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I'm taking bioidenticals and love them. I am still cycling so don't need estrogen but take progesterone with just a whisper of testosterone to keep me frisky. I had night sweats, insomnia, and irritability. No more! Keep in mind, the pharmaceutical companies don't like bioidenticals because they can't patent them. One cannot patent anything that occurs naturally in nature.
Do not go to the health food store for your needs. Go to a doctor for blood tests to measure your hormone level. Then see a compounding pharmacist.
Good luck finding your peace.
Amy- can I ask about how old you are, and how much 'post menopausal' you are? I talked with the doc today- she says the risk is the same as HRT, cardiac.clots, CA. The longer you are on it the more risk.
In a study, of 10,000 patients, 8 will develop cancer, an elevation from those who do not use BIH. The longer you use it, the greater the risk, just like HRT. Women over 60 are not supposed to use it. You are not supposed to use it if you were a young age menstrual start and/or late ending menopause.
I think I am going to take a stab at it- I am 55, so have a little time.
This female doc believes that after menopause is 'done', you get your brains back, have memory, don't get fat and can sleep. I'm not sure I agree with that part- at least with myself- that's all the reasons I want to try it!! No brains, no memory, no sleep, gained a little weight, temperature intolerances (seems like 60-65 degrees is all I can handle).
Here's crossing my fingers...
The doctor will be happy to give you copies and explain what the values mean. Actually my pharmacist sat me down and explained everything. I spent more time with her than my doc. The doc just approved the blood draw, my pharmacist explained everything. But then, my pharmacist is in the hormone business.
Hi ilmbg,
I am 47 and have been taking progesterone for about 4 years. I took a capsule for about a year and now I apply a cream 2X a day. I think I am "perimenopausal" - not sure. My mom is 72 and began taking progesterone about the same time as me. I just got bloodwork done again and now I think my brother is going to add testosterone. I also never heard of the side effects you mentioned.
I can tell you this - the difference it made for me was nothing short of a miracle.
I'm a 21 year old male, so I've never used them, but I sat through a mock trial for a the lawsuit of a woman who lost her breast due to Premarin. the company that makes that drug had internal memos that said they know for a fact that HRT can increase the growth rates of breast tumors significantly, and after hours of listening to doctors and lawyers on both sides, I was completely, unequivocally convinced that the drug gave the plaintif breast cancer, aggravated it to the point she lost her breast and pectoralis major, and that the company knew all of this was possible beforehand and went out of their way to hide the information from the public.
I am not a woman, so forgive me if I'm out of line by saying this, but I'm pretty sure menopause is a natural and healthy thing to go through, and that women have survived it just fine for thousands of years without paying sleazeball pharmecutical companies lots of money...and I know of at least one major company and one drug that is clearly dangerous.
I have not seen a single advertizement or heard a single conversation about HRT since that trial that I have not gone out of my way to tell people that this drug can be dangerous. I may not know much about medicine or the law yet, but I have a pretty strong hunch the FDA knows which side it's bread is buttered on and the only reason the safety risks aren't more publicized is corruption.
that's just my opinion as a juror in this mock-trial, not as a nurse or as a woman (I'm neither one at the moment...haha), but you should know that there have been well grounded suits against companies which produce these drugs.
of course, I'm just biased against unnecessary medication in general...the muscle tic I got from an SSRI I didn't really need is to blame for that.
Best of luck either way =)
ilmbg
140 Posts
How many of you women are using bioidentical hormones? I go 'back and forth', trying to make up my mind if I feel they are safe to use. I have read multiple data on each side- some say 'not FDA approved= not safe. Other sites say research says it is safe. What is the latest data? Those of you who have been on it- how long? any problems?
Thank you.