Menopause Discussion > Alternative Therapies

Need recommendation for alternative HRT

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Hurdity:
Hi Henrietta

Just to add that as Dancinggirl says estradiol is as "natural" as estrone and estriol but it is the main oestrogen in terms of our oestrogen receptors (although estriol is also effective in vaginal tissues due to different oestrogen receptors there).

You haven't said how old you are but you mention "too fat"! As you suggest this could be due to thyroid problems - do you know what your results were for TSH and any other thyroid hormones measured? Do you have any other symptoms of underactive thyroid eg feeling cold (doesn't sound like you suffer from this?), fatigue, as well as weight gain?

If it is not thyroid then it could just be due to slower metabolism which is a feature of ageing so you will need to change your diet and exercise more in order to lose the weight. This in itself should make you feel better but of course does not replace HRT.

I quite agree with Dancinggirl that transdermal oestrogen will be better for you than tablet oestrogen - although you didn't say your dose of Elleste?

The other thing is you may also be lacking in Testosterone and having had ovaries and womb removed you should ask for a referral for testing and possilbe treatment with Testosterone,. Symptoms of T deficiency would be classically low or no libido, but also muscle pain especially after exercise and generalised fatigue, lethargy, lacking in energy - which is also true of underactive thyroid too!

Hurdity x

Henrietta:
Hi Hurdity
Many thanks for reply. I'm on 2mg of Ellest Solo and have been looking into hypothyroidism on a couple of thyroid web sites and have had some blood tests done. I think I do have undiagnosed Hypothydroidism , mentioned this to GP but she glossed over it and I can't afford private appointment right now so thought I would tweek the HRT to start with .

I do have other hypo symptoms- crash fatigue especially after lunch when I often sleep for a couple of hours, rubbish at staying asleep at night and seldom get more than 2 hrs in a row, low basal body temp ave 36.1 early morning and late evening, feel hot all the time and don't do cold, aches and pains, acid reflux in the form of coughing with tickly throat so on Omniprazole,too fat, stressy so on citalopram and fibroids pre surgery- they are the main ones which do all tie in with hypothyroidism.

I've never had Testosterone tested.
The blood test results show I'm a bit low on Folic Acid and B12  and less than optimal vitamin D. GP has given me calcium and Vit D supplement plus Folic Acid but can't refer me for B12 injections as not low enough on their scale.
These are some of my results
CRP- low 9.6 indicating inflammation
B12 low at 209
Serum Folate low at 7.92
TSH 2.94    (0.27-4.20)
Total T4 123.4   (64.5-142)
Free T4   13.99
Free T3    4.01
Vitamin D 81.8 nmol/L

Trying to eat better including more fruit and veg and less rubbish.

Any more thoughts most welcome!

Henrietta:
Hi Sparkle
Thanks for all that. Sorry I didn't mean to confuse you by talking about Fibroids- they were in the past and I had my hysterectomy and oopherectomy back in 2012.
Someone else advised me the Omniprazole would be contributing to low B12. I've just bought a Nutribullet and hope to improve my fruit and veg intake.
I've tried propping up on a pillow but really can't get comfy like that.
I try not to eat after 6.30PM . Will try and get off them if I can sort my diet out a bit.

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