hormones out of wack, please help

thanks i hope you do well also. it has been rather rough for me...an emotional roller coaster. i feel much better now than i did prior to surgery with all that constant pain...but i hope the consequences of the surgery aren't too bad for me! here's to good health!

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Originally Posted by bmsteach Hawaii, What brand are you using and how much? I know it may not be the same for me, but it could give me a starting point.

I am using Emerita ProGest cream. i was dosing roughly half a teaspoon (or less) twice a day-- the Emerita packaging recommends one-quarter to one-half teaspoon once or twice a day. i did the max. for a full month, i felt the best i have felt since surgery. i got my brain back. i did the max dosing since i am 38. my attitude is quite open with regards to HRT-- i will do ANYTHING to feel better!
I took a two day break and last night resumed with once a day dosing at one-quarter teaspoon... i will probably even drop down to one-eighth/once a day (at bedtime). All along, i have maintained the same amount of estradiol = 1.75 daily, but i am definitely feeling the "loss" of the good estrogen effects that i had previously-- i am crossing my fingers those positive effects will return, and that i will find a better balance between the estradiol and the progest cream.
good luck--
i am just thrilled to have experienced even one month of feeling better--

my dr added 100mg of prometrium to my estrogen about 4 months ago and I feel so much better. At first, I retained 8 lbs of water so I was ready to give it up but after about a week it all fell off and I am back to normal, well as normal as I can be. My mood swings have greatly subsided as well.

Hang in there and you will find the right combination for you. I know its tough, but we are young and we will get our bodies working right so we can enjoy the rest of our lives.

First I want to say a big thank you to all who responded to this thread. I really have no clue what I am doing and you have been a big help. I saw my a new gyno today. He said he didn't like to test hormone levels, he would rather go by symptoms. He decreased my vivelle to .75. He added premarin and changed my diuretic. He wants me to try this for three months and see how it works. He said he didn't like the progesterone. I had been taking progest for 2 weeks, so far it had made me feel worse, so I'm taking his advice and stopping it for now. We'll see how it goes! Thanks again ladies!

I am 7 1/2 weeks post op and on the vivelle dot .037. I am 35 years old and feel like I'm going crazy with these hormones. I am on such a low dose because of migraines and my blood pressure went high also. My doctor tried 050 but got instant migraines. Even on this low dose I feel like I'm in a fog all the time.How long has it been since your surgery. Can you tell me what kind of progesterone you take. I am hoping to start feeling okay. I have so much fluid retention and thats making me feel achy and pms like and always a feeling of being full. I am looking for hope. I hope all is well for you. Thanks Lisa

Lisa,

I am 2 1/2 years post op. I did ok the first year on .1 vivelle, but for about the last year and half I have been progressively getting worse. I cut back my patch to .75 and that has helped with the joint and back pain. I started on the progesterone (Progest by Emerita). I ordered on line. It made me feel worse and although several ladies on here said it can take up to six weeks to work, I quit taking it. My doctor has started me on Premarin vaginal cream, but it's too early to tell. I am still bloating and swelling badly. I wake up in the morning and look 5 months pregnant! I really need to get this under control! I know I have learned that everyone is different and you just need to keep experimenting until you find the right combination. I hope you do soon, because I know how miserable it is!

Some people do not do well with progesterone. I am one of them. I use estrogen and a little bit of testosterone cream to help with libido.

Leelee: Not everyone does well on patches. You may want to consider a different form of HRT if things don't get better with the patch. I will tell you that the brain fog is very normal for early in recovery. You are still healing and it takes some time to get over the trauma of surgery and the anesthesia, not to mention the hormonal upheaval. If you are wearing your patch on the front, you could try switching it to the rear. If you're wearing it on the rear, you could try the front. For some reason, this does make a difference in some people. If I wear the patches on the rear, I absorb the estrogen too quickly and I get very foggy headed and terrible joint pains. I don't have that problem wearing it on my tummy.

I was not menopausal at the time of surgery.

I found the patches didn't work for me no matter what level. I tried both the weekly and bi weekly and they didn't last long enough and weren't strong enough.

I liked the idea of estradiol, bio identical, but it didn't seem to help with the depression or night sweats.

I also realized somewhere in all of this that not enough estrogen is worse than having none!

I also found out that for me, 1 pill, once a day doesn't work. I've always had trouble with meds because my body seems to metabolize them way too fast. Once in the morning, as doctors are want to do, and I'd be having hot flashes by 4:00 pm.

So, now I'm on Premarin .9 twice a day with Prometrium 100 mg at night. (Yes, this was a battle with the dr.)

Since watching myself, I've come up with a simple formula...but it might not work for everyone. If I have night sweats, sadness/mood issues and forgetfulness...not enough estrogen. If it's lack of sleep and nervous energy...need some progesterone. Strangely enough, the Prometrium seems to help with libido too...or perhaps not strange.

I do wish the prometrium came in smaller amounts though because I believe I could probably make do with less.

I know this ride isn't over...I'll eventually have to cut down as in normal meno. My Mom and older sister didn't go through it until their late 50's so I figure I've got a while.