Hormone Replacement Therapy

I tried to go off of my premarin because of a bad heart. I experienced terrible hot flashes, I am 23 and have been on it for 13 years so maybe that is why. I have heard that soy beans is great for hotflashes. Good luck!

I have heard of many women that eat soy products or take soy suppliments to help but I have never researched it. I just found this article ...

"What are the alternatives for women who choose not to take menopausal hormones?

To decrease the risk of chronic disease, women can adopt a healthy lifestyle by exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet, limiting the consumption of alcohol, and not starting to smoke or, for smokers, trying to quit. Eating foods rich in calcium and vitamin D or taking dietary supplements containing these nutrients can help prevent osteoporosis. Results from the WHI showed that taking calcium and vitamin D supplements provided some benefit in preserving bone mass and preventing hip fractures, particularly in women age 60 and older. Although generally well tolerated, these supplements were associated with an increased risk of kidney stones. Other drugs, such as alendronate (Fosamax®), raloxifene (Evista®), and risedronate (Actonel®), have been shown to prevent bone loss. In addition, parathyroid hormone (Forteo®) is approved by the FDA for osteoporosis treatment.

Short-term menopause-related problems may go away on their own and frequently require no therapy at all. Local therapy for specific symptoms, such as vaginal dryness and urinary bladder conditions, is available. Some women seek relief from menopausal symptoms with nonprescription complementary and alternative therapies containing estrogen-like compounds. Some sources of these estrogen-like compounds include soy-based products, whole grain cereal, oilseeds (primarily flaxseed), legumes, and the botanical black cohosh. The benefits and risks of most of these agents have not been proven, however.

One NIH-funded study, the Herbal Alternatives (HALT) for Menopause Study, involved 351 women, some of whom were postmenopausal while others were approaching menopause. All of these women experienced hot flashes and night sweats and were given herbal supplements, menopausal hormones, or no therapy. Women in the herbal supplement groups received black cohosh alone, a multibotanical supplement (including black cohosh), or the multibotanical supplement plus counseling to increase their intake of dietary soy. Women in the herbal supplement groups had no significant reduction in the number of hot flashes and night sweats compared with women who received no therapy. The women who received menopausal hormones had significantly fewer menopausal symptoms compared with the women who received no therapy (20).

Women should talk with their doctor about the option best for them."

*** The whole article can be found at
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/menopau...

I have Graves Disease, and also high estrogen, heart problems, etc. I was having alot of miscarriages. I went to the health food store, and they told me about Vitex. It doesn't add hormones or anything, but it helps your body to regulate it's hormones the right way for you. No side affects, my mom took it for menopause, and a neighbor down the street from me had a hysterectomy 2 years ago, she was having more and more hot flashes about 1 year ago and the doctor told her they were going to up her hormone replacement therapy. I told her about Vitex, and she called the health food store, and talked to one of the companies that bottles it, and started taking it. I told her to take one pill as soon as she bought it, and one more before bed that night, and then one a day after that. She didn't get any hot flashes that night, and hasn't had one since. She had two weeks of her hormone replacements left, and weaned herself off them in the next month, and went back to the doctor, and her hormones are perfect he said. When she told him what she did he didn't like it, but didn't tell her to stop. <y progesterone is high enough also now!!!
My name is V., and my address is ____@____.com

I've read that the majority (something like 75%) of women going through menopause have no negative symptoms. We've come to expect, because of our wonderful media, that everyone has hot flashes, etc, but most of will not. All of the usual healthy behaviors (mode of eating, exercise, etc) have a positive effect on health during this phase of life.

Arbonne has great natural balancing creams. Check them out at www.arbonne.com.

Hi P.,

I would recommed taking a look at the information on the website of Dr. John R. Lee, MD. He has wonderful information regarding this topic. As recommended by others in their advice to you, you should look into the Prolief or Phytoprolief products that Arbonne offers. Many have had great success with them.

Check out the website below:

http://www.johnleemd.com/store/get_off_hrt.html

Best of luck! I'd love to hear what you thought!
L. G.

Hi, had a complete hysterectomy in 2005. I was having hot flashes before my surgery. After my surgery I was on Premarin for 6 months, then quit. I have had no flashes, very few mood swings, no depression. I am not on any kind of hormone replacements, my levels have been very good. Not saying the same will happen for you, everyone's system is different. Good luck.

Hi P.,
I'm 58 years old and choose to use nutritional supplements to control the effects of female aging. I have a friend who had been on HRT for several years and successfully got herself off of HRT. I would be happy to do a 3-way call with her, myself and you so she could tell you about her experience and I could tell you my experiences. My phone number is ###-###-####. I own a resort in Northern WI so this time of year is busy for me. A phone call would be easier for me. Please leave a message as to your time zone and what time is best to reach you. My friend works full time but has Thursdays off.

Chat later,
T.

Hi P.,

I read a lot of your requests and see you have received a lot of responses.

I too had a hysterectomy along with being blessed with 17 allergies to meds, so I really look for alternatives.

My friend told me about this company called Melaleuca. They have a product called Estraval. It has Black Cohosh, Dong Quai, and soy. It is my sanity in a bottle. LOL! It keeps me running smoothly and in my "happy place". LOL!

My supervisor just started "the change" and was really suffering fromthe Hot Flashes! She would have the fan blowing, the air conditioner on in the middle of winter! I gave her a bottle of the Estraval to try and she is now a happy converted camper! And the temperature in the office is back to normal!

If you would like to learn more, just ask.

It's pretty great stuff and they company has some other pretty great stuff too that you might want to consider.

J.

Hi P.. I was not interested in the "normal" HRT methods and decided to go the more natural way so I've been using the balancing cream by Arbonne. You can check it out on arbonne.com for info on it or email me and I can help you out.

____@____.com

Good morning! Have you ever heard of the natural balancing creams from Arbonne? They are natural progesterone creams- very safe to use and a great product to address the needs you have. I have literature you can read and resources you can go to to learn about them. Contact me (J.) at ###-###-####.

I had a hysterectomy in '85 and my ovaries were taken almost 10 years ago. I still had hot flashes and they were not here and there. They were constant. My Dr. put me on the lowest dose of estrogen there was and it seemed to help. I then went off of it and the flashes started again. I get flashes every now and then, but not like they were. I used a natural hormone cream and it helped. I got mine from L'Bri of course because I am a consultant, but you can check with any natural food store and most have something like it.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me.

P..
have you talked to your Dr. about this to see what she or he might tell you? I do know you have to wean off of a HRT you are not to stop cold turkey. I have never been on one my self I chose not to mainly because I smoke (I know I know it is bad for me) but when I went through the change and had hot flashes I took soy Isoflavones every day it worked well for me, it took about two week to get into my system but it did stop the night sweats and hot flashes you can buy it any where you buy vitamins.