lost....

I am now what would have been 5 weeks post op from original surgery, but am 6 days post op from the latest ordeal! I am still having trouble with nausea....don't know why, and they don't know why. It took 5 days from surgery for me to have a bowel movement. When I first went back into the ER Sunday night, I was having trouble with nausea and the next day continued vomitting or more or less dry heaving.
I haven't had any vomitting, but the nausea is really getting to me!
the HRT seems to be doing ok....I haven't really noticed that I'm taking anything....I still cry for no reason, get mad for no reason, and have night sweats and hot flashes. I've only taken HRT for 2 days and know that it takes a while to adjust, but I am just so physically and mentally exhausted!!!!!!

Hi crazycakelady!

I'm sorry that your recovery isn't going well. You did the right thing to go back for medical help. It must really be discouraging that a cause for your nausea hasn't been found.

What dose of Estratest are you taking for your hormone therapy? You're right that it takes time to adjust to hormone therapy and that's hard when you're already having to deal with other recovery issues. If your menopause symptoms don't improve over the next couple of weeks, don't hesitate to contact your doctor. Often a change in dose or a change in the method of delivery is all that's needed to make a world of difference.

Meanwhile, be gentle with yourself and

s

I am not exactly sure the dose, I am embarrased to say! All the bottle has is 805, which is also what is on the pill. I guess I need to call and find out Monday! He did tell me that is would be a "midline" dose to start with.

Try to hang in there. You have been through a traumatic event x2! Better days are ahead. Keep chatting with us. It helps.

It's okay that you don't know. Your pharmacist could tell you if you don't want to wait until you can talk to your doctor.** If your doctor prescribed the lower of the two doses it comes in, then you have the one that is 0.625mg esterified estrogens and 1.25mg methyltestosterone. The pills used to be light green in color back when I used them but I don't know if that's true now. The full dose pill is 1.25mg esterified estrogens and 2.5mg methyltestosterone and those pills were dark green last I knew.

**Edited to add: I've done some checking online and I think your prescription is a generic for Estratest HS. Is your pill light green with "805" imprinted on one side and "AP" on the other? If so, it's a generic manufactured by Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc.

If you're on the lower dose, your doctor may opt to bump you to the other dose but you'll need to be watchful for signs of too much testosterone. You'll find a list of common symptoms for all hormones here: Too Much/Too Little.

It's completely normal to experience fluctuations in moods as the body adapts to the new hormone therapy and depletes the hormones that the ovaries made. It's when symptoms don't improve or get worse over time that indicate the doctor may need to adjust the dose or switch to some other sort of hormone therapy. Hormone therapy isn't a one size fits all deal though, unfortunately. At least you aren't alone as you deal with all of this.

s