Im in hormone hell!!!

I have been going back and forth with my dr for months. I had a everything hysterectomy 7 yrs ago. I didnt use hormones for 2 yrs, went without sleep for most of it. I then went on the Climara patch, it worked great, for the insomnia, night sweats and vag dryness. Nothing helped the libido. I was on the patch for 5 yrs, during this time I had 2 sinus surgeries. None of my 5 doctors could figure out what I was allergic to, to keep getting these sinus infections. I figured that out all by myself when I took off the patch and my sinus's cleared up. So here is my dilema, I told my dr I wanted to start over. He prescribed me .04 Testosteron/Compound Cream, 1/4 tsp a day. He also gave me Estrogel, one pump a day. That was a month ago. I do have some congestion again, but I have no more libido than I did before. And the night sweats and flashes are back in full force. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Im so tired of being tired!

Sorry it sounds like you're having such a rough time of it. I honestly believe it's tougher if you try to figure out the hormone thing after you've been hormone free for a couple of years.

I had the sinus surgery too and if you had it twice, you're braver than me! I had major sinus congestion/allergies when my estrogen was low or non-existent. As I increased my estrogen, my sinuses and allergies improved.

It sounds like you need more estrogen than what you're getting. Usually the testosterone is not helpful unless your estrogen level is optimal. Can you ask your dr about increasing to more pumps/day than one? My libido is shot without higher estrogen levels (around 100). Adding testosterone did nothing for my libido, adding more estrogen helped more.

Hope you find relief soon!

Thank you Calypso. My dr called me last night and now wants me to stop the Estrogel and just use Vagifem. From what I understand that is only for vaginal atrophy. Im not sure what he is thinking. Does this help with night sweats and hot flashes? Im going to call his office today and just ask him if I can stay on the Estrogel and increase it to 2 pumps. I hope he agrees.

Hi anteemare-

I just thought I'd chime in here being an Estrogel user myself. The usual starting dose in Europe where the gel was developed is 2 - 4 pumps per day. That !@#$ WHI study here in the US scared everyone so badly about estrogen that all our available formulations are very low dose.

You're right that Vagifem is only for local use for vaginal atrophy, not systemic use. I'm not sure what your Dr is thinking either.It sure sounds to me like you need more Estrogel and two pumps is certainly not excessive, especially for someone in surgical menopause.

Thank you for your reply. I just put a call into my dr, waiting for him to call me back. I think he feels because Im 51 he would like to start me on lower doses. Im anxious to hear what his reasons are. Ill let you know as soon as I hear. Thanks again!

Just spoke with the dr. He said to continue on the Estrogel, 1 pump a day along with the Vagifem, for 4 days then 2 times a week. Also taking 0.4% Testosterone cream daily. Does this make sense? He feels the Vagifem in combination with the Estrogel should do the trick. Stay tuned...: very confused:

The Vagifem will not affect systemic estrogen levels. It is purely for the purpose of vaginal estrogen supplementation. It will not stop hot flashes or other low estrogen symptoms (except the vaginal dryness/atrophy/lubrication).

Increasing your number of estrogel pumps/daily will increase your systemic estrogen levels.

I don't understand your dr.

Hello, I had my total Hysterectomy 3/07. I lived in hormone hell up till January 09. I've used bio-identicals for all but the first couple of months after surgery. I had hot flashes for almost two years until my Naturopathic Physician told me my adrenals were not working and if I took adrenal health that the hormones would begin to work. Also, I was using the cream that had estriol, estridol, progesteron, testoserone, and dhea. He switched it to sub-lingual drops. After taking the adrenal support, it was a miracle. My hot flashes went away. Such a blessing.

I do hope you get your relief too.

Lori

The Estrogel was my last attempt for re-placing estrogen. Ive had one too many migraines and my dr said no more. Yesterday I had to go to the dr with a migraine that was so bad, they had to give me pain meds thur an iv and it still didnt go away. Yesterday at 4pm was 48 hours with a migraine. I have had migraines for most of my life. Thanks to them I have my second child, the doctor took me off birth control after one of my more severe migraines. Thank God, I love my baby boy, he's 20yrs old now.
So here is the plan. Dr prescribed me Welbutril XL and Im to use the Vagifem he prescribed last week. I havent started the Welbutrin yet, I want to get completely over this darn headache!! Has anyone taken Welbutrin for menopause purposes?? Oh he did say I can use the Testosterone 2-3 times a week.

Anteemare5,
So you are going to stop all hormones (estregen) now because you can't take it? Do you have ovaries? So you are now going on an antidepressant and just using the vaginal E and testosterone? Do you or have you dealt with depression at all with this? Thanks for your reply.