Anyone here been on hormone replacement therapy?

[Medusa]

I'm not against HRT, as I said, I still have more research to do. I've been in menopause, I guess you could say, for 5 years now w/no real problems. I more or less breezed through it. A hot flash is just that, a hot flash and then it's over and they're infrequent. I think my dr. wants me on HRT because we've pretty much eliminated all other causes for the weight gain around my middle and he's grasping at straws.

[Pam]

I think my dr. wants me on HRT because we've pretty much eliminated all other causes for the weight gain around my middle and he's grasping at straws.

I was listening to talk radio one day in the car. What I heard astounded me. The doctor said that a woman going through menopause must take in 1/3 less calories than she did before JUST TO MAINTAIN HER PRE-MENOPAUSE WEIGHT because of the change in metabolism! I thought.... Oh man, being a woman is just not fun any more! I don't remember the doctor's name but I did think that he was on to something because everyone I know who has gone through the "Big M" has added a pound or two or three, or four.....

[Medusa]

I was listening to talk radio one day in the car. What I heard astounded me. The doctor said that a woman going through menopause must take in 1/3 less calories than she did before JUST TO MAINTAIN HER PRE-MENOPAUSE WEIGHT because of the change in metabolism! I thought.... Oh man, being a woman is just not fun any more! I don't remember the doctor's name but I did think that he was on to something because everyone I know who has gone through the "Big M" has added a pound or two or three, or four.....

Oh yes, he's right. There's no way I can eat the way I used to any more. And if I want to lose weight, I have to work out harder and longer and eat even less. It's maddening. My situation is that my appetite is virtually nil but I've gained weight and it's around my middle, which is one (of many) symptoms of ovarian cancer, which I apparently had all the symptoms. That's been ruled out but we can't figure out why I've put on weight only around my middle. Pants that I bought in April are now tight, even though I'm consistent w/my workouts and don't consume many calories and hardly any fat.

[jazzcat]

I was listening to talk radio one day in the car. What I heard astounded me. The doctor said that a woman going through menopause must take in 1/3 less calories than she did before JUST TO MAINTAIN HER PRE-MENOPAUSE WEIGHT because of the change in metabolism! I thought.... Oh man, being a woman is just not fun any more! I don't remember the doctor's name but I did think that he was on to something because everyone I know who has gone through the "Big M" has added a pound or two or three, or four.....

I soooooo agree with that. I lost 75 pounds before I had the hysterectomy but since being thrown surgical menopause, going 6 months with no HRT and spending the other year or so trying to figure out what HRT will work for me I've gained back so much of that weight. On top of that it's distributed much differently - mostly around my middle. Now I understand why so many of the pants for older ladies have elastic! And oh! Don't even get me started on the effects the lack of estrogen does to breast!!!!!

[lizbud]

I did take Premarin. Dr RX'd it for 3 yrs max, but I ended up taking it for
around 4-5 yrs. It helped a lot. Like D & D, I had no knowledge at the time
of the awful plight of Premain mares & their colts.

It seems there are different "kinds" of BC, I was one who should not have
taken Premarin as long as I did. I did develope the disease later on. I never
had the sweats at all, but just felt more "normal" & productive when I took
the RX. "If I knew then what I know now"... well, you know how that goes.

[Kirsten]

Well, I'm only on thyroid hormone replacement therapy because of Hashimoto's. My gyn would like me to take hormones (estrogene, I suppose) as well because of the endometreosis but I don't want to. Twice in my life I was on birth-control pills and each time, I became depressive. I think it was the estrogene that caused it, my hormone levels are just too messed up to deal with it. So I'm really careful when it comes to hormonal replacements.

A couple of years ago, before Hashimoto's was diagnosed, they gave me gestagens when I started feeling ill, and I gained a lot of weight from it (and later from the thyroid hormones as well).

Kirsten

[jazzcat]

My gyn would like me to take hormones (estrogene, I suppose) as well because of the endometreosis but I don't want to.

Kirsten, if you have endometriosis you would not want to take estrogen - that is what makes it grow. Your gyn probably suggested progesterone - it helps to balance the estrogen and slow the growth of endo. Endo is the reason I had a hysterectomy and had my ovaries removed.

[krazyaboutkatz]

My mom was on a very low dose of HRT but she developed breast cancer and her doctor thinks that this was the cause. When I start needing to take something, I already told my doctor that I'm going the natural route. A co-worker of mine went through early menopause and she's almost over it. She also went the natural route and she took Estroven for it and also started taking flaxseed oil and black cohosh. They now make different formulas of Estroven and here's the link: http://estroven.com/. I've also heard that eating foods with soy in them will also help. Good luck.

[Kirsten]

Kirsten, if you have endometriosis you would not want to take estrogen - that is what makes it grow. Your gyn probably suggested progesterone - it helps to balance the estrogen and slow the growth of endo. Endo is the reason I had a hysterectomy and had my ovaries removed.

Well, yes, she was probably referring to progesterone then...

They really did the hysterectomy because of the endomentriosis? I also wanted to have it done when I had my left ovary removed last year, but they didn't. They left the right one because they wanted me to keep it for the homone production, and they even left the uterus - even though I wanted desperately to get rid of it! LOL

Kirsten