Ladies, I am looking for help. The experts always tell us that our menopausal bodies need estrogen. The research always says that it helps with symptoms, and in many cases is helpful for long term physical problems. Yet my experience taking estrogen has been anything but pleasant.
Is there anyone else out there, who has had odd, off the wall reactions to taking estrogen? Horrid fatigue, odd weight gain, weird hair or skin reactions? Or am I the only one. I would love to hear your stories. I guess I'm hoping I'm not alone in all this.
hello i have other medical issues so i cannot say in all honesty if it is all to do with hormones i hope some lady on here can help you
I'm not sure I can help Gailannie. Sorry your going through this. What type of estrogen are you on by the way?
Hi Gailannie,
Sorry to hear you have been having a problem. You have always been the person to read, when I was really suffering, and I know you have researched and have a very good knowledge of all things menopause. Your posts helped me through some horrendous times when I could not see light at the end of my tunnel! You don't say what issues you have with estrogen or whether you take progesterone too?
Hi Gailannie,
The symptoms you mention are fairly common in this wonderful journey. The weight gain appears to be pretty much a given, the hair issues again are common, as are the skin issues.....I,m assuming you mean the itching and crawling "things" under the skin? Hair shedding and condition seem to be part and parcel, although I found that after I started taking Femoston my hair stopped falling out. Femoston apparently has a kinder progesterone and when the hormones settle down, most of the other problems seem to go.
The fatigue also goes, as when sleep becomes possible and regular again, you will regain your energy levels.
I don't know what you mean by the off the wall feeling, unless it's when you feel as though you are outside, looking in to yourself and wondering why other people can appear to function normally, and whatever you are doing feels like a huge effort. Your hormones sound as though they are out of whack. What do you take?
Best wishes,
Susan
Hi gailannie .. Yes weight gain only .. I find oestrogen great! do you take progesterone too ? While I am on HRT I feel great but it does put on weight ..
Ladies, THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR RESPONSES. I really appreciate it.
Supemack, it sounds like you are doing well with the combination pill? (Femoston) And yes, I'm struggling with the HRT at this moment. I feel like hell.
Mars are you also taking progesterone? Do you take in on a continuous basis? It sounds like you are doing well with estrogen. How are you taking it?
Fabulous on oestrogen alone. Nightmare when progestogen is brought into it. Progestogen (dr insisted I take it for balance - I previously had a hysterectomy years before), caused increased belly size, hair frizzy and crazy, terrible head sweats, and full body night sweats.
I stopped progestogen and I am waiting till the frizz grows out and the belly to decrease. If you have not had a hysterectomy then you must take a form of progesterone, but try to keep it minimal. There is a belief out there that progestogen is better than oestrogen - yeah, well they are not using it themselves then! One is a male MD - 'nuff said.
Thanks Sheryl. I have heard this that many women love estrogen only. Especially those who have had hysterectomies. But yes, I have my uterus and therefore will need progesterone.
If you don't mind I ask, how do you take your estrogen, orally, patch?
Hi gailannie, I am taking a tablet , yes progesterone too. I am postmenopausal how about you? I had to stop them a few weeks bk as I was having a procedure ... Hellish when not on them! Back taking them now but not kicked in fully Hot sweats anxiety are the worst with me , I have had many symptoms but these two are deff the worst ! I take them on a continuous basis
Are you meno or post ?
Oh yes, Mars. I had my final period in Dec. 2009 at 53. Thought I was doing really well until the vaginal atrophy and dryness set in a couple years later. Ok that's when I'd had enough of this junk.
Don't mean to be noisy, but I'm assuming you're doing oral Estrace and oral Prometrium? How much of each? I'm just looking to see what other menopausal women feel good on.
There was a time (very brief) when one doc had me on a .75 patch with 5 mg vaginal progesterone twice daily, and I probably looked and felt my best. However she had me doing this on a cyclical basis, and I hated the estrogen only part of the cycle. I felt like blowing my brains out. (She wouldn't budge from doing more days of progesterone.) It's been a real roller coaster since then trying to find the right balance.
