HRT

Are any of you gals out there on HRT?

 

I was given bio-identical HRT in 2006 and was taken off of it when I went into detox.  It really messed me up. I didn't re-instate until about 4 months ago.  Going off of it put me into the worst menopause state again.  I am not having hot flashes now, and I credit it with helping get off these last few mg of valium.  But my question is this, does anyone think that taking it might have something to do with feeling nauseated all the time?  Do you think it might be making me feel more nervous?  I would like to get off of it too, and I know I will have to go through menopause a Third time!! But do you all think it would be better to wait until all the post benzo symptoms have gone?

 

XXXXX

Christine/BlueMoth

benzos affect our endocrine system so getting off hormones may make it more difficult.

 

i never did the hrt thing  - christine you body is under some stress right now so unless you would feel better getting of hrt i would just stay on and make that one more battle to deal with at a later time.

I'm one of those gals on bioidentical hormones and I have been all during my taper.  Before benzo, during benzo and will be after benzo.  I had pretty significant menopausal symptoms and they are very manageable on a small dose of HRT.  I refuse to read the bad about them....bioidentical are just like your body makes, not out of horse's urine, that is why drug companies hate them..they can't produce what is identical to the body.  

 

Nausea is also a symptom of benzo withdrawal, gaba receptors are resetting themselves in your stomach. Nausea is also a symptom of anxiety.  Nausea is also hormonally related so how much are you on?  Do you do a spit test to check proper levels.  So all of these factors could play a part.   Nausea is a touchy issue, hard to define the source.  I had it for a year following my botched surgeries.  It was horrible.  But I have never heard of anyone who has unrelenting nausea that lasts forever...it just doesn't happen.  Believe me I talked about this issue until I was blue in the face with all sorts of people including medical professionals.  It is not lasting.

 

There does develop a feedback loop between anxiety and nausea...nauseous then anxious which creates more nausea, etc.   I would try and relax with it if you possibly can...wait a little while and see what happens.   You may not go through menopause a third time because maybe your hormones will have stabilized.  But if I were you, which I am not, I would wait until after taper, because I have heard progesterone plays a part in how valium metabolizes in the liver.  I would be curious to the amount you are on....  and is it cream or pill.  That would also be important to know.  Janus    

Christine, I'm not on HRT, but I just recently started back on birth control pills. I do know that nausea is a common s/e of both, but haven't had a problem with that. I've been on and off of them since the age of 17. 

When my time comes, in the next few years, I would like to do the bio-identical thing too.

i used to puke whenever i got upset - i have finally outgrown that in the last 10 yrs or so - what a relief - it is so disgusting to puke on top of being upset about something - but hey it happens

 

i will still be your friend christine even if you puke - i got pretty sick a few days after the end of my taper.

Hi Gals,

 

  Thanks for all your input.  Janus, I am taking one oral pill a day. It is compounded by my compounding pharmicist and the carrier is olive oil.  I have had my hormones tested and they are all in normal range.  My dose is Estriol 1 mg. Estradiol .75 mg and Progesterone 100 mg.  How much are you taking?  Is it oral or cream?

 

  As to the nausea, it may be a combination of HRT, anxiety and benzo withdrawal. BTW, I am not feeling so bad today, and my stomach isn't hurting.

 

  Linda, I wouldn't recomend HRT unless you are really suffering. I went through menopause the first time 4 years ago.  I had a few hot flashes, a few times I would wake up at night, but that was it. Why I let that doctor talk me into taking Bio-HRT, I'll never know. I guess I was in a benzo fog and thought it would make me feel better. Now, it is like taking any drug, I am hooked and will have to taper, but not until I get through this first I guess.

 

  Silver, thanks for still being my friend, even if I puke!! LOL

ahh shucks christine - thats what friends are for

 

   Linda, I wouldn't recomend HRT unless you are really suffering.

 

Thanks C, I'm sure youre right. My mom's menopause was a breeze, so most likely mine will be too. I just thought it woud keep me looking and feeling younger,  and being bio-identical, it wouldn't be harmful, only beneficial. I definitely want to research it more.

there is a direct link between hormone replacement and cancer - it has been documented it has been proven.

 

there are other things you can do to relieve symptoms - however if you are now one them - it would be best to settle down before trying to get off - with the help of an acupuncturist and herbs the effects of menopause can be greatly reduced.

Linda,

 

 When I first went through meno, I was so relieved.  I felt really calm for the first time in my life, no monthly emotional ups and downs. I was done forever with having to buy tampons LOL.  I felt really fit, active, sexy, strong and just plain fine.  Then I had the car accident, got prescribed valium and my world went to crap.

 

  So if your mom didn't have a problem you probably won't either.  Just remember, even though it is bio-identical, it is still a foreign drug you are taking into your body that has to be titrated off.  

 

  Silver, when I am done with my taper and somewhat back to normal, I will try herbs and accupuncture for getting off of this.  It sucks, because I didn't use anything the first time around and I was fine. Is the cancer link true for Bio-HRT as well? 

