Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Cassie]

Hi Ladies, am hoping that perhaps Hurdity can provide some input here or anyone else for that matter....my question, stems from a remark that my Gynae made a while back when I mentioned my concerns about uterine cancer....I am of tiny frame, he looked at me and said that I am a low risk factor as I am thin...which may be so, but he forgets that I was on Oestrogel since 40 so for the past 10 yrs I had perhaps "falsely" elevated levels of Oestradiol compared to what a thin lady in that age group may have, so was in effect carrying more oestrogen in my blood stream than I would possibly have been doing, if I had not been on HRT?  I had a test at one stage and it showed my levels to be around 600....that was several yrs back, the last test I had showed them to be 300 odd....so what I am wondering is, a normal woman in her 40's would she have levels of 600 and would this be considered safe or have I put myself @ undue risk by having high circulating levels for so long....of course it may have just been, on that day that they were high, whose to say....but I am a worrier and have been pondering over this for a while, as I know it is recommended to use HRT if going through early meno for protection of heart, bones etc but hopefully, not to the deteriment of ones uterus or breasts, there again, I have read that high levels of circulating oestrogen can contribute to breast cancer. I have only ever used max 2 pumps of gel daily, but as mentioned before, I am beginning to suspect that my own ovaries were not as "dead" as I was led to believe and that my body was spurting out some of its own oestrogen and other hormones during that time, thus the higher readings and lack of any symptoms....any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks x

[CLKD]

Do you get a scan of the womb on a regular basis to see if there is a lining?

[Cassie]

Yes annually, was rather thick @ one stage but last scan under 5....

[Annie0710]

My tests keep coming back 700s, the last one was 774

I'm wondering if this is very high ? Maybe I've got symptoms from high level like women get with low levels ? It's really hard to get info on the net regarding 'safe' oestradiol levels

Annie xx

[Cassie]

Are you post meno Annie or in peri? On HRT? I also tried to google but couldnt find anything much, this sight is so much more informative

[Hurdity]

The point about oestradiol levels is that they vary from woman to woman, throughout the cycle, from day to day between morning and night, and with HRT. There is a huge range of normal - which is the refercne range. If you understand graphs there is a good one on Wikipedia here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estradiol (scroll down for the graph and table of ranges) and also the GP reference range here: http://www.gpnotebook.co.uk/simplepage.cfm?ID=570818627  (from which the data for the table in Wikipedia were obtained).

HRT aims to replicate an average of estradiol levels throughout the cycle for the avergae woman - not the maximum which would be very high ( the pre-ovulatory peak where some women attain levels of 1500 pmol/l).

On this basis Cassie, 600 (assuming this is pmol/l which it probably is as otherwise the levels would be through the roof!) is at the high end of average but not overly high. Annie Evans whom I saw recently said that s ome woman only feel well on 600 pmol/l. It is not thought to be risky to replace oestrogen at physiological levels until at least the natural average age of menopause so you should be no more at risk than other women - other things being equal and ignoring other risk factors like genetic pre-disposition, environment/external factors, alcohol, smoking, being overweight, eating unhealthy food, leading sedentary lifestyle!

Annie that is quite high - but it is not what is known as "supraphysiological" ie levels higher than would occur naturally - which Prof Studd refers to as causing the phenomenon known as tachyphylaxis where symptoms return and oestrogen stops working - I've posted this article before - it refers to implants and excess oestrogen, ands especially in relation to hormonal depression http://www.studd.co.uk/implants.php

"The normal range of plasma oestradiol during the ovarian cycle is between 100-1500 pmol/l but plasma oestradiol levels greatly exceeding these values can be found in patients with tachyphylaxis".

However you might want to think about reducing a little if they are consistently high and if you are - say - in your late 50's - although not sure why I am saying this - I thnk a consultant gyane would be best placed to discuss this with you so I hope you can get referred, especially as you are experiencing some adverse symptoms.

As I also reported from Annie Evans some women find that they need testosterone to fully alleviate symptoms of flushes and sweats. I can't remember whether you attend a meno clinic or not?

Hurdity x

[Annie0710]

Unfortunately I don't Hurdity, although the doc rang me last week because of the last lot of bloods saying he doesn't know what to prescribe, and asked if I would consider being referred to a gynaecologist at our hospital. Would I mind ? I said I'll take any day, any time preferably sooner rather than later!

Something's terribly amiss with me Hurdity, I know I keep whining in but honestly, I'm desperate, I hurt everywhere, my eyesight gets so bad then rights itself, I have developed this double vision (that's been ruled out as a meno symptom) every muscle hurts, every joint too

My asthma is bad. Tinnitus, headaches, fuzzy light headedness ,  low libido, VA oh god I could go on !!

The most disheartening but is none of the docs know what it is, or how to treat it, which leaves me on my own personal mission to try to find out

When my brain is in gear I will compile the background to email Dr Currie to hear her thoughts ready for my referral

And as much as this all gets me down, I somehow remain optimistic it'll be resolved

Annie xx

[Annie0710]

Are you post meno Annie or in peri? On HRT? I also tried to google but couldnt find anything much, this sight is so much more informative

I kept being told I'm post, now they're saying peri (hysterectomy 16 years ago and been on oestrogen only hrt since) sympyoms started 3 years ago suddenly and quite severe and then in the middle kind of levelled out but since just before Christmas came back

Annie xx

[Cassie]

Thankyou Hurdity, you are the best Annie I  hope you get sorted, not pleasant having to live like that, pls keep us updated, once you have seen the Dr x