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Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy

If you’re not comfortable discussing this on the blog, please feel free to send me an email. Second, I don’t this to be a debate but more sharing thoughts or experiences. No one should be put down or made to feel they’re doing wrong because they do or don’t do anything.

Is anyone using the bioidential hormone replacement? I think there’s now a little “pellet” that can be placed under the skin and there’s a cream . . maybe more but those are the two that I know about.

I had all the bloodwork done last week.  The results should be in towards the end of this week or the first of next week. I have a couple of friends who have used the cream and they think it’s wonderful and will say things like “It changed my life!” I truly like my doctor and I trust him. He’s fairly conservative and I keep telling myself that he wouldn’t recommend it if it wasn’t safe. But, we all know that with medicine, what we think is safe today may be found to be unsafe next year.

I’m not sure I’ll actually go through with the hormone replacement therapy .. I’m so afraid of taking something unsafe.

There’s so much info on the internet. On one site I’ll read that it’s so safe and the next site will say it isn’t safe. Natural doesn’t always mean what I think natural should mean. The cream is made by a pharmacist in a compounding pharmacy so that means I have to have a lot of trust and faith in the pharmacist.

I don’t trust everything I read on the internet. I try to take into account who is putting out the info. Drug company who makes synthetic hormones may not be in favor of something made by a compounding pharmacist. FDA doesn’t have much (if any) control over the compounding pharmacies so I don’t expect them to have much good to say about it. People selling books singing the praises of bioidential hormones . . I expect them to be highly in favor. I just want the truth . . where do I go to find that?  🙂

I had a total hysterectomy 25 years ago. I took Premarin for a while, then decided it wasn’t right for me and after discussing it with my doctor, I quit taking it. Yes, I have some amount of hot flashes, night sweats and other issues that go along with aging and hormones being out of whack.

On one hand, I feel like . . I’m surviving! I have plenty of energy. In fact, the doctor kept telling me “you’ll be surprised at how much more energy you’ll have”. I’m thinking . . if I have more energy, that’s going to be a problem! I think I’m in a pretty good mood all the time (Vince might disagree). We keep our thermostat lower than most folks would and I can live with that. 

But, what if . . using the bioidentical hormones, I would feel better? What if I think I feel good but I could feel a whole lot better? Maybe my joints wouldn’t ache, maybe we could raise the thermostat and Vince would spend his evenings huddled under a quilt while I keep stripping down . . one layer at a time. 

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. so funny I am 73 and never could take hermones without running my blood pressure way up

  3. Interesting subject. I went back on the pill after my doctor said I was loosing bone density. Being a woman is not easy.

  4. I have been using Evening Primrose Oil-1300 MG/day to control hot flashes and night sweats. It’s been about 9 years. No sweats anymore, but beautiful skin and lubricated joints! I think, if it works for you, it’s a winning situation.

  5. I make no judgment on anyone else and their decision. I based my decision to not take any hormone replacement therapy on my grandmother. She did not take anything and lived to be 101. I was not aware of any mood changes and being a farm woman, there was no apparent decrease in energy until she was in her 90s. My hot flashes were not that bad and I no longer have them. Again, it is such an individual decision you have to decide what is right for you.

  6. I think it is your decision to make, with your doctor. I went through menopause cold turkey. A few hot flashes, well more than a few, later here I am. My doc said, it was much less risk to do it without estrogen as it can lead to cancer. My aunt never got off hormones and she ended up with breast cancer. I have a friend who gets the implants, and at 72 she can’t stop them or she has hot flashes. I didn’t want that route.

    I say less is more!

  7. I had a hysterectomy at 30 for cancer and used birth control after that. This January I had pulmonary emboli and they think it was from the birth control so I actually have to go back to a gyno now. I have horribly painful endometriosis. I think it’s worse now than it was prior to full surgery. I’d try anything. Anything. I hope you feel marvelous after. You live life wonderfully and deserve that.

  8. I also went through menopause without hormone replacements. Hot flashes were annoying but not terrible. After menopause I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer that was detected in my annual mammogram. My tumor was the type that feeds on hormones, so I had I used those the cancer might have been further advanced when it was discovered.

