HRT and who to see

I am 30 years old and status post daVinci hyst/ooph. I am currently being seen by the gyn/onc that performed the surgery. I am on Vivelle Dot. I'm not sure this is working for me, but my gyn/onc doesnt seem to have much information on prescribing HRT.

Who should I be seeing? I've read about many women having levels tested, having bioidentical horomones and on much more than simply estrogen replacement. How do i know if any of that is right for me? Who do I see about it? Thanks!

Many of us have found that the doctor that did our surgery was not the best one for our hormone issues. My gyn was a very good doctor, but his specialty was not hormones. I quickly learned I would have to look elsewhere to find help. I still saw him for quite some time for my annual exams, but found another doctor to help me with my hormone issues.

The right doctor is the doctor that can help. It could be another gyn, primary care doctor or another specialty. It is dependent on what their interest is.

Do keep in mind that everyone is different. Just because I take more than estrogen, doesn't mean you need it to. Testing isn't always needed. However; if you're having issues, it can be a helpful tool to be used together with the symptoms you're having.

Kim,
I am in the same boat.....my gyno isn't exactly up to par with HRT. What kind of doc do you see for your HRT? Is it a gyno? Encocrinologist?

Don't bother with an endocrinologist for sex hormones. The 3 I've seen have not been interested in balancing sex hormones, just thyroid, or diabetes issues...

I use my primary care dr.. but I do my research and then ask to try certain things and after she investigates, she usually agrees.... You really need to be your own advocate. Some drs can get samples for you to try other things - femring, patches, etc... that is a good way to try other methods without the investment...

Also, just because it's not a compounded cream, does NOT mean it's not bio-identical.... vivelle dot is bio-identical estradiol... as is femring, estrace tablets, estrogel, etc....

Thanks Calypso! I am just so frustrated! My primary care is afraid to even go into the hormones with me and my gyno is asking me what my thoughts are. I asked him if he would check my levels and he said that everyones are different and what's normal for one may not be for another so it's not effective to test levels and prescribe meds that way. He has basically given me two options...Vivelle, which I was on for almost 3 years, and the injections. Apparantly I had done these injections for 2 months almost 2 years ago and stopped them. Couldn't remember why until I got my injection almost 2 weeks ago. I am not feeling well AT ALL!!! :-( SOOOO discouraged!! I am 37...had hysto when I was 34.....UGH!!!! My husband just wants a wife that doesn't sweat during the night, doesn't flash during the day and actually wants to have sex! :-) LOL!!!

What about asking your gyn for a sample of Femring? It's supposed to last 3 months but usually doesn't. I tried v-dot for 5 months plus and felt awful, my levels (asked dr to check) never went above menopause level at all. Finally tried Femring and started to feel human again. The dr can usually get a free sample for you (one per person)... Or there's estrogel, estrace tablets, evamist spray, etc...
What dose of the v=dot are you on? Maybe you need a higher dose? One thing I wished my gyn had mentioned was the addition of vaginal estrogen... she'd didn't until I was having UTIs that kept coming back... once I got on vagifem, they stopped and haven't returned. I also had more yeast infections as the estrogen was not reaching that area...

I had my hyst young too. Most of these drs seem to believe that the patch works for everyone.. it doesn't. I haven't done the shots but my dr suggested the pellets... I declined... they are not touched by insurance and you get the surge of hormone initially and then it slowly declines... I can't handle the fluctuations well. Hang in there...