Anyone here replacing it all? Prog, est, test?

I'm so confused. I am on such an extreme roller coaster ride. This is SO insane. I can not imagine what life is like without any HRT but I am also terrified that is where I will end up bc I fear the endo is trying to return. I just recently went higher on estrogen and I am feeling pelvic pain now.

I am still losing wads of hair, feeling down and sad for no reason although it is not as extreme as it was a couple months ago. I starting replacing testosterone back on April 17th which is included in the injection I get from the DR. I am getting estogen/testosterone injections and using vivelle dot.

I have been losing my hair for an entire year. I used progesterone cream once before and loved it until depression kicked in and it was EXTREME. I don't know if it was from the cream or if it was bc at that point in time my own estrogen levels started to fall and I was no longer functioning on my own stored estrogen. I'm confused by that bc even after I quit using the prog cream I still experienced depression even though I went up on my estrogen by another 1/2 dose.

SO CONFUSED! SO VERY SICK of this. I feel like my whole life is SO messed up now bc I made a stupid choice to let them take both ovaries.

Dr told me he had to take both ovaries bc I had a tumor on each ovary but pathology report showed they were both chocolate cysts. So what! I have ALWAYS had those on my ovaries. He led me to believe one was a cyst and one was a tumor, possibly cancerous. The pathology report showed different. He never said anything after surgery about them both being choc cyst. He just said it came back not cancer!

So frustrated! So regretting this choice. I feel so stupid, so cheated, so mad, bitter and depressed about this. I just want my life back so I can raise my child. ***Sigh**** I'm so scared he will grow up thinking he had a screwed up mom and a bad childhood bc of my health issues.

Hi Livinlife too,
I'm sorry you are feeling so bad. I can certainly relate to the frustration. We have a lot in common. I too had large chocolate cysts on my ovaries and everything was taken out. I've spent some time regretting the surgery and I worry about the endo returning with my estrogen replacement. I had my surgery in Jan. of 08'. I'm on the .1 Climara patch. Recently because of a ittle pelvic pain and breast tenderness I've been trimming a little off - it's only been 3 days but so far so good. I hope low estrogen symptoms don't return... I have had breast tenderness with whatever dose I've tried. Not major but there, especially within 24 hours of putting on a new patch. May I ask how much estrogen you are using?

I lost so much hair last summer I thought I was going bald. That's much better but I've noticed with any change of ERT I start losing more hair. I take a GNC hair/nail supplement and fish oil and I used Nioxin shampoo and condition up until recently. I've run out and haven't bought more. I do think for some women hair is very sensitive to testosterone/estrogen ratio. Even if you have low testosterone it can still become "dominate" if your estrogen is low and that can cause hair loss if you are sensitive. It's complicated. I had a lot of regrowth over the winter, my bangs filled back in but the texture is still different and I still lose more than I use too. I had most of the regrowth after I started using the higher strength patch. I hope I don't start losing more because I'm trying to go down a little with the patch. It's so frustrating

I hope you feel better soon. Remember we did what we thought was best for our health and even though things aren't perfect we didn't have cancer and with time hopefully things will get better.

Teresa

I use bi-est, 5% progesterone and occassionally a 1% testosterone, all in cream form. I did use the testosterone daily initially, but now only have to apply it on an occassional basis. That reminds me, I've been kind of tired lately, might be time for my occassional dose.

Good luck! I'm sorry you're having problems. It took me well over a year to finally get on the right track hormonally. Than a year after that my thyroid took a nose dive. I know it's a struggle, but the end results are sooooo worth the journey.

We can't go back and change what has happened, but we can change the future. We do have a forum for those mourning the loss, the ladies there are very understanding and may be able to help you come to terms with your loss http://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/forumdisplay.php?f=8

Hey, sisters. I have calmed down a tad bit since this morning when I vented my message. I am still concerned about the pelvic pain. I am also still very, very confused....

I just had to get out of the house today. My sister called right after I typed this message and I broke down bawling over the phone. To make a long story short I picked her up and we ended up in an old country store strawberry picking with my son and my nephew.

Here's the confusing part...this is so wild bc this has never happened to me before ever! I am feeling like my libido has increased since upping the dose of estrogen. However, I have been have hot flashes all afternoon. Yes, I was in the sun put it was only about 40 min. The temp here today is about 80. That was enough to set me off for the rest of the afternoon though. I have NEVER had an issue with blood pressure. If anything I've always been a little on the low end and I actually think my blood pressure could be up right now. I still feel depressed (which is why I forced myself out of the house today) but my libido is there for sure today. I'm confused as to why I am getting one positive but the rest is negatives like the hot flashes, headache and depression.

