'm officially menopausal now, so perhaps that's why) I felt I couldn't get back in balance after the drop.
Feeling better now!
Things I'm currently doing:
eating for menopause (a focus on vegetables, legumes, omega 3s etc.)
bio-identical progesterone
bio-identical estriol
menopause vitamin
almost no caffeine
no weekday wine
and for a month: DHEA
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I was just reading about DHEA. Can you tell me any more about it? Do you need an Rx or can you buy it OTC?
I think my cortisol is very high, even when I try to keep stress to a minimum.0 -
I was just reading about DHEA. Can you tell me any more about it? Do you need an Rx or can you buy it OTC?
I think my cortisol is very high, even when I try to keep stress to a minimum.
OTC my local sprouts has it. Amazon too.
In theory it supports your hormone balancing. But should only be used short term. So I'm giving it a month then will taper it and stop. I hope it helps.
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I am on a climara patch and take synthetic progesterone. I am relatively satisfied except that I am not officially menopausal and I have had fairly regular periods and some breakthrough since being on HRT. My doctor that prescribed it is a loon (it's a really long story) and efforts to get her to change the dose have gone nowhere. I have an appointment with a gyno in a couple of weeks and I plan to ask about cyclical progesterone. My plan doesn't cover bioidentical progesterone but I seem to be doing OK on the synthetic except for it not stopping the bleeding -- which I'm fine with if it's regular and not breakthrough. Other than that, I predict being one of those women that refuses to ever go off of it. I feel that much better on it.1
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TheGaudyMagpie wrote: »I am on a climara patch and take synthetic progesterone. I am relatively satisfied except that I am not officially menopausal and I have had fairly regular periods and some breakthrough since being on HRT. My doctor that prescribed it is a loon (it's a really long story) and efforts to get her to change the dose have gone nowhere. I have an appointment with a gyno in a couple of weeks and I plan to ask about cyclical progesterone. My plan doesn't cover bioidentical progesterone but I seem to be doing OK on the synthetic except for it not stopping the bleeding -- which I'm fine with if it's regular and not breakthrough. Other than that, I predict being one of those women that refuses to ever go off of it. I feel that much better on it.
Unfortunately, my plan doesn't cover bio-identical hormones either. It costs me about 50 dollars a month, when all is said and done. I like that I can tweak it so much, as needed.
It's tough when you can't get them to listen!0 -
Where do you get your progesterone? I've been told that my estrogen is bioidentical, but then the loon told me that.0
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TheGaudyMagpie wrote: »Where do you get your progesterone? I've been told that my estrogen is bioidentical, but then the loon told me that.
I saw a naturopath (who was also a midwife, that's how I found her). She prescribed it. I got it from the local compounding pharmacy. Took a little googling. A few years ago my OBGYN was willing to prescribe as well.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »I was just reading about DHEA. Can you tell me any more about it? Do you need an Rx or can you buy it OTC?
I think my cortisol is very high, even when I try to keep stress to a minimum.
OTC my local sprouts has it. Amazon too.
In theory it supports your hormone balancing. But should only be used short term. So I'm giving it a month then will taper it and stop. I hope it helps.
DHEA used to be in Relacore, which I stumbled upon about 15 years ago before I understood about eating right and exercising. (I was looking for a magic pill!). Relacore didn't help with weight management, but it was awesome as a stress reducer and mood elevator! I took it off and on for awhile for stress. But now they have taken out the DHEA and it is worthless!
Hope the dhea helps you!0 -
My primary is willing to prescribe it but I'll have to get it elsewhere. I'm a little frustrated with the patches. If I put them anywhere but my lower abdomen, they come off. They're also kind of irritating to my skin. I had the same problem with BC patches. I just understand the patches to be safer than pills, which would also be synthetic.0
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Birth control patches made me seriously crazy with anxiety! Like I could hardly pass anyone on the highway without having an anxiety attack, etc. Pills caused some anxiety, but not as much. I hope to never ever take hormones!0
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I don't tolerate hormonal bc well either, but I'm OK on these. I think it's a much lower amount. I had a lot more anxiety when I had no hormones at all, along with a lot of pain and fatigue. I think it's great if you can avoid taking them, but my quality of life has really improved a lot since I started. I was trying to figure out how my family could make it without my income because I was becoming so impaired I thought I would have to quit my job. Some of my friends have had barely any symptoms at all from meno so it seems pretty individual. Mine happened really fast so that may have been one of the issues. The difference between HRT and BC is that HRT brings you to a normal level. BC is specifically designed to be an excess of hormones.1
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Bumping this one as well. If my posts feel more like a blog, feel free to ignore them.
As of now I'm still back on the Bios. But for the first time, really, I'm trying to use as MUCH as the prescription says.
I've always done less (or tried for a few days then went back to less).
One of the reasons I'm doing lower lower lower carb now is because I've bumped UP the progesterone (which can cause increased appetite and water weight).
I'm hoping that by doing lower carb at the same time I can stave off the cravings and keep the water weight at bay.
Now that I'm menopausal, rather than peri-menopausal, I'm focusing in on this, and my diet, with new energy.
I'm still eating right, exercising, taking supplements etc.... but am also trying to determine the role of bio-identical hormones for me for the next phase of life.
All of that said: between the bios and eating what is essentially low carb, I'm feeling better this last while than I have in eons. I started full on BIOS a week ago, and have been lowering my carbs slowly but surely for a couple of months now. I'm now solidly low carb (30-50 grams). Sleep isn't GREAT but is better, and the rest of the symptoms are better (for now) as well.
I think both changes are involved.
Way way back when my peri- journey began I declared that while my pre-menopause sweet spot was 130, my goal was to be menopausal below 140, and then keep things in check.
As of today, I'm at about 137.
So far so good, but LORD I have to keep an eye on this!
For those who don't know me:
I have been eating Slow carb, low crap for about 14 years
I get at least 10,000 steps a day
I walk or ride to work every day
I run 3-5 miles a few times a week.
I lift.
I do pilates.
I enjoy wine with dinner.
I try to balance life and work.
So there's my latest update. cheers!0 -
October 16. I feel GREAT. About 60 grams of leafy green carbs (including soy). 50-75mg of bioidentical progesterone. Lots of plant fats. I'm SLEEPING!
I have energy. I don't feel jangly and on edge. yay!1
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