Where to start???

OMG there is so much information on HRT I am lost. I am 6 days post-op and going for my post-op appt tomorrow and he said we would talk about HRT. Wanted to go with some questions for him and don't even know where to start. How in the world do you decide what to try? Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone...bioidentical, plant extract, I am totally lost. I would appreciate any info I can get. I have looked at all the forums on Yes, HRT; No, HRT; etc and am still confused. I had a TAH with both ovaries taken and am having a few issues. I am having hot flashes with a few cold spells, and crying jags, which I know is normal. I just want to at least have a starting point to go in with tomorrow. Thanks for any suggestions.

There sure is a lot of available information and it's easy to feel overwhelmed. You're wise to do some research and ask questions so that you have an idea of what you would like to try.

Generally it's easiest and best to start out on estrogen only but from checking your profile information, I see that you're dealing with an endometriosis diagnosis as well. That can complicate things since any endometriosis that wasn't removed at the time of your surgery can continue to grow post-op. Taking estrogen alone can feed any remaining endometriosis so for that reason, many doctors want patients to wait a while before starting on hormone therapy to give the endometriosis time to die off. If estrogen is prescribed, often progesterone is prescribed along with it because progesterone can counteract the effect of estrogen on endometriosis. Hopefully your doctor is aware of all of this and is knowledgeable about prescribing the hormones which will help with your symptoms and minimize the risk of endometriosis becoming a post-op problem.

There's lots of good information to browse in the Hormone Jungle Articles to help with your decision. Unfortunately, hormone therapy isn't a one size fits all deal so what works well for some may not work well for others. It's largely a trial and error process to figure it all out but we'll be here to help you on that journey.

Good luck at your appointment tomorrow! Let us know what the doctor has to say, okay?

Thank you. I was very lucky that at my surgery there was no leftover endo found so I am clear! Hurray! Hopefully that will mean I can start on estrogen only and add if needed. Thanks again, and I will post any info I get at the dr's office.