  9. I had a complete hysterectomy in August of 2014. My doctor is very against hormone replacement pills as they are processed thru the liver and that isn’t good. I tried a gel but it was very inconvenient. I asked about trying to go without but I needed estrogen for bone health. My doctor’s preferred method is the “pellets”, my insurance wouldn’t cover them and I couldn’t afford them without insurance. We finally settled on an estrogen patch which seemed to be working okay until I traveled last week. My legs, ankles and feet swelled to the point of being very painful and worrisome to me. After returning from my trip I did some research and found that estrogen replacement therapy causes swelling to be more extreme. I really think the pellets might be the best solution..I’m just waiting for them to be covered by my insurance.

    • you might have your doctor send a “Letter of Medical Necessity” to your insurance company since you had adverse effects with the patch. A lot of times they will allow non-formulary medications after a trial and fail on preferred medications. (tip from a pharmacist who has to deal with medications not covered on insurance on a regular basis!)
      Good luck!

  10. This is one avenue I’ve not explored. Because cancer already runs in my family, I didn’t take hormone therapy. I used some natural things to get me through, such as St. John’s Wort and others, but I was frankly too afraid to use any hormone replacement. Now the energy increase would definitely tempt me. =)

  11. I find this very interesting and informative. Just beginning to think of these things so appreciate the real life information. thanks

  12. I used a cream for about 5 years and it did a great job of controlling the hot flashes, night sweats, etc. My hysterectomy was in my mid-30s and because of my family history of breast and ovarian cancer, I didn’t take any “natural” hormones. After about 5 years of a synthetic hormone my doctor switched me to the cream. I was perfectly happy. They had tried some other synthetic hormone therapies and the cream worked much better in the long run. I’m in my early 60s now and still healthy.

  13. I have been using doTERRA’s Phytoestrogen for several years now. I oftentimes call it my anti-b*tchy pill. 🙂 But I’ve noticed my symptoms went down to almost nothing, I typically only have 2 PMS’y days a month now. I also knocked off a few days of bleeding (from 9-11 to 6-7 days).

    Anyhow, it’s suggested that pre-menopause folks take one pill a day, during menopause, take 2.

    http://www.doterratools.com/documents/doTERRA%20Women%20Phytoestrogen%20Lifetime%20Complex%20PIP%20final.pdf

  14. I too had total hysterectomy at 40. I took Premarin till age 60. Started at a fairly high dose that was decreased over time till I was on the lowest dose. Yes at 60 I still had some hot flashed but nothing as bad as the ones right after the surgery.
    Hot to the point of laying in a puddle of sweat.
    At 66 I have no cancer. I do have slight bone loss at one site.
    I do not know about the bio identical hormones. They are so expensive and most of the time insurance does not cover them at least at this point. So they are out for me.
    I do think the research says that doing with out replacement is the best way if possible. At the time I started on HRT it was the recommended way to go to protect the heart and bones. Disproved by Nurses Drug Study II of which I am a part of. My opinion from what I have read. And that is based on HRT not the bio identical therapy.

  15. My feeling about estrogen is that no matter what form it is your body will process it just the same. I’ve been on estrogen for more than 15 years. I am one of those lucky people who will probably have hot flashes the rest of my life. I take it to improve the quality of my life. I take 0.5 and it keeps the hot flashes tolerable (as opposed to 30-40 a day). Alcohol, even 1 glass of wine will triple my hot flashes

  16. I’m 70 plus and have never taken hormones…I think the risks are too great for all of them.
    I would have only considered it if the quality of my life was unbearable.
    It is truly a personal decision and there is no one answer that is right for everyone.

  18. The only two people I know who took HRT ended up with breast cancer. I went through menopause when I was only 45. I had hot flashes and night sweats, and joint pains for a while, for which my doctor recommended a B complex vitamin. That seemed to help and eventually they went away. It is my personal opinion that if you can do without that’s best, but it is a personal decision. You just have to weigh the risks against the potential benefits. Our bodies were meant to stop making hormones as we age. I know that some women suffer horribly with menopause and if HRT can help with that, then it may be worth the risks for them.

