Estrodiol

I am on estrodiol. It is the only HRT that I have tried so far.

I was put on 1mg daily. had issues, and doc raised it to 1.5 mg. My issues got worse instead of better. So I dropped it to .5mg on my own. Most of the issues went away. But I am still having headaches most days. They are not migraines. They are not responding well to Motrin or Tylenol.

I am 37. I wonder how many sisters are on such a low dose as me? I have considered lowering it more. What do you think? With no HRT I have hot flashes, etc.... At .5mg I do not.

I asked my PC to check my hormone levels. I was told no. That taking any HRT regardless of the amount would make taking the tests a waste of time. I would have to be off HRT completely for a month first. I don't understand. How else do they tell if your other hormones need adjusted?

And lastly... The higher the estrodiol dose, the more aggressive I am. I am a witchy, unpleasant, quick tempered person. Similar to pre-hyster when I was having PCOS and other hormones issues. With no HRT I am calm and pleasant almost always. At .5mg I am much nicer then at 1 mg. At 1.5mg I dislike myself. When I was on no HRT at all, I liked myself and felt wonderful, with the exceptions of the hot flashes, memory issues... and I don't remember what else.

Suggestions?

Hi Sue1,
I am on 1 mg oral estradiol and seem to be doing okay. Tommorrow I am having blood drawn, per my request/demand to check the hormone levels. My gyn said she would; she also said that the test would only show that I was in menopause. I mostly wanted to have a thyroid level done; also wanted something of a "baseline" on where my hormone levels are now. So, I sure don't know what to say regards your PC saying no. Have you discussed with your gyn? Or is you PC your gyn? It sounds like you might need some alternative. Look through the website here on the topic of hrt. It wasn't until I found this site that I realized there are alternatives. I better do more research on hrt too!! The trick is to find what's right for you. What works for one person may not work at all for someone else.

I am on .05 Climera patch. I hope to stay on that dose. We shall see. Works great so far.

Sue1,

I started on Estradiol 1mg about a year ago, which was about a year after my hysterectomy. I had been on Sarafem prior to surgery for PMDD and my Gyn suggested I stay on it. He said it could help with some of the menopause side effects. That worked well until I began to have a hot flash that seemed continuous for weeks, no relief. I gave in and made the call to try HRT. The results were immediate and I was so grateful. Then in about Jan of this year , when it was time for my annual checkup I began to feel unusually fatigued, I tryed to ween myself off the Sarafem by taking lower dose and skipping like every other day. I told my doctor this when I saw him and he said if that was working just keep it up until I was completely off the Sarafem. That did work for awhile, but, now I'm back to hot flashes, and having a lot of anxiety issuses, that is not like me at all. I have an appointment Sept 15th to review what we're doing and possibly go back to and anti depressant. If I weren't on the Estradiol though I'm afraid I would be worse than I am now. I don't think it's the Estradiol as much as it is the continous changes of my body the further along I get in the menopause process. I am not a silent sufferer and when I think I need to change or regroup I don't hesitate to call my doctor. I think all in all I've done well and just need to make adjustments as necessary. In the time since I've had my surgery this is only the second time I've called off my normal check up schedule. I will let you know the outcome