Hi Gail,
I still swear by my BHRT transvaginal compounded 2mg estrodial 2mg estriol with OTC progesterone twice a day. Just as important to the mix is testosterone. I went from 2mg transvaginal to 4mg and now just increased to 6mg. All of these can be compounded into one cream through the compounding pharmacy. Have you ever tried the vaginal route compounded creams? Twice a year lab draws in case you need tweaking with any of the hormones. Sorry to hear your still struggling.
Hi, yes I take 2mg of oestrogen & 5mg progesterone, I took a different HRT the first 4 years then the terrible sweats came back so much worse! So was then put on I mg / 2.5mg, After about 18 months I had the dose put up to 2mg/5mg as the sweats & anxiety came back plus no appetite Felt awful.
Boy it has been a nightmare. So, I'm really interested in your move up on the T. Was a blood levels that prompted the move upward, Or how you were feeling.
My skin gets so wrinkly on E and also P. Seems there is a combination that does make it better, but in the meantime I simply look like hell.
I know you did P only for several weeks to start. When a doc gave me P with an E level of 13 pg/ml it literally put me under. I don't know how you did it, except that you were younger and not so far out in menopause, so possible you still were producing enough estrogen.
I'm so glad you are still doing well. Wish I could figure this all out. Honesty, I'd almost prefer to go back before I started all this. I looked much better then.
Mars, is your estrogen oral Estrace? And how are you taking 5 mg progesterone. It must be compounded, but that's a very small dose. Do you take it orally? Or vaginally? Or in a skin cream form?
Hi Gailannie,when I was transferred to Femoston from Elleste (which I had been on for years and then patches, and then.......Several different hrts)I was fortunate to be able to speak to the practice pharmacist who was so much better informed than the doctors! She told me that the progesterone in the Femoston is a kinder one than in the Elleste. It appears to be a higher dose, but actually is not. It's better for anxiety and mood ie depression etc. So perhaps the hrt you are being prescribed may not be the one for you? Just a thought?
Thanks Supemack. Apparently the progestin in Femoston has a very low testosterone profile. Maybe that made a difference to you.
I take it orally & yes 2mg oestrogen / 5mg progesterone one tab daily .. my GP said its the highest dose?
It was the combination of me wanting to increase it and my blood test showing I still had room to go up. Women's normal range is 2-45, a big range there. They are finding out that women need more testosterone than this now but few docs will even run a testosterone test. My holistic dr says women should be up toward the 75 range. When I first started it was very low and slowly building up. Last testing in the fall was at 25, now it is at 29. Although I am feeling very good and have come along very well in the intimacy dept I know there is room for improvement here and I want it to be the best at this point in my life. I really do think if a woman's testosterone is brought up along with her other depleting hormones she will feel good in mind and body. I don't think I could have gotten this with just estrogen and progesterone alone to tell you the truth. So to answer your question it was the lab work that confirmed and my wanting to increase the testosterone that it was raised to 6mg.
Thankfully, I am back on the implanted pellet and my body draws on it as needed. Last implant was a 100mg and a 50mg to try to last longer. Next one which I have just ordered 2 x 100mg because the 50mg cost almost as much as a 100gm. I was surprised my dr agreed. So it should last longer again.
The last couple of weeks I have been slapping on a patch per week but I don't think it makes any difference (as I think my body then draws less from the pellet) because I am still sweating from the hollow in the back of my neck often, at the slightest exertion, a bit of extra heat, and sometimes even in air-conditioning. It seems that once the tap was turned on, it still has a leak. I keep up with my Vit D3, a deficiency of which can also cause sweating. There may be another cause - just have not found it yet. But I do know that during the periods when my oestrogen was blocked by progestin, my head sweated profusely.