Biest Cream Dosing Question

Please forgive me if I have opened up another can of worms here. I was reading the threads about testosterone dosages/strengths and I realize this isn't an exact science, but I am still so confused about what I am taking as far as my Biest. I am on an %.8 biest cream (80/20). I take 1/8 teaspoon 2x a day. I had no idea what that meant so I asked the compounding pharmacist. He said %.8 = .008. Then he said one gram of my cream is 8mg, so that would be 6.4mg estriol and 1.6mg estradiol. So that has me freaking out. 1.6mg estradiol?! When I was on the Triest drops (1.5mg total; %10 estradiol- .15, %10 estrone- .15, 80% estriol 1.25) that sure seemed like a lot less of everything. Is that because the drops absorb differently or am I missing something? I am terrible at math by the way.

I hate not being able to compare what I was on before to now because I am having so many symptoms and can't figure out if I am on too much or too little estrogen. I am still having the horrific headaches (in fact, spent 7 hours in ER yesterday trying to get the latest one under control), which I never had on Triest, major fatigue, mood swings, craving sweets, insomnia, but less hotflashes. On Triest I did not crave sweets, had no headaches, more energy, but had horrible hotflashes, insomnia, and then it stopped working at all after six months (despite trying to increase the dose) and moods went to pot, fatigued, intense hotflashes. I know I have thyroid issues that may contribute to the fatigue, but the other stuff is beyond me.

So anyway, does the dose of Biest cream I mentioned at the beginning make sense to anyone else? Heck, maybe the patch would be simpler afterall!

Anyone?

I'm not sure this will help at all, but I'll tell you what I use. My bi-est is .6mg estriol and .6mg estradiol (per ml). I use 1-2ml's in the am, and 1-2ml's in the evening.

Not sure how that equates to your dosage, but it seems to work for me.. Occasionally I get a heavy feeling of pressure in my bladder, and will up the estriol a bit. That makes it go away. Recently I tried changing dosages to 80% estriol and 20% estradiol syringes and it made me very sleepy. After two days of that, I went back to 50%/ 50% as usual.

Hope I haven't confused you more! I wish there were only one measuring/dosage system for us all!!

Thanks for your response! Interesting about the bladder. I am actually having worse bladder issues since I started using vaginal estriol for dryness. I finally had to stop it because my bladder hurt so much after taking it and abdominal pain is so bad I am taking Lortabs. And I have been urinating a lot more frequently (almost had an accident several times now). Strange. Guess I will deal with the dryness until I find something better.

Sounds like you are on more than I am. I was actually given a needleless syringe and told to fill it to the .6ml line and use that twice a day (this is appearently = to the 1/8 teaspoon and I tested it as well). Well, I can't get the syringe to even work anymore, regardless of how full the tube of cream is. After trying and trying I finally threw the thing across the room and am just using the 1/8 teaspoon. Talk about mood swings. Do you use a syringe and have you ever had this problem? I hate to keep calling the compounding pharmacist. I am sure he is sick of my constant problems and questions by now.
I totally agree with you about the measuring system. Very confusing and not helpful when you are having brain fog! Glad to hear yours is working for you! Thanks again for your help. It does help me understand things a little better.

Naturebound,
I just wanted to say my syringes are filled by the pharmacy. I push on the plunger end and the cream comes out of the needleless end. I just excrete one line onto my finger (.1cc) which is 1/8 tsp according to them. I think your method seems hard for me. I like the filled syringes because they are small and tiny to fit in my purse for travel.
I got a jar last time, just like a regular small jam jar, for my testosterone and a plastic scoop where I'm supposed to measure out the amount with the scoop. I don't like it. It's alot cheaper for the months supply but it's a big heavy dark jar with the word TESTOSTERONE on it and I don't want anyone to see it.
I also just wanted to send you a hug.
I read all your posts and I hope you find some balance in your trial and error.

Sorry, just had to laugh when you mentioned the jar with TESTOSTERONE written on it! I can just see the potential problems with that one! Very interesting that you use pre filled syringes. I will have to ask about that one. Thanks!

Okay - I'm new and this is my very first post. I JUST (last week) got Bi-est + testosterone cream in pre-filled syringes. (Never took HRT before) My instruction for the script was 1/4ml/day. It really is a very little bit. On the script label it says BI-EST 10/90 + Testosterone HRT 2.5MG/6MG/ML CREAM
After reading the posts - sounds like my dosage is quite small. I had DCIS 3 years ago - all was removed - took tamoxifen for 3 years - stopped in April 06. Is it a bad thing to take BI-EST with my history?
MtnWoman

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Naturebound Sorry, just had to laugh when you mentioned the jar with TESTOSTERONE written on it! I can just see the potential problems with that one! Very interesting that you use pre filled syringes. I will have to ask about that one. Thanks!

Ok I'm laughing because this reminds me of my app yesterday..they sent me with samples of vaginal creme's in a big white bag with MONISTAT in huge black letters front and back...."hey everyone guess where I've been?" But I thought hey it could have been worse...I could have been at my butt dr. and been walking around advertising for preperation H...Naaaah I do have to draw the line somewhere...