Thyroid and HRT

[Murphysmum]

It’s taken me about two years of trial and error, making mistakes and breakthroughs, successes and fails to get to where I am now, which is well, thriving sometimes on T3 only.

However, I’m finding I have massive cyclical swings in how I feel. I’ve used progesterone cream for a while now to address oestrogen dominance problems and that’s worked well however, I’m now wondering whether I should look at HRT to “even out” the highs and lows.

I’ve done blood tests at various times and on the whole my levels are always the same - slightly up, slightly down but nothing significant.

Basically from day 1 to day 14 of my cycle I’m rubbish - muscle weakness, tired, no motivation, and the thyroid symptoms creep back in as a result presumably of the low progesterone.

I’m fed up with it. I’ve suddenly realised that I’m maybe barking up the wrong tree abs instead of trying to work my thyroid meds around everything else, maybe I should address the something else!

Anyone else (preferably on T3 but interested in all views) found that HRT of some sort gave them more consistency with how they feel?

TIA 😊

[london81]

I have found a website called alva who offer a free consult with a doctor and low cost hrt. might be worth talking to them? as far as i can tell it’s a non profit organisation. the woman who runs it was on a programme i watched, she said she started alva when her mum went into menopause following breast cancer, and they were shocked at the lack of support/knowledge. i don’t know how much they know about thyroid or t3 but it’s worth chatting to them?my oestrogen dipped from 169 to 125 recently and i’m considering whether hrt may be on the cards soon, but i’m finding it hard to find anyone who is competent in thyroid and sex hormones and how they overlap!

tanya borowski seems to have some good knowledge but expensive! have you looked her up?

[Murphysmum in reply to london81]

Ah sorry, you mentioned this before and I had forgotten about it. Apologies.

I will look it up 😊 And I agree about the hormone overlap thing. If I’m honest, this is why I’ve been going it alone and have been scared basically to go to the gp about it.

However now I feel that even if I don’t mention the thyroid stuff (which effectively is out of the picture as it’s nice and consistent) then they’ll have to look at the cyclical nature of my symptoms.

I think...

[Murphysmum]

Why not? Genuine question.

My mum was always firmly against hormone treatment of any kind (sex hormone that is! Ie the pill, HRT) but I think that was just a basic mistrust 😂

Interested in your thoughts as in years gone by I would have hoped to do everything naturally but now I’m wondering if things haven’t moved on, and maybe if I seek to feel consistently well, that might be an option?

[Lalatoot in reply to Murphysmum]

I wouldn't consider HRT as there is a history of ovarian cancer in my family. As Scrumbler says we each need to weigh up the pros and cons, along with our family history, and decide for ourselves.

[fortunata in reply to Murphysmum]

Hi, Murphysmum. I’ve just read your bio and your journey has been so similar to mine.

Like you, I take 60mcgs of Liothyronine a day and it’s given me my life back.

I’m 61 now and have just finished a six month journey with breast cancer. They found DCIS in my right breast and I had a section of it, and a lymph node, removed. Thankfully the node was cancer clear and I finished my radiotherapy three weeks ago.

The reason I wanted to respond to your post is that I began using HRT patches when I was 54. They were amazing. They made me feel clear headed, stopped my hot flushes and gave me back a general feeling of well-being.

However, my breast cancer biopsy showed it was estrogen positive so I’ve had to ditch my beloved HRT patches for good.

The woman who did my DEXA bone scan said she sees so many ladies with breast cancer who also have autoimmune thyroid issues. She said she’s read a couple of papers which posit the idea that women with autoimmune Thyroiditis can also suffer from higher estrogen than normal, which can give rise to breast cancer.

I still don’t regret using the HRT patches but thought I’d tell you what had happened to me to give another angle on things. Xx

[Murphysmum in reply to fortunata]

This is really interesting, thank you.

Glad to hear you’re recovering and fingers crossed, you’re healthy from now on.

I think things like this (and I don’t just mean the link to breast cancer, but lots of things) are probably far more common than we think. It seems to me that across the board, very little consideration is given to the way things are interlinked, or that way that conditions are related to, or caused by, other conditions. There seems to be a policy to treat the symptoms, without looking for the cause, which to me seems pointless as it’s like putting a sticking plater on the wound without identifying the cause.

Thank you for posting this as it’s worthwhile knowledge for lots of us in this position to know. Stay well!

[Dee8686]

Hello Murphysmum just wanted to reach out as I am struggling with sex hormones and thyroid. Our journeys seem similar! Just wondered how you were getting on now and how your extreme fatigue is? I'm waiting for my progesterone cream to arrive

[Fanky]

Have you tried a Dutch test. Expensive but full comprehensive check of all hormones, including androgens