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Feeling better with hormone replacement-menopause

confetti11

Senior Member
Messages
279
I've been in a relapse for many months. Just found out I'm in menopause. I'm 47. Nothing was helping this relapse this time, then got this test result. Started hormone replacement therapy for this (was already on progesterone and testosterone, so added the estrogen element) and I have been feeling better. I say this with caution because you never know with this condition it seems.

One thing for sure is it took away the horrible restless feeling I was having all day long. That went away quickly after starting treatment. My sleep also improved. Going to sleep now without too much trouble and mostly staying asleep.

I'm on many other supplements and treatments too, but this one seemed to help this time.
 

NelliePledge

Senior Member
Messages
807
I only got diagnosed 22 months ago Im in my early 50s and have been having mild ME/CFS symptoms for about 7 years possibly longer. Before I eventually was diagnosed Id been having increasing pain and also insomnia - which I thought was due to night sweats. i was prescribed HRT by the dr who tested me and said I was menopausal I had a lot of benefit from it feeling better than I had done for several years, unfortunately I did put more even more weight on.

Then that dr left my surgery and i was seen by locums no problem with female locum in represcribing it but when I saw a male locum about a year later he refused to represcribe, in fact almost before I sat down he was saying I couldnt have the HRT. As a result of saying what would I do about the pain Id been getting he grudgingly prescribed pregabalin which really turned me into a zombie and I had to reduce to a much lower dose.

Then within a few weeks I had a flare up of flu symptoms and sore throat. The same male locum when I went to see about getting signed off when not better after one week off work said it was a viral infection and more or less laughed in my face when I asked if it could be Fibro because one of my friends at work has it and she said my symptoms sound like hers. "You dont get a sore throat with Fibromyalgia" I had to leave that surgery due to his and another locum's treatment. Very poor.

I was only thinking about this the other day. Im currently having a flare up with all the flu symptoms/sore throat maybe if I had stayed on the HRT my ME/CFS symptoms would be under control - possibly not even bad enough to get diagnosed....
 

confetti11

Senior Member
Messages
279
I only got diagnosed 22 months ago Im in my early 50s and have been having mild ME/CFS symptoms for about 7 years possibly longer. Before I eventually was diagnosed Id been having increasing pain and also insomnia - which I thought was due to night sweats. i was prescribed HRT by the dr who tested me and said I was menopausal I had a lot of benefit from it feeling better than I had done for several years, unfortunately I did put more even more weight on.

Then that dr left my surgery and i was seen by locums no problem with female locum in represcribing it but when I saw a male locum about a year later he refused to represcribe, in fact almost before I sat down he was saying I couldnt have the HRT. As a result of saying what would I do about the pain Id been getting he grudgingly prescribed pregabalin which really turned me into a zombie and I had to reduce to a much lower dose.

Then within a few weeks I had a flare up of flu symptoms and sore throat. The same male locum when I went to see about getting signed off when not better after one week off work said it was a viral infection and more or less laughed in my face when I asked if it could be Fibro because one of my friends at work has it and she said my symptoms sound like hers. "You dont get a sore throat with Fibromyalgia" I had to leave that surgery due to his and another locum's treatment. Very poor.

I was only thinking about this the other day. Im currently having a flare up with all the flu symptoms/sore throat maybe if I had stayed on the HRT my ME/CFS symptoms would be under control - possibly not even bad enough to get diagnosed....

Well, for me, I think it made an enormous difference. I'm taking the bioidentical kind. My doctor's office compounds it. I'm not the educated about menopause and HRT yet. Haven't needed to be of course.

My doctor is an MD but a holistic kind. He gives prescriptions but will go the more natural way first. I don't know if this makes a difference. The second he saw my FSH and LH super high results, he immediately put me on HRT.
 
Messages
2,158
Glad to hear it's helping you. I tried it for a month and it was awful. But then my body didn't like the pill either, and I was well back then, so maybe I'm oversensitive to extra hormones. Good luck with it.
 

confetti11

Senior Member
Messages
279
Glad to hear it's helping you. I tried it for a month and it was awful. But then my body didn't like the pill either, and I was well back then, so maybe I'm oversensitive to extra hormones. Good luck with it.

