three year anniversary sisters

Would like to hear from the three year sisters. Are you happy with your hrt? What has worked for you?

Have you changed your hrt in the past three years? Would like to hear from those who especially have had a a TAH.

I am 55 years of age and find I am still not feeling normal. Is that too much to ask? Thanks for the input.

Presently using the estradot patch and prometrium. I don't feel that is it working as well as it did in the first year post op. Doesn't stick very well either.

Thinking of trying the femring. No more sticky mess and patches not lasting until patch change day.

Hello Sister,
The 21st of feb will be 3 yrs for me. Started out on premarin 6 months tried cestin? and then tried nothing for 6 months My LPGA found my Dr. He is much older and extremely compassionate. I started injections 9 months ago.I visit weekly .I find balance in life helps with the HRT The right formula has given me a healthy, quality of life.A network of support Thank you Sisters! Birdie

I'm coming up on three years this summer. I've used vivelle dot since day one. I tried Cenestin early on but it was in response to an "event" at 3 months where I had depleted my stored hormones and I didn't know enough at that time that this was my problem - it was like crashing into a wall - I felt horrible. Cenestin didn't SEEM to work well for me, but if I tried it today, I think I'd be a lot more savvy about what I was feeling. Anyway - at that 3 month mark I also tried Estratest on top of the vivelle dot and I have to say that the addition of the testosterone was a key to balance for me. I was also educated enough at that point to realize that, while I definitely needed the testosterone, estratest had the wrong proportion of est. to test. and I needed to supplement with the dot. So, once I got settled with that - I added prometrium. It was rough at first, but again - I was getting wiser on balancing and I gave it a full 6 weeks and began to feel MUCH better and my sleep got even better. In time, I swapped out estratest plus vivelle dot for a higher dot and compounded testosterone cream, all the while staying with the prometrium. And that's what I've been doing for over a year now. About 4 months ago, I stopped taking the prometrium 100mg nightly and now take it every other night. I feel fine, and am pleased that I could cut back on the progesterone. I have also decreased my testosterone dose gradually - now I put about 1/2 cc of 2% cream on the back of my knee every day. (that's 1 mg. on my skin.) I've tried taking the testosterone cream less than daily with not such good results - I believe I'm better off keeping the level even. I will be very interested to hear if the Intrinsa patch is ever approved in the US as it's designed to deliver that steady dose. And my vivelle dose is .10. OH - and at some point in there I tried the Femring. I really liked the way I felt (even though I got a real surge at first) but my anatomy didn't keep the ring inside me very well. I also was unconvinced that there was not some estrogen transfer potential for my fiance. So I didn't pursue the Femring. It's a great concept for those it can work for. So there were times that I felt pretty good, but wanted to see if it could be better. In the end, staying with the vivelle dot and TIME have done the most for me.

To that end, over time, I've realized that not every bad thing I feel can be blamed on hormonal balance (or lack thereof). I am almost 49, and stuff starts to happen - LOL! I also believe that taking the appropriate vitamins and supplements, having good stress management, proper nutrition and exercise, and great sleep hygiene go a long way to optimal physical and emotional health. The most recent supplement I've added is Evening Primrose oil (was trying to support my hair-which has thinned a bit). Not only has it slowed the shedding, an unexpected gain was my joint health. It has been almost miraculous. I had a VERY painful trigger finger on my right hand, and it has almost completely resolved!!

Sorry for the novella - hope it helps.

hey, littlevixen--
I am almost 3 years out too, and I'm 52. I can honestly say that in the last 6 months I finally feel normal. I was on Climara (now at .075) right away, then had prometrium added. I was still having problems; I had a doctor that wanted to help me but didn't know how, so I found a new doctor by calling compounding pharmacies near me. My new doctor (she's actually a urologist) has added compunded testosterone cream, two thyroid hormones, DHEA, and melatonin to my HRT regimen. For me, the testosterone cream made a big difference--I finally started to get my life back when it was added to the mix.
Don't be afraid to switch doctors--I went through three before I finally got myself back.

