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Article on "Does Hormone Replacement Therapy Cause Cancer?"

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Posted 9/8/2016 8:35 PM (GMT 0)
Because Lyme and co's can mess with our hormones...I thought this was relevant.

This is a Dr.'s response to a recent study that was done...and highlights the flaws.

Note:

- Premarin and Provera were used

- Hormone levels were not monitored.

/www.drverma.net/does-hormone-replacement-therapy-cause-cancer/
Posted 9/8/2016 9:27 PM (GMT 0)
I think this Dr. is 'knocking' the type of hormone replacement - in favor of the 'bio-identical' hormones.

..and also the fact that they didn't monitor the hormone levels.
Not everyone needs supplementation, but some find it works for their symptoms.

What is HBC?


For some people (my neighbor for example) - the bio-identical hormones have been a welcome relief for her suffering.

When lyme hit and my hormones tanked...I tried the bioidentical estrogen and prometrium. I didn't feel better...in fact...soon after starting, my lyme symptoms 'exploded'

I am considering doing the progesterone cream...tried it once...and didn't feel any different...but am thinking of trying it again.
Posted 9/8/2016 10:04 PM (GMT 0)

artermix said...
I do not understand why women could not just naturally deal with this life phase. :(

Many women can deal with it naturally. In the olden days there were also many women institutionalized due to menopause. There are some aspects of menopause that definitely need help if a woman gets that particular symptom.

Girlie, I did progesterone cream - compounded by my pharmacy. It was bio-identical and plant based. I highly suggest the cream so you do not have to go through your liver. It is a very subtle medicine and it takes the edge off. It is not made to completely restore your hormone level to a 20 year old. It just makes it so the symptoms associated with menopause are lessened significantly. I think I did mine long enough to feel good and then slowly tapered off until I was fine with nothing.
Posted 9/8/2016 10:18 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, it is the bioidentical cream that I have used....and have sitting on my counter....staring at me...

It does raise the level of your progesterone - how much depends on how much you use.

Mine did go up when I used it the first time...but I didn't continue. I had it before I was diagnosed with Lyme.

You should be getting it at a certain level to counteract the estrogen dominance (although estrogen levels drop, progesterone drops more ..usually)
Posted 9/8/2016 10:26 PM (GMT 0)
Mine was in a hypodermic needle looking thing with a plunger. There were lines on the needle looking thing and I could plunge the plunger down to see how many milligrams I was getting of the cream.

It is also important to put it on thin areas of skin. The insides of your thighs or the insides of your upper arms. And to rotate places so your skin keeps on absorbing.

Gosh, I did this over 15 years ago so I can't remember how long I had to take it. And I bet they have new ways for distribution.

John R. Lee was my author/doctor that I highly depended on his book way back then. He now has a website -- www.johnleemd.com/
Posted 9/8/2016 10:54 PM (GMT 0)
I have studied this subject in depth because I was so scared of putting anything synthetic in my body. I eat only organic foods, etc... Menopause really made me imbalanced. I am on bio-identical low dose HRT made in a compounding pharmacy. The benefits far outweigh the risk for me. I feel so much better. SO MUCH! The old studies on HRTs were very flawed. First off the samplings were small. What was not reported is that many women didn't go on the HRTs until there late 50s-60s. Researchers found that it was the plummeting of the hormones during menopause, the almost decade of no-low hormones, and then flooding the body with synthetics ten years later. This is the Clifs note version. It is a hard choice and a very personal choice. During menopause I had a year of feeling completely bi-polar and finally gave them a try. For me it gave me quality of life back.
Posted 9/8/2016 10:56 PM (GMT 0)
the bioidentical is from natural sources



..." bioidentical hormones — hormones that are identical in molecular structure to the hormones women make in their bodies. They're not found in this form in nature but are made, or synthesized, from a plant chemical extracted from yams and soy. Bioidentical estrogens are 17 beta-estradiol, estrone, and estriol. (Estradiol is the form of estrogen that decreases at menopause.) Bioidentical progesterone is simply progesterone. It's micronized (finely ground) in the laboratory for better absorption in the body. "

www.health.harvard.edu/womens-health/what-are-bioidentical-hormones
Posted 9/8/2016 11:00 PM (GMT 0)
I know women who have been on the progesterone for several years...they go off and they feel crappy...

It is still compounded that way, PeteZa - it's in a syringe...and you can measure out what you need.

You can get it in capsule form...but not as effective as the cream.
Posted 9/8/2016 11:01 PM (GMT 0)

Huddie said...
I have studied this subject in depth because I was so scared of putting anything synthetic in my body. I eat only organic foods, etc... Menopause really made me imbalanced. I am on bio-identical low dose HRT made in a compounding pharmacy. The benefits far outweigh the risk for me. I feel so much better. SO MUCH! The old studies on HRTs were very flawed. First off the samplings were small. What was not reported is that many women didn't go on the HRTs until there late 50s-60s. Researchers found that it was the plummeting of the hormones during menopause, the almost decade of no-low hormones, and then flooding the body with synthetics ten years later. This is the Clifs note version. It is a hard choice and a very personal choice. During menopause I had a year of feeling completely bi-polar and finally gave them a try. For me it gave me quality of life back.

Huddie - they also make a bio-identical estrogen that you can get a prescription for - called Estrogel.
Posted 9/8/2016 11:03 PM (GMT 0)
Girlie,

Hi. Yes mine are bio-identical and all natural. I do estrogen/progesterone/testosterone. Life changer for me. Which I didn't need it and perhaps one day I won't, but for now... I have six friends who have had breast cancer. None of them ever took hormones. It's a risk I know.
Posted 9/8/2016 11:07 PM (GMT 0)
Huddie - my testosterone was low ....but my LLND said not to supplement.

