Hormone replacement therapy

self ^ | 2-11-09 | self

[Former MSM Viewer]

My wife is about to start Hormone replacement therapy and I have a lot of questions...

Any opinions/experiences?

Does it help? Or a scam?

How much does it cost in the long run?

Harmful?

[KosmicKitty]

FWIW - they’ve worked for me

They do require a bit if experimentation and they don’t work as fast as drug. If you’re willing to spend a bit of time experiment/adjusting, they do work

European doctors proscribe Black Cohosjh for hot flashes all the time

Really worked for me, YMMV

[KosmicKitty]

Yeah, I’m actually not so raging anymore :-)

[Global2010]

LOL Someone was miserable since she is now your ex.

[grame]

My husband used to refill this one for me. The difference was dramatic. But i had dramatic symptoms. Huge teenage boy like pimples on my face and neck, withdrawal, forgetfulness, fatigue, hot and cold flashes, every emotion(positive or negative) I had was intense,very intense, etc, etc, etc. I took it for 10 years and they suggested I stop which I did and I have had endocrine problems since. My endo dr is considering starting me back but not on the highest dose which I was on before.

I had no, none, of the risk factors for breast cancer, but when I was on it they were taking everyone off, so reluctantly I hopped on the bandwagon.

[Quix]

Wellllllllllllll . . . Mother dear . . . thereby . . .

stretched out horrific menopausal orneriness, gritchiness etc. for 20+ years, IIRC.

However, when she went and “got her shot” she was a lot easier to live with, for a while.

About all I can offer.

Maybe I’ll ask dad about his perspective on it. He always escaped to the shop anyway.

Have read pros and cons over the years, medically, and don’t even recall what they were.

[Quix]

UNBEARABLE

. . . errrrr . . . uhhhh . . .

BEFORE

or

AFTER the meds?

Or both?

LOL.

[Quix]

The impact is real enough. Mother was dramatically—at least significantly—different after each shot.

[RebelTXRose]

It’s that quality of life thing! Another poster mentioned the sweats - I had forgotten the lakes I would wake up with and flopping like a fish all night long.

When I moved up to NY from TX, the new dr didn’t like the fact that I was on Combi-Patch - or any HRT for that matter. I gave him 4 months to see what happened without and then convinced him I HAD to have it! The annual biopsy is a concession to make sure all is ok.

[Quix]

PING.

[Disgusted in Texas]

She still needs to be checked on a routine basis.

[teenyelliott]

I am 39 and had to have a complete hysterectomy due to ovarian failure, so I understand the hormonal disaster. : )

Bioidentical are the way to go.

[teenyelliott]

How old is your wife, and is she considering HRT because of menopause or another reason?

I have many years dealing with HRT, and how it works within each persons body. Every woman has different levels of estrogen and progesterone, and different combinations of the two.

As long as your wife has a doctor who is willing to do the blood work to determine her levels, and who will listen when she tells him how she feels regarding remaining symptoms, she will be fine. Better, actually.

Hormones dictate so much in the body, inside and out. It is my opinion that if you lose something your body would normally be producing, you should replace it.

As far as the risks go, it is also my opinion that women should stay away from synthetics, start small and work up, and ALWAYS continue regular visits with their doctors.

Good luck to both of you.

[teenyelliott]

I think doctors and researchers simply do not know. Your wife's family health history, as well as her own, certainly come into play when beginning HRT.

That is why I said start at rock bottom and work up. She does not want to just take some random one size fits all dosage, because too much can be just as harmful as too little. Having a doc willing to work with her is extremely important.

Most docs really don't know how to handle hormone replacement, so they do whatever the latest drug reps tell them to do, throwing drugs at the patient to get them out the door.

[teenyelliott]

That stuff is bad news.

[teenyelliott]

Then she was on the wrong dosages. Or she was just naturally unbearable. One of the two. ;)

[teenyelliott]

That is BS. World Health Organization, give me a break. That's like taking national defense advice from the UN.

Anyone considering any serious drug therapy or medical treatment should do their own research or get an advocate to do so for them. Your health is your responsibility.

[teenyelliott]

The cost depends on your insurance, the drugs she takes, and where she gets them. Mine is around fifty bucks a month.

[Quix]

Love your tagline . . .

made out of liberals and fed to pigs and jihadi’s.

[teenyelliott]

I figure it would taste like crap, so we could give it to “the less fortunate” instead of giving them food stamps. Would give them an incentive to get a job.

[Quix]

There is that alright.