IMO hormone testing isn't very helpful (although quite profitable for the labs and the compounding pharmacies that make hormone concoctions based on lab results). It's better to go by how you feel. As I mentioned in my reply to your other discussion, most doctors say there's no need for progesterone/progestin if you don't have a uterus. However, some alternative and holistic doctors believe that progesterone is needed elsewhere in the body.

Did you try going back on the same dosage V-Dot patch after your problems started?.Also, if I recall you said that most of your thyroid labs were normal but one value wasn't. Sometimes thyroid labs are normal when the thyroid isn't working optimally. In that case, your free T3 and free T4 would tend to be on the lower end of normal OR you could have thyroid antibodies.

Give the progesterone a fair trial. I doubt a couple of weeks could hurt you. If you're getting too much, the typical symptoms are sleepiness and depression. One of the main symptoms of too much estrogen is sore and swollen breasts. If you listen to your body, it will generally tell you if you're getting too little or too much estrogen. Also, too much estrogen can bind thyroid hormone (your own or meds) causing symptoms of hypothyroidism. Progesterone is good for thyroid function.

Fighting4:
Thank you so much for your reply.
I did in fact go back on my original dose of vivelle dot.
Also, my thyroid was slightly elevated on one test but two points.
I will continue with the progesterone and see how I feel. I have to give it a try.

Thank you

Also, my gynecologist is a regular MD and not into alternative medicine per se. I will just trust him and most of all, in God.

After all the agony you've been through and you're already feeling better on the cream, I'd say keep taking it and enjoy the relief from the awful anxiety:)

He can do bloodwork to test your estrogen and progesterone if you want to insist he do it. It is only a snapshot of our hormone levels just like checking your cholesterol is. Our hormones fluctuate constantly so it's only a picture of where your hormones are at that very moment in time. But, it can be an indicator where they lie. In menopause many women's estrogen levels are fine. It's their progesterone that has tanked. Progesterone levels decline dramatically in menopause because that hormone is what carries a baby to term. Once you quit ovulating, having periods, etc. your progesterone dips very low. A good website to read about progesterone is www.progesteronetherapy.com It gives a lot of helpful info on this hormone. Sleep is a goood benefit of progesterone. Estrogen can decline but if anyone is even a bit overweight it is dutifully noted that fat cells carry estrogen. We get many phytoestrogens from the environment and in products that you dont realize. Such as the hormones in milk, the ingredients in body lotion, and many other products actually add estrogen to us. Most people dont know this small little fact. I had saliva testing done. It too is still only a snapshot. But it allowed me to get on bio-identical hormone cream. I am on .5 mg estrogen (your brain needs estrogen), and on 100 mg progesterone. I use this dose once in the morning and once in the evening. It is supplied in cream form in 10 cc plunger type vials. I just push out 1 cc of the cream, rub it in on my thigh, and do the same thing at night. Progesterone has greatly improved sleep. As far as being worried about the side effects. You can look up the side effects of estrogen and progesterone. That doesnt always mean you will get those effects. Those are just listed side effects because they have been reported. It does not mean we each will have them happen to us. I used to be afraid of medicine after I developed ringing ears in menopause. I thought everything would harm my ears and make the ringing worse. I am aware of the effects of some medicines on the ears like baby aspirin but I got off the hamster wheel of worry and quit looking at the possibility of all medications making it worse and just took what I needed to take. So I fully understand your worry. However, worrying will cause anxiety, depression, and make you feel worse. Just listen to the doctor, ask him for bloodwork or saliva testing anyway if you feel you need it to satisfy your knowing where your levels are, and you can try it for 3 months and if you dont see a benefit you can stop it. If you feel like you are having any unusual side effects you call your doctor. I hate to say it, but I agree with your husband. My husband said the same thing. And with his support I was able to get off that worry wheel and take the medicine I needed and try it. Progesterone has given me NO problems. 100-200 mg. is a safe dose to try. Let us know how you are getting along. Judy

One of the things I have noticed is that many people have symptoms and try to diagnose them on the Itnternet. I try to stay away from that.............not to say your concerns aren't valid only that the internet isn't really the best place to look for anwers. HUgs to you..