Did you start all three at once...or separately. I'm wondering if you noticed a difference with the testosterone.

...and why are you getting the estrogen compounded when it's available? (..I'm just curious - is it for the ingredients - something you didn't like with the already 'made' Estrogel?)
Posted 9/8/2016 11:22 PM (GMT 0)
Girlie,

I started with just Estrogen/progesterone. I then had testosterone added in about a year ago. Yes, felt the difference almost immediately. Mine was almost non existent. Not sure "why are you getting the estrogen compounded?" means? I get my T3/T4 and HRT from a compounding pharmacy.
Posted 9/8/2016 11:29 PM (GMT 0)
What did the testosterone help with? fatigue?


"Why are you getting the estrogen compounded?" - what I mean is - we usually go to a compounding pharmacy when we can't get it from a regular pharmacy...and it has to be made....or we want better ingredients (i.e. fillers) than what is already made.

So, I was just curious...
Posted 9/8/2016 11:39 PM (GMT 0)
Girlie,

The testosterone helped with fatique although mine was never terrible - I am sort of (or was!) a high energy person - it sort of was the missing piece to balance me out. I felt more even keeled, it helped with libido and just offered a little more oomph. I get tested every three months to check my numbers. I will be curious to see how everything is post lyme.
Posted 9/8/2016 11:47 PM (GMT 0)
I'm quite high energy, too...so I don't consider one of my symptoms fatigue...because I'm not really tired...but I have to say that I don't do as much as I used to.

Part of that is my pain...and another part is my lack of motivation...I really don't feel like cleaning the house...haha
I dunno - maybe lack of motivation could be considered fatigue...

Hopefully post-lyme, you can slowly wean off and your hormones will adjust accordingly.
Posted 9/8/2016 11:52 PM (GMT 0)
Girlie,

You are lucky that your high energy is still with you. Lyme took that away for sure. I still clean the house (not all at once) and cook and walk the dog but I really do the bare minimum. I know it's only been two months so trying to be patient.

The hormones also helped with metabolism. I have always eaten well and exercised but many of my friends and clients would tell me they gained a lot of weight without changing anything. It just creeped in after menopause. So far that hasn't happened and I have an under active thyroid. Of course with the lyme diet we don't have to worry about losing weight. Not that I worry about that I worry more about mood swings/clear brain - I want to preserve balance.
Posted 9/9/2016 12:00 AM (GMT 0)
That was what my GP thought was so strange - this was before I had a Lyme diagnosis - I lost 14 lbs in a few weeks...and my estrogen tanked. She said...it was odd because women usually gain weight when they're in perimenopause...and menopause.

And, she said there's usually symptoms, as your estrogen starts to drop...

and even now...I am not heavy - I am back to prelyme weight.

So, it will be interesting once I am symptom free what my estrogen ends up being...if it comes back up a bit on it's own.
Posted 9/9/2016 12:02 AM (GMT 0)
I'm on bio-identical progesterone sublinguals, testosterone cream and estradiol patches.

Menopause was different for me. I started feeling crappy, but ignored it. Didn't have any of the usual symptoms. It wasn't till my blood test results came back than I learned 'the change' had happened. The patches made a big difference!
Posted 9/9/2016 12:14 AM (GMT 0)
Girlie,

Were you checked for Hashimoto's? That can go yo-yo between under active/over active. Losing that much weight in a few weeks usually is a symptom of the thyroid pendulum. Glad you are feeling balanced now.

Yazz, Your story is common. So many women don't feel optimal but ignore it. Are we aging, working too much, not sleeping enough? Usually all of the above. It's hard to tell. I was similar. I wasn't feeling off kilter and my internist ran numbers and said "Don't you feel terrible?" I didn't feel as bad as my numbers revealed that I should. Women are used to dealing with stuff.

Glad you are feeling better. I have never heard of progesterone sublinguals. I actually believe progesterone is the more important of the hormones.
Posted 9/9/2016 12:22 AM (GMT 0)

Yazz aka Boyd said...
I'm on bio-identical progesterone sublinguals, testosterone cream and estradiol patches.

Menopause was different for me. I started feeling crappy, but ignored it. Didn't have any of the usual symptoms. It wasn't till my blood test results came back than I learned 'the change' had happened. The patches made a big difference!

But, didn't your periods stop?
Posted 9/9/2016 12:24 AM (GMT 0)
Huddie - I never had the antibodies tested. But my TSH, FT3 and FT4 are all good.

My TSH is always less than 1 (tested 4 times now in the past three years)

FT3 and FT4 in upper end of ranges.

The weight loss can also be a symptom of lyme - irrespective of thyroid.

If anything, I questioned if I was hyper...when I got the vibrations in my body and anxiety.
Posted 9/9/2016 12:43 AM (GMT 0)
Girlie,

The hormones coincided with Lyme. Well that is a horse of a different color. I'm surprised many even figure out they have lyme. I would probably think one more menopause symptom. I had a doctor (had) who no matter what I would say would just shrug and say "Just part of getting older get used to it." No thanks.
Posted 9/9/2016 12:54 AM (GMT 0)
I went to an endocrinologist and he said "Menopause has many faces".

I knew it wasn't "just" menopause...I couldn't function.
Posted 9/9/2016 1:10 AM (GMT 0)
Exactly! Glad you kept searching. Whew.
Posted 9/9/2016 12:48 PM (GMT 0)
Artemix,

I hope you are feeling better today. I want to commend you. If you are able to run two miles you aren't as fatigued as you think you are. If I could run two miles right now that would be like a marathon. You are stronger than you think!
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