Posted by BarbaraCat on August 27, 2003, at 20:15:02
In reply to Re: Receive Mail-In Hormone test from home » BarbaraCat, posted by tealady on August 27, 2003, at 8:49:31
Hi Jan et al,
These studies raise a good point, at least in regards to transdermal progesterone. The main point I wish to make is this: the creams you get over the counter or at your health food store, even though they contain progesterone, are usually not strong enough. It's generally thought that this is fine if you're perimenopause, but even then, especially then, women are at a very high estrogen dominence state. It's crucial to have the correct ratio of prog/est and not second guess this in any way.As I mentioned previously, I developed endometrial hyperplasia from an imbalance of progesterone and estrogen. My symptoms were intermittant spotting, cramping, and then heavy bleeding, even though I had been postmenopausal for over a year. I thought "Gee, maybe I can still have that baby (immediately followed by 'At 52? Are you crazy?!') I was using the Estraderm transdermal patch, and Prometrium natural, bio-available pills. These were not over the counter, but prescribed. The Prometrium basically was not being absorbed to the point that my estrogen was completely unopposed and the ratio was way too high. The endometrial lining of my uterus kept growing thicker and the cells began proliferating into a cancerous condition.
I had to take Medgest, a high dose synthetic progestin and go off the Estraderm for 1 month, after which time my endometrium lining shed very profusely. This was a good thing, but rather embarassing in a few situations. The moral of the story is that progesterone is notorious for it's non-bioavailability when taken orally. It has trouble surviving the first liver pass and frequently registers quite low on any test if taken orally in doses that would seem to be adequte. An option is to use a synthetic progestin at a high dose which seems to survive this pass better, but has dangerous side effects (although I must admit I felt pretty good on the highly potent synthetic Medgest).
Many practitioners are resorting to other methods than oral for the sex hormones, such as transdermal creams and gels, and sublinqual drops. The doses have to be adjusted for each unique body and not the one size fits all methodology. Frequent tests to monitor free and bound levels are required until a stable level is reached. Oral estrogen also has the unfortunate effect of suppressing bursts of human growth hormone activity.
My experience in trying to get this right has been very frustrating. I've seen many doctors, AMA and alternative, and there are so many conflicting theories. I think I finally found a good health practitioner and so far the transdermal cream from a compounding pharmacy seems to be making a big difference.
If you're taking any kind of sex hormone therapy, I urge you to keep a close eye on it and insist upon tests that someone can interpret. I would not have had to go through the fright of cancer and the mess of hemorraghing if I'd had someone who knew what they were doing. - Barbara
poster:BarbaraCat
thread:253283
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030823/msgs/254867.html