Joy

I have gone through a few hrt replacements and am about to try a whole new one for me (not of my choosing). After my surgery I woke up to wearing a climara patch which I tried for 6 months at different levels. In the end my skin could not keep up and I had to go a new route so we tried premerin. That lasted about another 6 months with worse side affects then irrateded skin so my Dr. introduced me to compounds. I've gone through tons of changes and basically ended up on tri-est and progesterone pills and testostorone cream. Its been working pretty good and I really feel compounding is the way to go but due to me loosing my job, my husband loosing his, I've lost insurance and have since had to rely on state insurance. My Dr. refused to see me because her practice has exploded and she was not taking my new insurance even though I offered to go out of pocket. I am stuck with a family Dr. who had no idea of hormones and felt I just needed an anti depressive--which I have decided to take because I do have alot going on--caring for a dieng brother, twins with severe adhd and emotional troubles, trying to go to college, finding a job and trying to be supportive to my hubby as he try's to find a new line of work since his old one crashed with the economy. To add to my fun, my mom has ton's of medical troubles including cancer and a husband with alzhimers. She is trying to move down to spend as much time left with my brother and help me care for him. I will have to help care for her, and have her live with me till her and her husband and two dogs find a home. When I looked at all I had going on, I figure an anti depressive might help me keep my head through all of this. After my new Dr. said no to hormones and even a yearly pap, I figured I needed a gyno so begged him to recomend it, which he did. I went yesterday and saw a gyno from down below She did not want to bother with hormones and did not know a thing about compounds. My pap was like she had never had one herself and did not care, my breast exam was her touching one breast with my bra on--Luckily I had my mamo in July and have had no troubles, but my mother had breast cancer and some of my cousins to so It is something I worry about and as a gyno I thought she would be more careful. In the end I talked her into hrt, and tomorrow I start estrotest. I have no idea whats in store, but I pray it works cause I really doubt this doc will work with me to find the best mix. I really feel sorry for any new mom's or women with gyno troubles that go to her and I pray I have insurance or they add a new gyno to the list of ones I can see by next years check up! So here I am three years later, almost 41 (next month) and starting on a whole new hormone replacement. But I know with time, patience and not giving up, I will find a balance as close as possible, because I have found it before

Misty -

Bless your heart. You've got a lot going on. Promise me you will do monthly breast self-exams and don't stop your quest for a competent doctor. You DO need an annual pap, you DO need a full breast exam, and you also deserve a doctor who will provide good care and listen to your needs.

You know what you need. Hang in there!

I promise katrina! With cancer running rampid through our family I am not taking any chances! I just hope the new hormones work till I get isurance that will cover a 'good' dr.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by justmisty I promise katrina! With cancer running rampid through our family I am not taking any chances! I just hope the new hormones work till I get isurance that will cover a 'good' dr.

Misty - I just want to give you a little piece of information that might help. For many women, estratest works great - it comes in half strength and full strength. For some of us, myself included, the amount of estrogen in the combination was a little too low compared to the testosterone. If you find that you are having difficulty balancing with your testosterone and estrogen in one pill, one option is to add a bit of estrogen in another form - on top of the estratest. One solution that comes to mind is Estrace pills. In many states, the generic version of this is available at Walmart for a $4 co-pay.

It turns out my screwy doc said estratest and even mentioned it had them all in it but actually wrote the script for estrodial! I went straight to my comp. pharm. and he said it should be equal to my compound or close to it and recommended I buy the over the counter pogesterone, which he discounted for me. Luckily I have 4 refills left on my testostorone so hopefully by the time that runs out I will have insurance and be able to pick my own gyno. Compound Pharmisists are pretty cool, always willing to help me and work with whatever happens! I almost think everyone should see one no matter what they take, it is so much more personal and they seem to really care!

i am coming up on 3 years 2/21. Every year i go for my checkup I ask about getting my levels checked, and my gyno does not want to do. He says my levels are that of a 65 year old (I am 47 tomorrow) does that sound right, don't understand why he won't do it (I like him, and i always cave when he says no). i am on estratest HS.