Menopause Support Group
Menopause is the physiological cessation of menstrual cycles associated with advancing age. It normally occurs in women between the ages of 45 and 55, when the body begins to slow and stop the production of eggs, estrogen and progesterone production decreases, and menstruation diminishes, eventually stopping altogether.
I saw the thread where some of you wrote about seeing Suzanne Somers talk about bioidentical hormones yesterday on Oprah's show. I have been reading about bioidentical hormone treatment for years now, and have always had it in my mind as a sort of "safety net" to use if my symptoms got really unbearable.
Lately I find that my depression and the number of what I call "meltdowns", or emotional explosions or tantrums, have increased (besides the usual physical stuff, like unexplained weight gain, not sleeping well, etc,. etc.) I am wondering if anyone in this group has or is using bioidentical hormone treatment and has found it as helpful as did the women on Oprah's show yesterday, who seemed to almost have gone through a spiritual conversion experience after taking it ! (I don't mean to be a cynic - but the woman who had a 180-degree change in her personality after just nine days seemed a bit hard to believe...but it could be true....)
So, if anyone has had success with this treatment, please let me know - although I probably could not afford it anyway...I do use over-the-counter progesterone cream, and have used it for many years (because I have always been "estrogen-dominant") - and now that I have finished one year without a period and my symptoms are worsening, I have added estriol cream (again, over -the-counter) to my daily regimen. This along with vitamin supplements, exercise...it's like menopause is a full-time job !
Thanks, Janet
Lately I find that my depression and the number of what I call "meltdowns", or emotional explosions or tantrums, have increased (besides the usual physical stuff, like unexplained weight gain, not sleeping well, etc,. etc.) I am wondering if anyone in this group has or is using bioidentical hormone treatment and has found it as helpful as did the women on Oprah's show yesterday, who seemed to almost have gone through a spiritual conversion experience after taking it ! (I don't mean to be a cynic - but the woman who had a 180-degree change in her personality after just nine days seemed a bit hard to believe...but it could be true....)
So, if anyone has had success with this treatment, please let me know - although I probably could not afford it anyway...I do use over-the-counter progesterone cream, and have used it for many years (because I have always been "estrogen-dominant") - and now that I have finished one year without a period and my symptoms are worsening, I have added estriol cream (again, over -the-counter) to my daily regimen. This along with vitamin supplements, exercise...it's like menopause is a full-time job !
Thanks, Janet
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Today is my 25th birthday, to my somewhat lack of surprise I can see already no one really seems to care. I've always been the kinda person to make sure that everyone I Care about feels appreciated and knew somebody had their back. I can count 4 times this year when I Went out of my way to make sure a "friend" felt good on their birthday, especially if they got left hanging. Its early in the...
I found out that getting bioidentical hormone treatment can be enormously expensive unless your particular insurance covers it, which is not likely,although some do...someone wrote in on another menopause group I belong to today that the initial cost would be thousands of dollars, with the monthly cost for the bioidentical hormone cream being around $100 a month,on top of the initial cost, with the testing and all.
There are several brands of progesterone cream on the market...most can be obtained through health food stores. The ones that were considered "fake" were probably creams that just contained some wild yam extract, but weren't "USP Pharmaceutical Grade", which is supposed to be the real deal. An MD named Dr .John Lee formulated one of the first pharm-grade progesterone creams, and his company is called "Emerita" (they have a website.) The one I use is made by a company called "Source Naturals"and, although it is USP Pharm Grade, seems to be less costly than the others. I get it through a company called :
http://www.vitacost.com
Estriol cream is just another form of estrogen, but it a much weaker form, and it is derived from natural (plant) sources rather than the synthetic estrogen, Premarin, which is derived from the urine of a horse. So the holistic people feel the body can handle it better than Premarin, with fewer risks.
It probably is best to get your hormone levels tested before you start on these natural hormone cream treatments.
Good luck,
Janet
Not only did it eliminate my hot flashes, I.m myself again. I had stopped exercising the whole month of December, and that also affected me, so I.m back at the gym, on HRT, drinking my water. I still get bad days, gee when we were 18,28,38 , we had bad days, so you can.t chalk everything to menopause. If my husband doesn.t pick up his socks, my hair stands up on ends...haha that has nothing to do with menopause.
Bottom line, get walking, even 20 minutes a day, then 25 the next, etc... you.ll feel better - I promise you... :)
If you do, kindly let me know...ok
Thanks for your response. I would try the bioidentical hormones if my insurance covered the treatment...maybe since women are wanting this treatment so much, the insurance companies will start covering it...
I had given up exercise also, because of fatigue and the start of some arthritic-type pain in my knees...but I went to a new MD, and she wanted me to start 45 minutes a day of cardio-type exercise, because I have put on some weight and my blood pressure is creeping upwards...so I have been doing this every day, and the weight is slowly coming off. I feel rather depleted after 45 minutes of strenuous exercise, but I feel great that the pounds are coming off, and I know that because of this, I eventually will regain some energy.
I recommend exercise, too, to women having severe menopausal symptoms...it's difficult to get started, because of the depression and lack of motivation that often goes along with the hormonal changes - but once you get started, it does make you feel better, emotionally and physically...
Janet
I receive the cream from a pharmacy by mail. It has cost me about $45 which lasts a month or two. My insurance has reimbursed me for part of that amount.
I went to another doctor a couple of months ago for my annual check up. He is not knowledgeable about the bioidentical hormone cream.
I am at a dilemma myself at this time. I am wondering if there is a time when one is to stop using hormone cream as I have used it for about ten years. Since I do have osteopenia, I am concerned as the hormone replacement is to help with bone loss. I still have some cream left and am only applying it a couple of times a week now.
I contacted that pharmacy for names of doctors in my area that use bioidentical hormone cream.
Someone asked about the progesterone cream. After reading John Lee's book, I used the ProGest Cream for a year or two. It helped me a lot to feel more relaxed.
ElleeB
I forgot to mention that my doctor retired. Then I went to her replacement for a while and now she has retired. That is why I am looking for another doctor.
ElleeB