hormone therapy

Hi ladies,
I havent posted in about a month. I was suppose to have my surgery on May 10 th. But just my luck, my culpo came back abnormal. I had to have a conezation on my surgery date. That came back this week, sevear dysplasia. Now I have a new surgery date( Hopefully we wont have any more set backs)June 14 th. I am having total hystorectomy with removal of both ovaries because of family history and present health concerns. I was wondering what hrt seems to work best for everyone. I have been perimenapausal for more than 10 years, so I realy dont know how it feels to not have messed up hormones anyway. I realy think it will be great to get them regulated. Any input will be helpful.
Thanks:

I am using vivelle dot which works for a lot of people. i love it.....you are correct. once the hormones are controlled....you do feel a lot better. it could take several tries to get the correct level. do keep a daily journal about how you feel: headaches, sleeping, hot flashes. that will help you if you need to call your doc and can then report what you are experiencing. i started on climara.....it kept falling off, then went to esclim and needed to adjust the dose. i liked esclim patches but they started giving me a terrible rash. i then went to vivelle dot and i use two patches at a time and change them twice a week. no more migraines, i sleep at night, no hot flashes, no grumpiness (unless I choose), and orgasms again!

my husband is happy too!

talk with your doc and see her (or his) recommendation.

good luck
nel

I, too, am on the Viville Dot (.01) and love it! Based on what I've learned from this website, I've come to the conclusion that I must have be perimenapausal for several years prior to my TAH. I have felt so much better mentally since loosing my ovaries and going on HRT. I'm a kinder person; I have a better attitude, and, best of all, my sex drive is back!!!! I haven't felt this good in five years!

Hello, and Welcome Back!

Unfortunately, there is no HRT regimen that is superior to the rest, or works for everyone. It's a trial-and-error procedure. Your doctor will start you on what they "think" would most likely work best for you, based on your unique medical history and current condition. Sometimes, women enjoy success on the first try. In other instances, a number of HRT types are tried before you hit upon what works for you.

May I suggest, if you haven't already done so, that you peruse some of the articles in the Hormone Jungle. It might also be wise for you to obtain a good reference book about HRT; I found "The Estrogen Answer Book" by Ruth Jacobowitz to be very helpful in my own research on this topic. You may want to check it out in the Hyster Sisters Store. I think that if you educate yourself about HRT prior to your surgery, that knowledge will serve you well afterwards in your quest to become hormonally balanced.

Best wishes to you!

Ladies...
thank you so much ...this thread is very encouraging to me. I just made the choice on thursday to have my ovaries removed because of this PMS/perimenopausal hormonal nightmare! I am 46 and started having perimenopausal symptoms when I was around 35. I'm a little nervous about having them out but I too am really hopeful about the possibilty of having some sort of hormonal balance after all these years of craziness. Thanks again for a great thread

What kinds of perimenopausal symptoms have people had?

I am almost 55 and don't even know if I am having any? The only thing I can think of is trouble waking up and then can't get back to sleep. And headaches, but I have had those for years. Th OB/GYN says I have to be in perimenopause because of my age, I will go into menopause very soon regardless of whether I have the hyster or not. But I don't feel any different than I did 30 years ago. (Well aside from the pelvic pain, and stuff like that.)

Hi

Here's a link to an article about too much/too little of hormones. If you look at the symptoms of having too little estrogen, you will see common symptoms that can be experienced by someone in perimenopause/menopause.

I hope this helps you!

s