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January 19, 2005

New Year Update

No hot flashes and no sex drive! So that's the good and the bad news for the new year.

It has been awhile since I posted but there really is not much new on the hormone front. I'm still using the Pro-Gest cream. Day 1-7 is 1/8 t. in the morning, and the rest of the month is 1/8 t. in the morning and 1/4 t. at night. I tried doing none on the first 7 days but didn't feel too well so added a little in (after reading what Dr. Wright said) and that seems to be fine.

I'm feeling pretty well. No hot flashes, but the progesterone so far hasn't done anything for my sex drive. I'll be doing some new saliva tests soon and will see where all the levels are now.

Posted by laura at 8:38 AM | Comments (1)

November 22, 2004

Emerita Pro-Gest Cream

While waiting for the Progestgel to come back into stock I got some Pro-Gest Cream (Emerita). I have used it in the past and liked it. (Similar names but different companies.)

The Progestgel arrived a few days ago and is going back today. Let's just say it has a delivery system that requires you to use it on your "private parts". I knew that when I ordered but when actually putting it into practice all I can say is, "Yuck! What a mess!" If you use it in the morning you can't get dressed and if you use it at night....well, you can use your imagination there.

Maybe it works better but if you can't use it easily what's the point?? So I'm going to stick with the Pro-Gest cream and use 1/8 t. in the morning and 1/4 t. at night. (30 mg.) So far so good.

Posted by laura at 1:18 PM | Comments (0)

November 5, 2004

ProgestGel

I feel lousy! So here we go again. I think I'll try my own thing now for awhile. I got an article in the mail written by Jonathon Wright on natural hormones. I found the same article online and you can read it here. He has a new progesterone called Progestgel and he talks in the article about not using more than 25-30 mg. of progesterone a day. Even at my half dose I'm doing 50 mg. I was doing 100 mg. and I think most women do that or more. The gel is available at the same site as the article. Wright has a website but I couldn't find the gel there. Maybe it hasn't been listed yet. It's new, but may only be made by Life Enhancement now. (I have osteoporosis and buy strontium from the Tahoma Clinc....his site.)

He also thinks some doctors are prescribing overdoses, and says Suzanne Somers is using 1 mg. or more of estradiol daily, even though studies show this level is putting her ar unnecessary risk. Plus he says research so far shows that having your period each month is not necessary for a woman to be perfectly healthy as she ages.

I have read more than one article to that effect lately. Actually I haven't heard anyone say that Dr. Schwarzbein's regimen is necessary. I really am glad I wasn't able to start that. I would be into it by now for a small fortune, not to mention the time. And can you imagine if I can't even handle this little amount what would have happened on that huge dose?

So I'm going to stop what I'm doing, (the combination tri-est and progesterone cream) and try his progesterone for a month. I'll see how that goes and then if I want to add the tri-est back (Wright does recommend that), I can get a separate prescription for it. It's too hard to adjust the two if you only have the combination cream.

Once again I'm pretty much flying blind but what else is new? And I think Dr. Wright is pretty good. The new addition of his book is supposed to be coming out in '05. And he says it's the progesterone and testosterone that affects sex drive. Remember...my doctor said it's the estradiol. Ten people will get you ten different opinions!!

Posted by laura at 6:39 PM | Comments (0)

October 2, 2004

Hormone Replacement News

I got so caught up in the biopsy etc., that I never posted about the test results I got back the day before. DHEA was fine so I'll stay on 5 mg. Testosterone was normal. Cortisol was a little high. That indicates stress so I guess I should stop watching the news! Progesterone was low normal and estradiol was really still low. So she doubled my prescription to .250 Triest with 75 mg. progesterone. She said the estradiol has to be higher if I want my sex drive back. It's not just the testosterone that you need. Why do some women not have this problem? I talked to someone over the weekend that is not on hormones and her sex drive is fine. My doctor intimated that really is not the norm though.

The prescription came Wed. so I started on the new dose, but by Sat. I was not feeling too well. Then on Sunday I was exhausted, had a "hot head", and was close to tears all day. So I called the office Monday and she said it was probably increased too much too quickly and to cut back a little for a week.

So that's what I've been doing for two days but I'm still so tired I may cut back to the old dose for a week and then start going up again. I guess when you haven't had your hormones for four years it takes your body a while to adjust.

I'm supposed to retest again in six weeks.

Posted by laura at 9:17 AM | Comments (16)

July 24, 2004

Hannity and Colmes and Suzanne

I had my appointment yesterday due to a cancellation. We spent about an hour going over everything and discussing studies etc. It basically boiled down to the fact that doctors just don't know for sure yet what is best. For example, she said Dr. Schwarzbein could be correct that you need to get your period, but we still don't know. But most of her patients don't request that! She usually uses saliva testing, and even sometimes uses that along with blood tests to compare. And she prescribes creams instead of pills so it doesn't go through the liver. I felt very comfortable with her explanations, and felt like I had finally found something I will be comfortable trying.

Because I already had a saliva report she could use, she went ahead and phoned a prescription into Women's International Pharmacy and I should get it in the mail in about 5 days. She prescribed tri-estrogen and progesterone together in a cream, 5 mg. of DHEA and some Siberian Ginseng to start. I will do that for 18 days and then do another saliva test to see how it's going. Back to see her in five or six weeks.
We'll see how it goes!

Posted by laura at 5:21 PM | Comments (22)

July 11, 2004

Bioidentical Hormones

I read the book pretty much cover to cover in two days. Hope!! It basically tells you there are doctors out there that will work with YOU and not just hand out a one size fits all remedy. It's hormone therapy, the natural bioidentical way. There are interviews with a variety of specialists, including Suzanne Somers personal doctor, Dr. Schwarzbein, an endocrinologist in Santa Barbara, California.

I tried to get in to Dr. Schwarzbein but she just recently is not taking any new patients. I guess she has been swamped with requests since the book came out. I do know that the wait used to be about five months and the cost for tests and visits very high. She believes in a lot of monitoring and testing, and I wondered how she would ever be able to follow up with you because of her patient load, traveling and teaching schedule. I'm sure Suzanne can get in whenever she wants, but don't know about other people. Add that to the fact that she believes you have to get your period back to do it right. Yep, you heard me right! Yikes! Would I really want to do that? I guess it wouldn't be so bad now but would I want to have it at 80 or 90?? On the other hand, if you felt good would it really matter? The interview with her does make it sound like that's the only way you should do it....really makes you wonder. No matter, can't get in.

So I was back to the same problem. No one to go to. Most people must read this book and realize that it sounds great but if you can't find someone who knows how to prescribe and follow up then you're back to square one and even more frustrated than before.

I started doing some more research online, mainly on doctors' opinions of the book. A lot of them agreed with the bioidentical hormones, but had differing opinions on the way to do it. For example, do you test with blood tests or saliva tests? Do you take pills or creams? Everyone says something different so how do you know?

I went for my annual Pap smear and talked to my gynecologist. She doesn't work with bioidentical hormones but was now able to recommend someone who does. She is an RN and CNP (Certified Nurse Practitioner) and has been working with hormones for years. I have made an appointment. Maybe I have finally found an answer! Will keep you posted.

Posted by laura at 3:38 PM | Comments (400)