question about progesterone

Hi I am on estrogen for tah/bso..even though i dont have a uterus should i be taking progesterone just because my body use to produce it..when i questioned my doctor all she said was you dont need it you dont have a uterus..but wont having all 3 hormones keep my entire body in balance...

also does taking estrogen make you fat or help with weight loss???

thanks

Connie,
This is my first post here, but I've been "lurking" for a while, and this is a wonderful site with lots of vital info that we can't get elsewhere.

I had the same questions as you, and I had my first consultation w/ a compounding pharmacist yesterday. I'm seeing my doctor on Thursday, and she's supposed to OK the pharmacist's recommendations, and I can start using the various creams.
On the literature the pharmacist sent home w/ me, here's what the benefits of progesterone are said to be..........

Natural antidepressant
Helps normalize thyroid
Uses fat for energy
Restores libido
Has a positive effect on cholesterol
Builds bones & protects against osteroporsis
Acts as a natural diuretic
Normalizes blood clotting
Increases bone mass and density
Precursor for other sex hormones
Maintenance of anti-aging mechanisms
Balances estrogens
Protects against fibrocystic breasts

Hope this helps
cat

Thanks cat...

Thought that even though i didnt have a uterus that i need progesterone.. I can not go by what my doctors in my clinic say anymore. when I asked for them to draw my free hormones to see where my levels were at Do you know what he said..."Oh they are just numbers" we go by hotflashes. I couldnt believe it. They also said i didnt need progesterone because i didnt have a uterus. How stupid are they. Im just begining to realize they call group health, group death for a reason... I think I will order a salivia test on line and pay the 150 bucks just to feel safe and then go from there. I cant believe how i have to fight for my own health care with these people. My husbands job pays big bucks for this insurance and I cant believe the treatment i have had with all my care. When he said Oh there just numbers I knew then that i couldnt trust them..I think i am going to also try and find a compound pharmacy in my area and see if they can also help me...

thanks for your reply...so did the pharmacist tell you if estrogen makes you fat. I was thinking i would lose weight on estrogen,when you think about it, when we are in our teens is the highest our estrogen is and our metabolism is quite high then so i figured that having estrogen would increase my metabolism...well i have done nothing but gain weight since my hysterectomy and its not from over eating and not moving, i have been walking daily...

thanks for your input
connie

Connie,
I had a complete hysterectomy 7 years ago, and I'm about 25 pounds heavier, still eating healthy & exercising, but when I manage lose weight, it comes back amazingly fast!

This pharmacist didn't want to give me estrogen because I don't really get hot flashes, and I have a history of breast cancer on my mother's side. She said we'll start off w/ a vaginal estrogen cream for dryness, progesterone cream, and testosterone cream and evaluate over the coming months. I used a link I found on this forum to locate a compounding pharmacist about 25 miles from my home. It was easier than I thought.

I don't know yet if our insurance will cover this. The consultation was $45, and I read somewhere that the hormones run about $65 a month. I'm going to ask my doctor about the saliva test you mentioned. That makes sense to have a base line to work from.

My experience w/ doctors hasn't been good. I've had killer migraines most of my life, and they simply don't want to hear anything that I've researched on the internet or read in books. It's like they have a script, and whatever I say doesn't fit w/ their preconceived diagnosis.

Your idea of the estrogen being high during our teens makes sense, but this info packet from the pharmacist gives the benefits of estrogen, and weight control isn't mentioned, but it lists things like reduced risk of heart disease, anti-aging, and lowering LDL's & increasing HDL's.
Hugs,
cat