  19. Judy, I could write a book praising natural compounded hormone creams. I have been on them for years and the difference is remarkable. I had a complete hysterectomy at 52 and could not tolerate hormones in the drug forms. I suffered hot flashes, depression, and very poor health for several years. Then a found my wonderful doctor who is an Aging and Hormonal specialist. He does labs very regularly and I do not need or use estrogen, only progesterone and testosterone. If I skip them for a few days I can feel the difference. My insurance does not cover his fees nor the prescriptions, but I don’t care. I will do without something else to have these miracle creams. Nothing else I tried worked for me. He has some youtube videos. Just look up Dr. Carr Aging and Hormonal Specialist. Also, you can email me if you want to talk about it.

  20. HAHAHA – Marti M, thanks for the laugh! Judy, great discussion topic. I’m very interested in what other women think about hormone replacement in general, “bioidentical” vs. “natural” (is that the same thing) vs. synthetic …. I read Dr. Lee’s book when I was in my early ’40’s and vowed back then that when I hit menopause I was going only for natural hormone replacement from a compounding pharmacist. But menopause happened without my noticing – one day I realized I hadn’t had a period in quite a long time and when I thought hard enough about it figured it had been several months prior. Now it’s been at least 5 years since my last period and if I ever had any hot flashes I couldn’t differentiate them from anxiety attacks. I don’t have either of those these days (thankfully) and figure I don’t need hormone replacement. The only thing I worry about is bone loss but for now I’m satisfied with the status quo …. still interested in what everyone else is doing though!

  21. I had a complete hysterectomy in February, and started taking 1mg of estrogen in pill form, which has almost completely stopped the night sweating and hot flashes. No family history of cancer at all. But, I have a local pharmacy that does compounding, and I am going to discuss the possibility of using that instead. But I have had no problems with the estrogen pill. And, I was told by a nurse at my doctors office that the price was about $4o a month, which doesn’t seem too bad. I am interested in hearing what others think about this too.

  22. Do you have any idea what the time frame is for the hormone to work or not work? Is it possible to just try it for a few months and see what happens (if anything)? Seems like it could be fairly innocuous to try it so that you don’t always wonder, ‘what if?’
    I do agree that you have massive/endless amounts of energy and are generally up-beat (unless, of course, you have to go into town too often!).

  23. I would say the closer you can get to authentic would be better. I take plain old estradiol. I had a hysterectomy (leaving the ovaries) in my mid-thirties, and went through normal menopause. I had horrible hot flashes, so went on the estrogen – very light dose. It should keep my bones strong, and I just had a good dexascan, so I think that part is working. I can’t get uterine cancer, since I don’t have one, so that risk is not valid for me. I worry about estrogen’s implications in dementia and alzheimer’s but that doesn’t seem to run in my genes, so I’m hoping I’ll be okay there. Do some research, discuss with your doc, and give it a try, is my opinion.

  24. I had a partial hysterectomy at age 28. Started menopause at 41 and at almost 60 have started the bio identical hormone replacements. BIG DIFFERENCE. I’m sleeping at night and a lot of others things are better. I have only been on for about two weeks. I’m also on compounded progesterone. Haven’t regretted this decision so far.

  25. I too like so many wonder if the replacement hormones would make me feel differently. I feel like I am on a roller coaster most days. Tests have been done and my gyno says my levels are in the normal range so I don’t have a problem. I am in my early 60s. Go figure. Don’t tell me again it is all in my head. I think it is up to us as women to make some decisions about our bodies for ourselves. Love your site Judy (when I can get it- it isn’t always sent to me so I have to go dig…lol…I know it has to be a glitch or something). Good luck ladies!

    Vicky

  26. Judy ~ All of these posts w/ such different opinions & experiences were so interesting & enlightening to read. Even through the internet ~ near & far we ladies seem to stick together and help each other. I hope these posts will help you sort things out & with your Drs help make the best decision for you!

