Estrogen only???

After my hysterectomy, my doctor says he is putting me on estrogen only within 24 hours of my surgery. Is this normal? When I asked about HRT - he said no, ERT only for me.

Any thoughts

I only have an oestrogen patch. Porgesterone is not considered necessary over here once you have lost the uterus. Oestrogen only is supposed to be less risky.

I was put on the Viville dot a hour before surgery...when I went home from the hospital , they gave me a script as well. When I got home i was informed that the insurance dont cover the patches anymore so i was put on estrogen pills that u take once daily...Other then that I am not on anything. Hope this helps

Thanks for the reply. I totally trust my doctor so when he said estrogen only, I didn't think twice, but wondered if anything else was taking estrogen only.

Thanks for the info.

Hi Joanne Unfortunately, not enough is known about the functions of progesterone in our bodies. What is known is that it can help prevent endometrial proliferation in women on HRT who still have a uterus. Since women who have had a hysterectomy don't usually have that concern (exceptions being if they keep their cervix, or if they had endo), most DRs will assume that we don't need progesterone, and some DRs extend that thinking to assume (imho incorrectly) that we should not use progesterone.

While it's true that according to the WHI study results, women on the combination HRT known as Prempro (which consists of Premarin plus a synthetic progestin called Provera) showed an increase in breast cancer whereas women on estrogen only did not, that doesn't necessarily apply to natural progesterone, which acts differently in the body than the synthetic progestins.

However... it is a good strategy to start off on estrogen only, and try to find the best dose of that, before potentially adding progesterone if warranted for symptom relief. The reason is that it's quite tricky sometimes to figure out based on your symptoms which hormone needs adjusting if you are using more than one. So... perhaps your DR is planning to start you off on just estrogen at first, and see how you do... and maybe add progesterone and/or testosterone later depending on whether or not your symptoms suggest either one or both might help you? That is actually a good plan.

Good luck with your surgery!
s,
-Linda

Many thanks for the great advice. This website has been a treasure since I found it. It has given me such good information and place to go when I have questions.

I will take it one day at a time.