Progesterone And Estrogen Taken After A Hysterectomy

Hi I just got done reading Suzanne Somers new book about HRT . Her book suggests that only by mimicking the normal cycle of women with the Estrogen taken for 14 days and then adding the progesterone to it for 14 days that women can avoid the risks of HRT suggested by the WHI Studies. I have been taking Premarin .625mg once a day as well as the compounded natural micronized prgesterone 200 mgs for about 12 years. I seem to need the Progest. to balance the Estrogen. Without it I cannot take the Estrogen by itself. The Drs. interviewed in her book suggest that if taken together everyday the progesterone and the Estrogen will create a pregnancy state for the body that is harmful down the road. That women need to have a period adn use only the bioidentical hormones. BUT MY QUESTION is what if you dont have periods anymore due to the hysterectomy. Does this still apply?? Should the HRT still be taken cyclically?? Im hoping surferbabe (Linda) or someone else who has a lot of experience will respond to this as my Drs. are pretty clueless!!

My personal opinion is that we don't have ovaries or a uterus so we don't need to mimic a cycle. While many of the symptoms of natural menopause may be the same as surgical, I don't believe that all the same rules apply.

I hope someone comes along with a more *technical* answer for us.

I agree with (((Kim))).... surgical menopause is very, very different from natural menopause, and not all the same rules apply. I think that when we have a uterus, a very important function of progesterone (or progestins, they are very different in some respects but similar in this one) is to protect the uterus from endometrial proliferation which can lead to cancers of the uterus.

However, staying on progesterone all the time causes it to build up in the body to the point where it starts having negative side effects, one of which can be stopping the monthly bleeding which we need to reduce that endometrial growth before it gets out of control Cycling progesterone or progestins allows the body the chance to shed the endometrium every so often.

However, when you think about it, many of us didn't feel so great during part of the monthly cycle when our hormones were cycling. So, why would we expect to feel great cycling them without a uterus? And why do we need to, when the endometrium is no longer proliferating because it's no longer there?

The exception to this, of course, is the ladies who've had endo and for whom not all of the endo was removed. Some of them still can benefit from cycling their progesterone (under their DR's care).

I'm going to have to read the book to see what she says about the cycling eliminating the risk suggested by the WHI study. That study did not use bio-identical estrogens or natural progesterone, it used Prempro, which is a mixture of conjugated estrogens with synthetic progestin (provera). My understanding of the study results is that by far the greatest risk was from the Provera part of the Prempro.

I'm waiting for someone to do a study addressing this, but imho the risk from the Provera may have more to do with the fact that it is not natural progesterone when it reaches the body's tissues than anything else. First of all it is a synthetic. Secondly it's taken orally, and is broken down into a myriad of compounds in the digestive system, most of which have not been studied in terms of their effects on our bodies. I would like to see someone do a study comparing the relative risks for oral Provera, oral Prometrium and compounded natural progesterone cream. If I were a betting woman my money would be on the natural progesterone cream as far as which is the least 'risky'.

Just my
s,
-Linda

Thanks Linda for your reply to my post. (You too KIM) I have always felt the same way. When I was younger and still having periods I suffered terribly from PMS and irritable bowel and Migraines. That was where I learned about the natural progesterone for PMS. It was a miracle. My Dr. told me that if I ever needed a hysterectomy and could take the same amount of hormones everyday I would feel better.
Because of the BIG SHOT of estogen they gave me during surgery I was swollen and almost suicidal .Then I had the idea of trying to counteract the shot with my progesterone suppositories. Bingo I was a different person, my plan was born. My Drs always tell me I dont need the progest. but I tell them I have to have the balance and they say ok. Its worked well for all my physical ailments and depression. Enter the Media who tried to scare all women off their hormones.
My Mother has broken both her hips and her shoulder due to osteo.,and is only 79 so that also has been a big incentive for me. She would never touch hormones. Anyway Im sorry to be so long and TY all for the support. Paige

When my one ovary finally woke up a couple months after surgery, it went crazy, in my opinion. I think I am once again estrogen dominant. The water retention and weight gain and insomnia were a mess. Then I started using progesterone cream, and within 2 days things were drastically better. In fact, I felt as if I was on the verge of a hot flash a couple of times, as if the estrogen was down too much LOL. I will try using the cream every other day and see what happens. Estrogen apparently can be too strong without something to balance it.

P.S. I think I would rather have the small risk from hormones than my guaranteed risk of osteoporosis. I am already a little bit there.