  27. Well, I have taken compounded bio identical hormone creams for about 5 or 6 years. I am 56. I take both estrogen and progesterone. I have not had a hysterectomy and entered menopause naturally about 7 years ago. I was completely miserable. I couldn’t sleep and I had the worst night sweats ever and horrible hot flashes. Brain fog that was unbearable. I had always thought I had a quick mind and I couldn’t put 2 thoughts together. I also have Hashimoto’s disease (an autoimmune thyroid disease) I began to see a nurse practitioner that focused on hormone balance. I have since moved and found another nurse practitioner that monitors my hormones quarterly. My insurance only covers a fraction of the cost, but it make such an incredible difference in how I feel that I think it is worth it. I make sure that I am diligent with cancer screening. She also has me on B12 and vitamin D. I have do not have hereditary cancer risks that I know of. This is an extremely personal decision and each of us has to make the decision weighing the risks versus the benefits. Best wishes

  28. When I started menopause, the Nurse Practitioner prescribed the HRT for me. I started with the estrogen and I could tell the second it hit my system. I loved everyone and everything. I didn’t get mad anymore and the hot flashes were better. (not the night sweats though). After so many days of estrogen, I had to take progesterone. I found that it made me want to kill everyone. Everything made me angry (like seeing red angry). After just a short time, I had to stop taking that. I just couldn’t stand how I felt. I ended up going through it without using anything. I just thought that this is how I am naturally supposed to be, sweaty. 🙂 It all finally evened out and is much better now. I loved the estrogen and if that was all I had to take I would have gladly done that, but they said that I had to do the other too. Estrogen is lovely. Around this time I also saw my favorite bumper sticker. It has a long stemmed rose with a hand gun laying on it. It says “I am all out of estrogen, and I have a gun.” I bought a dozen of them. LOL It really is a matter of what works best for you and what you feel comfortable doing.

  29. I went through menopause with some discomfort but opted not to take hormones just let nature take it’s course. I had breast cancer a year ago and it was the type that is fed by hormones and the first thing the Dr asked was had I ever taken hormones and when I said no he said that was to my benefit that I hadn’t. After surgery and radiation I now have to take a med to suppress any hormone production.

  30. The hot flashes were driving me crazy until I found A-ma-ta Pueraria Mirifica Plus by Dr. Christiane Northrup. It is a plant extract used by women in Asia for centuries. The day I took my first pills, the hot flashes stop. I find now I only have to take them a couple times a week instead of everyday. The cost is very reasonable. I am not being paid to say this just so you know. It is a product that worked for me.

  31. Like everyone else is saying, clearly the choice is yours. I spent 7 long years in menopause, but feel like I have *finally* reached the other side (at 55). I did not use any hormone replacement therapy as I didn’t feel the symptoms were unbearable. Yes, I did sleep with my windows open, in winter, in Mi on more then one occasion when hubby was not home! Now I am cold most of the time. You can’t seem to win. My theory about being cold is that menopause broke my thermostat, all the ability to heat up was used up so now, no internal heater, LOL. Good luck with whatever you choose!

  32. I had a complete hysto about 25 years ago. At first, the specialist that I was seeing, told me to stay on the hormone replacement therapy patch for the rest of my life. It would prevent bone density issues, or so I was told.

    After being on the patch for about 10 years, I changed family doctors. My new family doctor informed me that hormone replacement therapy could increase my chances of breast cancer. Because my mother and her only sibling had both had breast cancer, I stopped using the patch. (I had started using the pill right after my surgery, but they gave me headaches, which I was told, could cause a stroke, thus the need to switch from the pill to the patch.)

    Once my new family doctor told me she felt that the hormone therapy could increase my chances of breast cancer, I went off the patch. I started having horrible hot flashes and hot sweats. I’m not aware that I had any personality changes. The hot flashes and hot sweats were terrible. It took about 10 years, but now the hot flashes and hot sweats aren’t that bad. Yes, I still have them, but they are quick and not bad. Originally, I felt like I had stepped into a sauna and then a hot shower, my hot flashes were so bad. I wasn’t sure I could stand trying to live through the hot flashes, but I didn’t want breast cancer and wanted to reduce my chances of having it.

    There are creams you can use, but again, according to my family doctor, hormone replacement therapy in ANY form is exactly that: HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY. It doesn’t matter what form you are using.