I also hear ya, I thought I was alone until I found this site. Great people in here and I have made a few friends also. I get anious, emotional, I get hot flashes that wipe me out and I have no engery. I get tired and can lay down and just fall alseep. I walk on my treadmill twice a day and try to eat the right foods. My hubby understand and he is glad that I have found a site with people I can talk with. I am shy and I am always in my room when I am not doing house work or cooking supper. I am basically a NOBODY, that is what I think of myself. ((( hugs ))) to you

The following is just my opinion and my experiences with the whole "M" thing. So take it for what it is worth.

I am 56 and several years back started having the hot flashes, mood swings, palpitations, a whooshing sound in my right ear (they never found a cause despite many tests). I have also had muscle tightness with deep aching, restless legs, and a whole host of other symptoms. My last period was in April of this year, so technically I have not reached menopause yet.

Both my Primary doc and my Gyno (both VERY GOOD doctors) said they would prefer if I can get thru it without any hormones. They also told me that HRT doesn't help the emotional roller coaster. The emotional part is treated with anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds.

My depression and anxiety got REALLY bad a year ago. I was put on a low dose of Celexa. Within a week or two I could REALLY feel the difference. My depression and anxiety are now gone COMPLETELY! I still have some hot flashes, but the whooshing in my ear is gone. Heart palpitations have GREATLY reduced. The deep muscle aching is gone. I feel REALLY good now.

The only issues I currently have are that I need to take supplements of iron and D3 (blood tests showed I was low in both) So in addition to my Celexa, I take vitamin supplements. I have mad a conscious effort to stop doing for everyone else and focus doing for "me" for a change. I have had to become selfish during this time. Guess what? No one seems to mind. In fact they say they like me better now that I am happy and feeling good again.

A friend of mine put it this way . . . Remember how pubescent girls are crazy? Their hormones are running rampant and they are little drama queens? Well this is the same natural process in REVERSE. I personally don't think the hormones need balancing! That is what they are in the process of doing on their own (even tho we may feel like shit while it is happening). Our hormones are now doing their thing again as we transition back into the non-child bearing phase, just like we did before we started our periods. It is not a disease that needs treatment (although if the symptoms become intolerable, there are ways to treat those without messing with the hormones.)

It is not the end of life as we know it. For me it has gotten WAAAAY better, but I did go thru some HELL for several years.

I have not taken any hormones. I find that exercise helps tremendously. Not like going to the gym kind of exercise, but stuff I like to do. I like to bike, walk the beach looking for beach glass, hiking, walking, etc. Being outdoors and in nature seems to REALLY soothe me emotionally. Especially hiking in the forest or walking the beach.

I hope some of you find some hope and peace of mind in my menopausal experience.

Just wanted to comment on LakesideLoon's doctors' beliefs that HRT doesn't help the emotional roller coaster. This may be true for some women but, in my case, HRT cured my suicidal depression and anxiety (along with most of the classic menopausal symptoms). But I'm in surgical menopause so that may be why. But then again, our bodies are all different so what works for one may not work for another.

For me, the Celexa worked wonders. I am sure for others the HRT may work.

I was just repeating what both my doctors told me. Like I said, just my opinion and my experience. Take it for what it is worth.

:)

I just wanted to mainly point out that surgical menopause is much different from natural menopause. I agree that most women in natural menopause don't need hormones. If they can ride out the symptoms or take a med such as an AD or anti-anxiety to help with the transition, that's usually all they need. And then their bodies will settle into the postmenopausal ovarian hormone production. A lot of AD's help with the hot flashes, night sweats, and insomnia too so they kill two birds with one stone. But without ovaries, these meds usually fall short.