patch vs premarin, problems with hormones please help!!

I am 41 and had a tah/bso about three weeks ago. I went for a checkup yesterday and all the surgeon cared about was how the incision looked. I was given a estradiol .05 mg /day patch in the hospital which I have been using for the three weeks. I mentioned to him that I have severe insomnia, night sweats, moodiness and frequent tears. He looked at me like I was crazy. He did no blood work to check my hormone levels, didn't seem to care and handed me a new prescription for premarin 1.0 tablets and told me to try them. I asked him about the estrogen because I had severe endo and he brushed me off again. From what I can read I have no idea what the answer to that debate is. I also asked him about progesterone and he told me it had no purpose if you don't have a uterus. I asked him about testosterone and he said absolutely unnecessary. What type of doctor do you go to in order to regulate hormones ? My gyn said that he agrees with my surgeon. I was made to feel like I was a hypocondriac (sp?) who was looking for attention for made up symptoms. I am a single parent of two young kids and I can't afford to continue to feel the way I do. Does anyone have any advice on the patch vs the premarin, what type of doctor to see, or any of my other problems. At one point someone told me to find a compounding pharmacist who would recommend a doctor but i can't find any compounding pharmacists within 40 miles of my house. I'm at a loss to know what to do. Please help!!

Sounds like your estrace dose may not have been high enough and maybe you could use a higher dose. Progesterone might help with the insomnia. It helped me tremendously. I would talk to your family practitioner and see if maybe he/she might be able to help you with the hormone issue. Many surgeons and gyns although great at their specialty are not very interested in the hormone issues so they brush it off. Some of the girls have talked about having great results with their family practioners so that is an avenue you may want to explore.
As far as the endo and estrogen debate that is sort of up in the air depending on what doc is talking. While my doc did start me on estrogen at 5 weeks he actually wanted me to wait 6-9 months for any microscopic endo to die off. The insomnia was so bad though that he started me on both estrogen and progesterone. The progesterone is suppose to keep any microscopic endo from growing from the estrogen.
You may want to check out Dr. Lee's site and do some reading on the benefits of progesterone other than cleaning out the uterus. The old theory of no uterus no progesterone is slowly leaving the medical community but like everything else it does take time. You might be able to get some info from his site though and use that to help convince your doc that a trial of it might be in order here is the link to his site http://www.johnleemd.com/ Just for info but Dr. Lee also sells a progesterone cream that you might consider using. Do let your doc know though if you decide to do so, so that he/she may monitor the situation

Hi Ksschoon.
Wow, you poor thing! I can completely relate to how you were treated. Before my hyst I started asking my husband to come with me to my doctors appts. It helped to have him there saying YES she is in a lot of pain... Sad but true. I see that you have tried going to http://www.iacprx.org/ and looking for a compounding pharmacist. Have you tried a little farther away? Often the compounding pharmacist can work with you over the phone and through the mail, and they still might be able to give you a recommendation for a doctor in your area. I know for me I would be willing to drive quite a ways if need be to get good care.
You could try a referral service through a local hospital, they usually have some information about what type of patients the doctor sees....like what percentage are OB and how many are for HRT or other reasons. I think a doctor who does not deliver many babies is your best bet at this point.
Another thing that you could try is writing a letter about how you are feeling and what you have read(about progesterone etc)....what your doctor told you etc. Give some basic history and then say something like "If your practice is knowledgable and openminded about hormone replacement give me a call so I can set up an appt." Then make some copys and send them to all the gyn's in your town. I have a friend who did this and it worked for her
Best wishes to you. Please let us know how you do

Becky in OHIO