Going off Horemones-any suggestions?
Question:
I can only speak for myself, because what I did may not have been prudent:after one and a half years of HRT, I just tossed my estrace and provera into the bathroom wastebasket one morning, and that was that. Surprisingly, my hot flashes, which had been surpressed by estrace, were very mild when I began to experience them sometime later. This may not be your experience, but I hope it will be. My insomnia has also disappeared. I’m now 54, about 2 years past my HRT, fully menopausal, and the worst is over. Others here are knowledgeable about natural, gentle tapering off techniques–I tend to just dash into things; you are probably wise to ease off. BTW, I had a couple of those visual migranes myself while on HRT, but no headaches. JackieJ
Response:
Pstanton12 <pstanto…@aol.com> wrote in message
news:19990611095733.11906.00000367@ng-fn1.aol.com… > I have to go off estrace since I am getting severe migraines.
Pat, Lots of women have to stop hormones because of undesired side effects. I’m sorry that you are having such a difficult time. It must be very uncomfortable. Migraine headaches are a major reasons women get off HRT. I haven’t had migraines, but I did have occular migraines which blinded me for as much at 20 minutes at a time while I was taking the largest size Premarin pill. These haven’t recurred since I have been taking a much lower dose. Some women get headache symptoms from too much estrogen and others get them from not enough. It sounds like you get them from too much and the best thing in the world for you right now is to just get off the pills. > I would > appreciate it if people on this newsgroup could give me their daily herbal > regime-what herbs(plus quantity) do they take and what works for them. > I am 48 years old and am going through peri-menopause.
Dr. Love’s Hormone Book has a good chapter where she discusses the use of soy and flaxseed for phytoestrogens. She gives equivalents and quantities. See if you can get your hands on her book in the library or at the book store. If you want to get into herbs I’d suggest any book by Susun Weed. These books are at www.Amazon.com too. These substances are self experimental. What works for one won’t for another and might make things worse. So I’d suggest that you do some reading and then try one thing at a time to see what works for you. If you need to limit estrogen, perhaps Prometrium will help the flashes. You can hold on to the thought that they will eventually become less and you will get through the transition. > Symtoms were > headaches,hot flashes(not too bad yet),temp changes and insomnia. I have been > on about 6 or 7 different types of estrogen from pill to patch and am currently > on a high level of estrace.The estrogen removes all the menopause symptoms, but > the headaches have worsened and have increased in regularity and duration. The > neurologist wants me off estrace entirely, but I am slowing weaning myself off > it so I don’t immediately become a basketcase. Any input would be much > appreciated. Thanks Pat Stanton
I think, based on what women have told me, that you have a caring doctor who is giving you good advice. Best wishes, Kalli – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –
Response:
I have to go off estrace since I am getting severe migraines. I would appreciate it if people on this newsgroup could give me their daily herbal regime-what herbs(plus quantity) do they take and what works for them. I am 48 years old and am going through peri-menopause. Symtoms were headaches,hot flashes(not too bad yet),temp changes and insomnia. I have been on about 6 or 7 different types of estrogen from pill to patch and am currently on a high level of estrace.The estrogen removes all the menopause symptoms, but the headaches have worsened and have increased in regularity and duration. The neurologist wants me off estrace entirely, but I am slowing weaning myself off it so I don’t immediately become a basketcase. Any input would be much appreciated. Thanks Pat Stanton
Response:
Pstanton12 wrote in message
<19990611095733.11906.00000…@ng-fn1.aol.com>… >I have to go off estrace since I am getting severe migraines. I would >appreciate it if people on this newsgroup could give me their daily herbal >regime-what herbs(plus quantity) do they take and what works for them.
There are no "herbal" systems that have been shown to duplicate prescription hormone drugs. And when some OTC products are tested they do no better than a placebo. Soy has been shown to actually increase hot flashes. There is a lot of marketing hype out there, but little substance. >I am 48 years old and am going through peri-menopause. Symtoms were >headaches,hot flashes(not too bad yet),temp changes and insomnia. I have
been These are the classic "normal" signs many associate with menopause. Many here on this group find non-drug coping skills to work for them. You can read about this "watchful-waiting" approach on the volunteer website that has good information about many of the issues you are looking for: There is a theory that the signs of menopause may be important in their own strange ways, even though they can be nuisances. This possibility gets explored with personal stories on the website. volunteer menopause website: www.oxford.net/~tishy/beyond.html >on about 6 or 7 different types of estrogen from pill to patch and am currently >on a high level of estrace.The estrogen removes all the menopause symptoms, but >the headaches have worsened and have increased in regularity and duration. The >neurologist wants me off estrace entirely, but I am slowing weaning myself off >it so I don’t immediately become a basketcase. Any input would be much >appreciated. Thanks Pat Stanton
It has been shown that about 65% of women going off of hormone drugs have a period of "rebound" symptoms when they try to go off. Did your doctor explain this to you when you were given the prescriptions? Were all of the potential side-effects of these drugs, both short term and long term sufficiently explained to you, now that you can see this in retrospect? What did your doctor tell you these drugs would do for you? You may need some hand holding while you try to wean yourself away from these drugs. Many women do, as typically they do not take them more than a few years. The discussions on this newsgroup hopefully will help in understanding what we know about menopause and the various hormone drugs, and the large amount of menopause marketers that frequent the net selling expensive and worthless "cures", if you have not already heard from them by private email. They are often multi-level-marketers with siren songs of miraculous personal testimony for their over-priced nostrums of dubious control and quality. Stick around and learn more about them. They have all been tried and explored on this newsgroup. Education about the whole menopause process and the marketing frenzy that surrounds it and creates many of its negative expectations can be explored in the following books, that are highly recommended: "The Menopause Industry" by Sandra Coney Dr. Susan Love’s Hormone Book: Making Informed Choices About Menopause "Woman: An Intimate Geography" by Natalie Angier I hope you can find what you are looking for among the resources this group can provide. Best wishes, J