I'm sorry to hear that. It always seems like everything is a very careful balance to see what will work and when. My doctor said that my body was starved for estrogen. The response to the HRT seems to have been part of the puzzle for me.
 
Messages
2,158
I'm sorry to hear that.

Thanks, it was a loooong time ago. My menopause was relatively OK anyway, and very glad to be rid of very painful periods. I'm well into old crone territory now. Gathering wrinkles by the day. Most entertaining. Sorry. I'm in a silly mood. I should go back to the limerick thread where my silly moods belong.
 

erin

Senior Member
Messages
885
I am so undecided about this. I was given the replacement by two different doctors and I don't use them. I had an early menopause 4 years ago. I now have bad problems, I've been through the sweat, palpitation etc.

I'm so hesitant because I suffer from LS. I have major skin problems down there. Scared to use hormones though I have a feeling that my body is starving certain hormones and trying to compensate and shifting hormones.

I'm searching for a very good gynocologist with some ME awareness. I think it is an impossible task.
 

belize44

Senior Member
Messages
1,662
I tried hormone replacement therapy about four years ago, and it caused my cup size to increase; not exactly the response I was looking for! It also caused other problems too, so I had to stop taking it. I do sometimes use a cream but feel leery doing it as I get older, because I worry about it so much. But I hope it helps you and does not cause problems, confetti!
 

Learner1

Senior Member
Messages
6,305
Location
Pacific Northwest
I am so undecided about this. I was given the replacement by two different doctors and I don't use them. I had an early menopause 4 years ago. I now have bad problems, I've been through the sweat, palpitation etc.

I'm so hesitant because I suffer from LS. I have major skin problems down there. Scared to use hormones though I have a feeling that my body is starving certain hormones and trying to compensate and shifting hormones.

I'm searching for a very good gynocologist with some ME awareness. I think it is an impossible task.
From what I've been hearing recently sex hormones can impact CFS. Its important to optimize them for function.

I beat stage 3 uterine cancer, having surgery induced menopause with the removal of my ovaries and uterus.

Needless to say, I need to be extremely careful about taking hormones so as not to promote further cancer. However, using a DUTCH test (dried urine test of comprehensive hormones) we've been able to carefully balance my hormones and I now take:

- bioidentical progesterone
- estriol cream
- testosterone cream
- DHEA
- pregnenolone
- hydrocortisone
- T3/T4

More than I'd like to be taking, but they make a dramatic difference in my symptoms and functioning.

Topical estriol is the only estrogen that had not been shown to promote cancer. Taking progesterone to balance estrogen is important. And taking horse urine derived hormones is a recipe for cancer... There are many safer products on the market. Also progesterone, testosterone and estrogen are important for bone health.

I have no hormone symptoms and am much happier with them...
 

belize44

Senior Member
Messages
1,662
From what I've been hearing recently sex hormones can impact CFS. Its important to optimize them for function.

I beat stage 3 uterine cancer, having surgery induced menopause with the removal of my ovaries and uterus.

Needless to say, I need to be extremely careful about taking hormones so as not to promote further cancer. However, using a DUTCH test (dried urine test of comprehensive hormones) we've been able to carefully balance my hormones and I now take:

- bioidentical progesterone
- estriol cream
- testosterone cream
- DHEA
- pregnenolone
- hydrocortisone
- T3/T4

More than I'd like to be taking, but they make a dramatic difference in my symptoms and functioning.

Topical estriol is the only estrogen that had not been shown to promote cancer. Taking progesterone to balance estrogen is important. And taking horse urine derived hormones is a recipe for cancer... There are many safer products on the market. Also progesterone, testosterone and estrogen are important for bone health.

I have no hormone symptoms and am much happier with them...
Would you mind telling me what sort of doctor prescribes these things? I have had no luck with having doctors think outside the box (meaning horse urine hormones,) so I am curious about this.
 

CFS_for_19_years

Hoarder of biscuits
Messages
2,396
Location
USA
Mine were prescribed by a naturopathic doctor, but a functional medicine doctor (with any initials... MD, DO, DC, ND, ARNP) can do so, too.

You might Google DUTCH test, and contact them to see who's in your area. They have some good little videos on their website.

I found this link in case it helps anyone to find a provider who uses the DUTCH test:
https://dutchtest.com/find-a-healthcare-provider/