Thanks Guys, food for thought.  I probably won't do it.

yep christine - it messes with our hormones - do some statistical research that is not directly or indirectly funded by pharmaceuticals - it was all over the news a few years ago - and it was a few years before that - it is a cyclical news release story.

 

you have aryuvadic there to - either one would be better then messing with hormones.

I just have to put my 2 cents worth in here since I've been undergoing HRT while dealing with the benzos since my surgery (hysterectomy). I did a lot of research on HRT while trying to figure out what was happening to me.

 

I think estrogen possibly could be a cause of nausea but not progerterone. Progesterone should actually have a calming effect on the body. And you can't really get too much....natural or biodentical. Just stay away from the synthetics!! Premeran and Provera are synthetics and the most commonly prescribed. Birth control are also synthetics. The cancer scare was related to synthetic HRT. It is important to know the differenct.

 

Has anyone visited Dr. John Lee's web site? He has a lot of good information regarding HRT and progesterone in particular. I highly recommend checking it out.

 

I certainly wouldn't recommend dropping HRT while tapering off benzos. It would be too hard to determine what side effect was what. ONE thing at a time. If the hormones are balanced it will make w/d easier. I certainly had improvements in that area once my hormones became balanced. MUCH easier to cope.

OH, I forgot. One other thing. I discovered quite by accident before Christmas that eating a Nabisco Ginger Snap helps relieve nausea. I knew ginger helps but was surprised when the cookie worked just as well. That brand I think must use the real thing because they have a little bite to them.

It actually isn't the amount of progesterone or estrogen...it is their balance with each other.  If they are out of balance with each other than nausea can occur....too much estrogen can cause nausea as well but more the imbalance. Bioidenticals are much safer than the synthetic hormones and some actually show that it helps in the aging process as well as with bone loss.  Progesterone can indeed be calming.  I'm not sure, not one of the hormones in the estrogen group is a little more hazardous as far as cancer, but not the other.  I'll look that one  up. 

 

I met an 85 year old woman who took 400 mg of progesterone a day.  She still teaches full time at the university and is as sharp as a tack.  I had unrelenting heart palpitations during perimenopause.  I had 4 every 15 seconds.  I did the full holter monitor as well as wore a device for a month.  All the palpitations turned out to be benign but were they disruptive.  My heart was skipping beats every 2 beats or so (pvc) or rapidly beating fluttering like (pac)....I started the hormones and voila, they were gone in a day. 

 

I didn't take them during my hysterectomy and they started again.  Of course the pain meds could have exaserbated the situation.

 

It definitely pays to know the difference between synthetic and bioidentical.  Christine-you are on quite a bit of estrogen in comparisonto the progesterone.  I would recommend a spit test a month after your taper and have this regulated if you want to stay on.  by the way, tapering off these is a breeze compared to benzos.  Janus 

OH, I forgot. One other thing. I discovered quite by accident before Christmas that eating a Nabisco Ginger Snap helps relieve nausea. I knew ginger helps but was surprised when the cookie worked just as well. That brand I think must use the real thing because they have a little bite to them.

 

Chick,

It might not just be the ginger, but the grain thing too. My mom eats stale french bread when we drive over the mountain to prevent motion sickness. And Morning sickness is relieved by saltine crackers. 

If you know and are repeatedly tested and shown to have levels of progesterone that are well below post menopausal level and are  not in menopause yet...should you start therapy while in withdrawal?

don't know pebbles - however what happens peri/post menopause is tooo much estrogen is produced and it outweighs the progesterone - that is what causes the hot flashes etc.

Pebbles,

I would not add anything to the mix if I were you. Wait till you are off, and feeling better, before you make that decision.

If you know and are repeatedly tested and shown to have levels of progesterone that are well below post menopausal level and are not in menopause yet...should you start therapy while in withdrawal?

 

Pebbles,

I was found to have progesterone levels too low after my hysterectomy. Now granted I know now that I also was having benzo issues as well but after a long and drawn out process of trying to get my hormones balanced, once the progesterone (prometrium) was increased and my levels finally rose to a "normal" level (actually I went way above normal at first and BOY did I feel good ) it was like I got my life back. And, that is saying a lot because I was going through withdrawal by that time!!

 

Personally, I don't think adding progesterone would hurt any. It actually may help alleviate some of the withdrawal symptoms or symptoms that look like withdrawal but are due to too low of progesterone. At least it did for me and my system was a total mess due to the hormone imbalance and drugs. If you do a web search on progesterone and come across the chart that shows the chain of hormones that are dependent for production upon progesterone you will be amazed.

 

I have to add one other bit of information. Before my hysterectomy I was having some of the most bizarre things happening in my body. And that was before any benzos! I believe now it was due to the fact that not only was I on a synthetic estrogen but I was on way too much (1.25)...and I was already menopausal. My system was just way overloaded. My doc at that time wasn't even checking for the progesterone level. Post surgery my new doc checked and I was .25 and he says he likes to see his patients at 3. Since I'm balanced all those odd things are gone.

 

I still recommend Dr. John Lee's web site for educational purposes.