Bio-identical Progesterone Only pill.

[Cooka]

Hi gals, I'm seeing a specialist who amongst other things prescribes bio-identical HRT. He has prescribed for me natural progesterone (bioidentical) to be made by a compound pharmacy 400mg/day in the form of a troche (instead of synthetic POP that the GPs prescribe which give nasty side effects) I'm starting tomorrow.

I was just wondering who has tried this for endo instead of the synthetic POP? And did you have, results, side effects etc?

[Impatient]

type in 'bio-identical' in to the search box in the green bar at the top of the page. there have been a few discussions in the last year or two, which are worth reading through.

[stevieflp]

Hi -

That is fantastic that you are seeing such a forward thinking specialist. There are so few who have any indepth knowledge of bioidentical hormones. Most are in the USA at the present time. I would be grateful if you could PM me with his details. Some of the info from my other posts is replicated below.

Yes, GPs tend to prescribe synthetic hormones manufactured by the drug giants. Their medical training is centred around the treatments offered by the drug industry which are patented. Bio-identical hormones cannot be patented. Even those prescribed and stated as being 'natural' are not necessarily bio-identical. Example is one HRT type of progesterone that is 'naturally' made from horse urine (Premarin) . . probably bio-identical if you are a hay eater!

Apologies for going off about Estrogen Dominance ('ED') and xenoestrogens but the two subject are intrinsically linked. I cannot verify any of this but it comes from research by others and all makes sense to me.

I use bio-identical progesterone cream from Wellsprings to counteract estrogen dominance which is thought to be a contributor to the increase in many conditions including endo. I did have a blood test at the GPs and my progesterone was low compared to estrogen. However, a GP will tend to tell you these are within the 'normal range' and not look at this from an estrogen dominance perspective. Plus tests need to be done over time rather than a one-off and saliva tests are said to be most accurate for this purpose.

ED does not necessarily mean estrogen is excessively high, but that there is an imbalance between estrogen and progesterone. This is why it can still be the case even at peri-menopause / menopause (in fact more likely to be triggered at that time) - there could still be an imbalance even though both levels have dropped. I don't think it is a coincidence that, over the years, I had PMS, cervical erosion, pituitary microadenoma (benign tumour producing prolactin) and then finally severe stage 4 endo, all of which are suspects of estrogen dominance. I can't say whether the bio-identical progesterone has helped re endo as, thankfully, I had total radical pelvic excision so have not had any symptoms of endo since that surgery (over 3 years ago)as all endo was removed.

However, I certainly do not get any PMS type symptoms anymore including breast pain, bloating etc, although I am now in peri-menopause and had started to get aching joints (particularly elbows) and that has also gone. Once you read up about estrogen dominance and bio-identical progesterone it certainly seems preferable to synthetic progesterone which is not natural and is not bio-identical and works differently with your body. I think you are really lucky to have found this specialist.

Various things can help reduce the effects of endo such as diet and cutting out xenoestrogens (chemicals in toiletries, cosmetics, household cleaning products etc) that mimic the effects of estrogen in the body and thus can lead to the effects of estrogen dominance (which incidentally is thought to also contribute (albeit not necessarily the cause) to many other conditions, including endo). Nice eh! I have personally cut out all toiletries, cosmetics, cleaning stuff which contains parabens, pthalates and sulfates (amongst other stuff) and, as we also get xenoestrogens from Bisphenol A in plastics (particularly when heated), I no longer heat food up in plastic or drink from plastic but use good old glass. Sounds difficult to do but over time, it is easy to replace these things as there is a good array of products on offer now. Takes a bit of research and trial and error to find the products that you like, but just like you would have with the normally used chemical stuff.

As I understand it, the reason the endo diet helps is because it cuts out toxins that your liver has to process (such as alcohol / caffeine etc). Excess estrogen is eliminated via the liver. By cutting out as many toxins as possible, this gives the liver a greater capacity to eliminate excess estrogen and to do its job. Where it is over worked, excess estrogen is more likely to be stored by the body in fat cells. The thing about xenoestrogens from toiletries is that they are generally absorbed through the skin and so completely bypass the liver!

No doubt you have extensively read up on this subject anyway but I recommend the following books:

100 Questions and Answers about Endometriosis by by Dr David Redwine (retired top US Endo Surgeon Consultant (acknowledged as world leader in the field)

Estrogen Dominance by Dr Michael Lam

Dr Eckhart's How to Use Progesterone Cream (practical guide for avoiding side effects and chemical estrogens)

The Miracle of Bio-identical Hormones by Michael E Platt MD.

All very best wishes to you .

Frances x

[Brownlow in reply to stevieflp]

Hi Stevieflp,

Thanks for such fab information. I will definitely check this out. Sounds really intriguing.

[Brownlow]

Hi Cooka,

I have a pretty good doctor and I know if I raise this subject with him he'll be interested.

Could you PM me with your specialist too?

Thanks for starting an interesting thread even though it has been covered on the forum before. I never would have found it otherwise.

Good luck with the treatment and do report back to us.

[Cooka]

Hi ladies, thanks for your replies.

I'm actually in Australia (sorry!) so it probably wouldn't help you if i give you my specialist details since he is in Oz. Happy to tho if you still want them. Yes it's been hard to find doctors here who prescribe bioidentical hormones. Especially since i don't live in a capital city - which is where they all seem to be. In my town no doctors know much about it at all .... or don't want to have anything to do with it. I have to drive for over 2 hrs to see my specialist. He charges like a wounded bull! $290 for my consult but i got half back on Medicare. Other docs may not charge so much.

It was very hard to find someone who works with BHRT. The way i found out is by asking the local compounding pharmacy. They were very helpful in providing names of doctors who they have compounded BHRT scripts for.

Thanks for the book recommendations Stevieflp Yes i have a pile of books about this and have read so much on it. Here's hoping..

[federica]

I'm on progesteron only cerazette, I guess it's not the bio-identical, which I never heard of before. Please share how is it working for you. Cerazette have strong sideeffects and I will need to change my medication soon since I'm already over the 5 years max you should stay on it...

[Hmel78]

Hello Ladies

I realise these posts aren't new, but if anyone has any updates or pointers about Bioidentical HRT and specialists in the UK, I would be eternally grateful for any info.

Seems like it's taken off on Harley Street but that's not entirely helpful to a poor northerner such as myself

Before I see my GP next week, I feel like I need to be armed with my own suggestions of how to move forwards on 20+ years of suffering at the hands of medical practitioners who refuse to accept my issues are all hormone related.

I refuse to accept that Yasmin is my only option, after I've already been hacked to bits with surgeries and tried every other synthetic pill on the planet.

Any suggestions welcome ...

Hope you are all well!

H

[Cooka]

Hi there. I'm in Australia so sorry I can't be of help. The way I found out if any Drs wrote scripts for this was to go to the local pharmacies and ask them if they are aware of any Drs who prescribe compounded bio hrt (which they would be receiving scripts for). If they are a helpful pharmacist they will provide you with suggestions who to try. Mine had repeat scripts she was making so she new the Drs name who prescribed it. From there I rang the Drs offices to check that they prescribed bio hrt and went from there. A bit of a run around so on your detectives hat!

[Emmyeve]

Is that a pill or cream? I’m about to start the bio identical cream. Let us know how you get on won’t u? Good luck x