    I did try some over the counter herbs that were advertised to help with hot flashes and night sweats. Initially, they made me sick to my stomach. I stayed on them because I felt that if they were a brand name, which they were, they would be tested to be safe. That assumption was wrong. After being on them for about 3 months, my blood tests for my annual exam showed that my liver functions were out of control, as were a lot of other things. When my family doctor asked me what I had changed, I could only offer up the over the counter herbs. My doctor told me that even though they are marketed as “proven” that doesn’t mean that they are FDA tested and not approved by the medical association. I went off the herbs and had the blood tests redone in 3 months. Everything was back in the normal range. I would hate to think what could have happened, if my annual exam didn’t just coincide with my being on the herbs for just a short while.

    My mother turned 99 back in February. Her only sibling, her sister, passed away at 94 years of age. Both are breast cancer survivors. My aunt was never on HRT. My mother was until her breast cancer was discovered. That was about 45 years ago. All of her specialists that she saw, some 45 years ago, told her that she should never have hormones in any form. Doctors knew 45 years ago that there was a link between breast cancer and HRT.

    Would HRT make life easier or have more quality? Probably. Is it worth increasing my chances of breast cancer to me? Certainly not.

    It’s a personal choice for everyone. There is no easy answer, that’s for sure.

    Good luck in whatever you decide.

    Brenda

  33. I used to have horrible hot flashes and just felt rotten all the time. I went to a functional medicine doctor who uses a lot of supplements and herbal remedies. He put me on Metagenics – Chasteberry Plus right away and this relieved my hot flashes. If you look it up on Amazon, it says it is for menstrual problems, but it works in menopause also. He also did a total detox with me. Many months of supplements, different foods, elimination diets (went gluten free and never went back on it), etc. Once I went through that process and started feeling well overall, I stopped the Chasteberry and don’t have any hot flashes or any signs of menopause at all.

  34. First of all – thank you for opening up the conversation. Secondly, WOW, what a lot of information. I’m just beginning to enter this fun stage in life and have been reading a lot. Like you, its hard to discern between what is true and what is written for promotional gain. I do believe that what works for one person, is not the answer for the next, but all of this sharing of information is wonderful.
    I still sleep like a baby and have lots of energy, but the monthly pain just about does me in. No hot flashes or night sweats, but that may be next.

    on a side note: I imagine you would not be surprised to know that I vote for the stripping route. 🙂

  35. I too am enduring this lovely (lol) stage of life, and all I can say is women get the short end of the stick! Menstruation (30 – 40 years!!), pregnancy, labour, childbirth, nursing, and then menopause! Again, for years, not months! It’s like some cosmic joke.

  36. I’ve been on bioidentical HRT for at least 9 years, and was going through then. I haven’t had a hysterectomy. It was prescribed by my fibromyalgia specialist who also treats hormone imbalance in addtion to other illness. Since that time, we moved, and I have a new doctor who also uses bioidentical medications. In addition to the pain that I was having, I also had serious brain fog. Fortunately, the brain fog didn’t affect my ability to do things like quilt, or paint. Shortly after I started HRT, my head cleared, the brain fog was gone. I really don’t know if I had any more energy, since everything was overshadowed by the fibro.
    I will stay on bioidentical HRT for as long as possible. I use a plant estrogen cream & also take progesterone. This is necessary since you can have breakthrough bleeding if you use one without the other. I trust my doctor when he says there’s a much less chance of get cancer using bioidentical HRT

  37. **I had a case of fumble finger & hit Post inadvertantly. I didn’t get to edit it either. Duh! ** I really feel that using a topical drug is much safer than using a drug you have to ingest. Compounded drugs are expensive and most insurance companies don’t cover them. I use the estrogen cream about 3 times a week. That’s all it takes to keep the hot flashes & the brain fog away. The cream also lasts longer than a month, so in the long run it is less expensive. When I first started using compounded meds, there were no compounding pharmacies available on Long Island, NY. The doctor automatically sent the rx’s to ITC Compounding Pharmacy in Castle Rock, Colorado. We moved here to TX, and I recently discovered two compounding pharmacies nearby. I did my due diligence and checked both pharmacies for pricing. They were both much more expensive then ITC. According to one of the pharmacy techs that I spoke to, they don’t do a large volume of prescriptions, hence the higher price.

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