Postmenopausal--anyone here NOT on bioidenticals?

[chrissyr]

I'm interested in this too. 6 years post menopause and have not gone on hormones. I feel well and didn't want to mess with spotting or checking of endometrium lining. (been there done that) Also my PCP does not prescribe it. I used some cream for a while, but it was estriol and progesterone, probably not very effective. How encouraging rrmolo! And Theresa, I'm interested in the pregnenolone, will look in to that! Would a post menopausal woman still be able to increase estradiol this way, or only premenopause?

[CarrieS]

I'm interested in this too. 6 years post menopause and have not gone on hormones. I feel well and didn't want to mess with spotting or checking of endometrium lining. (been there done that) Also my PCP does not prescribe it. I used some cream for a while, but it was estriol and progesterone, probably not very effective. How encouraging rrmolo! And Theresa, I'm interested in the pregnenolone, will look in to that! Would a post menopausal woman still be able to increase estradiol this way, or only premenopause?

You and I are a lot alike chrissyr. I tried bHRT a few years ago and felt awful so took Pregnenolone instead to try to raise up my sex hormone levels. My NP said that my body did the "pregnenolone steal" and used it to make other needed hormones so I didn't see big changes in my levels - only slight changes. My functional medicine provider took me off it a couple of years ago because my DHEA was "fine". So confusing. I need to get my levels checked again soon to see where I'm at and maybe I'll try it again too.

[anne from california]

How are you coming off the hormones? My pharmacist said I could just stop, but I rather titrate down.

Popping back in here to say that I titrated off hormone therapy--with estrogen, went from .050 to .0375 (two weeks) to cutting the .0375 in half for .018 (two weeks) to cutting .0375 into a quarter size (.009) for one week. Some undesirable symptoms returned, including hot flashes. I had a little bit of depression, but nothing too bad and it seems to have resolved. Also, sleep has been pretty good.

Weirdly, I feel more normal off the hormones. I hadn't realized how "premenstrual" I was feeling all the time--I think Dr. Hathaway was correct that the estradiol, even at a fairly low therapeutic dose, was getting picked up by receptors all over my body. I never could shake the sore, swollen breasts and recurrent bleeding while I was on those patches, and getting progesterone into my body was difficult. In the end, when I quit, Dr. H was happy with my levels, but I couldn't stand the bleeding and breast pain. I hope I'm not turning my brain into a dried-out wasteland by forgoing the hormones, but it's nice to have my regular body back, albeit a little warmer.

[Blissful1]

Hi, I just joined APOE4 and I am 4/4 I aam 63 and had my last period around 51. I was on bio-identicals up to a year ago. Then cost and my ND wanting me get an ultrasound of breast that I couldn't get kaiser to do, etc I stopped HRT.
Now after reading Bredesen and findin a functional doc I am doing the keto diet and exercising 6 days a week and taking supplements, etc. I am considering going back on HRT since it seems that we want to 'optimize' our bodies much like an athlete.
Looks like oral progesterone is now the best choice and a patch or cream of Bi-est and maybe estrogen vaginal cream.
Anyone was past menopause go back on bio-identicals and what is your experience?

[Chameleon]

Hi Blissful1,

Welcome to APOE4 community! I can't tell you what the best forms of bioidenticals are for your situation. But I can share that when I reached menopause, I didn't hesitate to start them. Those hot flashes are bad and I did feel like I lost some cognition. So far I am glad that I have done it. I basically have all creams for progesterone and estrogen. I did try the oral progesterone and that was ok, but did not taste very good. You may have some period of time where you will have to monitor and make adjustments.

I think it is worth exploring and trying. Many of my clients both male and female have been placed on these and do feel better. Let us know how you make out with it.

There may be more information on the Wiki page that could be helpful and if you haven't read the Primer that has alot of good overall information.

Again welcome and good luck with the hormones!

[slacker]

I am considering going back on HRT since it seems that we want to 'optimize' our bodies much like an athlete.
Looks like oral progesterone is now the best choice and a patch or cream of Bi-est and maybe estrogen vaginal cream.
Anyone was past menopause go back on bio-identicals and what is your experience?

Hi Blissful1;

Our wiki does not (as of yet) have a summary of bHRT; the best place for a general review is this chapter of the primer, with links to other resources. It's a very tricky subject and is best to work with an expert in prescribing and managing.

Oral progesterone is recommended for women with a uterus to prevent endometrial cancer. The ability of topical progesterone to do this has not been studied.

I personally started bHRT about 5 years after menopause. I was not having distressing hot flashes, but decided to start to help optimize cognition. It took a while to get my estradiol, estrone, and progesterone levels balanced; I felt no difference, just looking for appropriate levels with lab results. Initially I though it was helping with mental clarity; now I'm not so sure. I have other "issues" that can impact overall health and memory.

We do have one member who has shared her negative experience with bHRT. She was working with an experienced hormone MD. Luckily, no serious problems were found, and she decided to get off the treatment. No one knows how things are going to work out until we jump in with both feet. N=1.

[Nancy]

Hello! It's me, Nancy, an old member. Been busy. I am healing well from my brain surgery. I stayed on the estrogen patch for the past year since my surgery, but had quit the progesterone for about 10 months due to having researched and found possible link to brain meningioma (what I had). BUT, it turned out, like Stavia and others warned, that my uterine lining became very thickened from the unopposed estrogen. So I am back on progesterone, 200 mg/10 days per month. She tested my blood and found all of my hormone levels pretty low. Estrogen was a bit low, but I'm remaining on the .05 patch anyway due to the endometrial thickening. My progesterone was quite low. And my testosterone level was extremely low (only 2). So for a month now I'm also using a bit of testosterone cream from a compounding pharmacy on my forearm at night. I am a bit nervous about taking the testosterone. It's only a pea sized amount, and I probably halve that out of fear. I have noticed my hair falling out a bit, though it's still quite thick. My biggest fear is that testosterone might cause brain changes...not in a good way. Does anyone here know if testosterone supplementation could actually be worse for our brains? I realize it's a very new area. Also, just wondering which estrogen patch brand is best. The Mylan is coming off a lot and my pharmacist said something about Vivelle. I live in the US. I am 51 years old, post menopausal. Thank you.

[slacker]

Does anyone here know if testosterone supplementation could actually be worse for our brains? I realize it's a very new area. Also, just wondering which estrogen patch brand is best. The Mylan is coming off a lot and my pharmacist said something about Vivelle. I live in the US. I am 51 years old, post menopausal. Thank you.

Good to hear from you Nancy! I can't answer your testosterone question, but do have a suggestion on the stickiness of estradiol patches. Some members put a strip of surgical tape on top of their patch if it tends to come off by itself. The Vivelle may be more expensive since it is still a brand name versus generic.

[Nancy]

Hi! Thank you for your reply! I'll get some surgical tape. Does anyone use Mylan or another generic and have a suggestion on which generic is best? I was on a different generic, but the pharmacy no longer carries that one, which worked fine.

[slacker]

Does anyone use Mylan or another generic and have a suggestion on which generic is best? I was on a different generic, but the pharmacy no longer carries that one, which worked fine.

What do you mean by "best?" All brand names and generic estradiol patches have the same active medicine (estradiol) and same dosage options. The only difference is whether they are applied once a week or twice. I think that the twice a week patches have less of a trough (lowest level of estradiol into circulation before next dose) than the once a week.

I've been on two forms of generic estradiol transdermal patches; one manufactured by Mylan and the other by Sandoz. I detected no difference in any way between the two, including adhesive. I received a different generic brand when I switched pharmacies. Each pharmacy company stocks the generic that is the lowest cost for them, so it can change over time.