By, the way....Treebee- I had an injection of estrogen/testosterone on April 29th but I am sure it has worn off. It seems like it is just not lasting for 3 weeks which is why he sent me home with a box of samples. He told me to put on a .05 vivelle dot patch if I needed to which I did 1 week after the shot. I called him back to tell him I put it on so early after the shot and explained that I was having more spells of feeling light headed/unbalanced and waves of a suffocating sort of feeling (which is usually how my hot flashes come except today they were stronger than that even) and he said that was fine and if I put on anymore than that to just let him know. So by week two ....the same thing happened. The light headed/unbalanced feeling came back and so I put on one and a half patches to make it .075 dose. That helped with the light headedness. After 4 days on that dose I upped it to .01 bc I started feeling weird again. Then about 3 hours after I put it on I trimmed a tad bit off bc I was afraid it might be too much. It is on now and it is probably between .075 and .1. It is due to be changed again on Sun morning and I'm not sure if I should put on .075 or .1. I go to see the Dr on Tue. He's not in the office on Fri or Mon bc he does surgery then. I will see him Tue morning though.

At least my libido is there but I am afraid the pelvic pain will escalate and it will be short lived if the endo is back. I can't imagine life without any HRT especially at this age.

livinlifetoo--
I totally relate to feeling like you'll never be normal again. That was me for about 2 years after my LAVH. A new doctor and bioHRT allowed me to feel NORMAL again--I never thought that would happen. There were times when I was sure I would be in the hormone jungle forever.
I am replacing everything--estrogen patch (climara), progesterone (Prometrium, daily), compounded testosterone cream 2-3 times/week, plus thyroid meds. There is some hair loss when my hormones are a bit wacky, but it's manageable. I must say that strenuous aerobic workouts along with weight bearing exercise makes a big difference in my feelings of well-being, and eating the right foods helps too.
The right doctor can make all of the difference for those of us in the hormone jungle. If you feel your doctor isn't responding to your needs, find a new one who will.

Hi Liveinlife....I too am starting over from scratch...I was on 1ml Sandrena Gel and Progesterone Cream and felt like I was completely out of control....from high blood pressure (when its never been an issue)..feeling like my head was going to explode..feeling hot, spacey, dizzy,,veering between anxiety and depression, hair loss (head) and hair growth (face) and not wanting to leave the house.

My Oby/Gyn told me to increase the estrogen and as I did things got worse. I was very lucky to stunble on a new Dr..who after tests has told me everything is off the charts and to see if I could go without any hrt and try and bring things down...

I first halved it and got a slight improvement...now for the past week and a half have been off everything...and things have improved...most importantly blood pressure dropping back towards normal levels.

My new GP has said once everything settles, there may be a need for minor amounts of estrogen/progesterone...but no where near levels I first started on.

I am also taking a lot of vitamins/supplements and doing a bit of work with a naturopath.

Hope things look brighter for you today....it must be difficult for you getting things in combined shots as there is no way to control the dosages or make any adjustments on a daily basis.

Are you happy with your Doctor and advice/help you are receiving?

Hang in there...whilst somedays it seems impossible..you will find the right answers/balance for yourself!!!

Take care

sheperds4- Wow, sounds like you've had your own ordeal to contend with! Glad to hear you are feeling better though. I hope things stay this way for you. It is too hard to deal with all the imbalances that come along with trying to get it right.

I feel so screwed up right now. I placed a call into my Dr at about 10 pm last night thru the exchange bc I was having a very heavy feeling in my chest as if someone was putting pressure on it. I looked up so info on vivelle dot and found that if the Dr should be called immediately if one experiences chest pain or a heavy feeling in the chest. Mine was the heavy feeling which had been with me a couple days but it got worse last night and then I started wondering if there was a connection there to the estrogen. I gave myself too much apparently.

The Dr never called me back which is very unusual. I have been with the same Dr for 15 years and I love him BUT I'm not happy with him right now. He has suggested an anti depressant on two occasions and I'm starting to wonder if it's time. Like you....I keep veering back and forth with anxiety and depression. I am so scared of taking an anti depressant though. I have posted threads asking about it and I am still scared even though I know it has worked for many. I just want to be the old me again and the old me never needed an antidepressant! ***Sigh***

Livinlife too...that must have been very scarey for you - how are things today?

My normal GP is great....he freely admits he doesn't know a lot about hormones and said I should be guided by the Specialist who did my surgery.

And while she is also lovely...I have discovered these people are generally not as well versed in dealing with the issues afterwards...she too suggested anti depressants...and increasing my dosages...and everything just spiralled out of control.

The new Dr (I found through a compounding chemist) specialises in womans health/hormones...and I have achieved more with her in six weeks than the six months since surgery.

Sounds to me like you have too much going on in your system and your body is not coping well with the fluctuations from the shots..plus continually absorbing from the patch.

Remember some of the signs of low estrogen are very similar to when you have to much....
Have you looked into estrogen dominance at all?

I figured I had nothing to lose from following new GP's advice...I was a mess...couldn't function...had had a lot of time off work...and wasn't getting anywhere through increasing it. Still is was a leap of faith for me...to reduce...but it does seem to be paying dividends..

It maybe worthwhile getting another opinion...even for your peace of mind..it would be a big help...but finding the right Dr with the relevant experience is definitely a key part of our recovery.

Take care..