New member looking for advice on bio-identical vs synthetic HRT

New member, desperately looking for some help and input as I am getting conflicting advice from doctors.

51 years old, first period started two months before my 12th birthday, periods have always been regular but extremely heavy (lasting 8-10 days on average) causing anemia for which I´ve been taking prescription iron. In my early 20s, I asked if I could get the pill to go period-free, but was told since I was borderline overweight that was not an option until I´d lost some weight...that kind of put me off as the doctor was not very diplomatic.

For the past nine years, I have been been seeing a so called functional doctor for my thyroid condition (Hashimoto´s), as I don´t do well on the standard treatment (levothyroxine), but also need T3, something most conventional doctors won´t prescribe.

A couple of years ago, based on lab results, this doctor prescribed bio-identical hormones: Lenzetto (two sprays a day) and Utrogestan 200 mg days 16-28 of cycle.

For the last couple of years, my periods have been getting more and more erratic. Then, they stopped last summer and, as the months went by, I started hoping that they had stopped for good...however, they recently came back with a vengeance, and are now heavier and more bothersome than ever before. I have other annoying symptoms as well, most noticeably hot flushes getting more and more frequent, especially at night.

Recent lab results while on bio-identical HRT:

FSH 18UI/L (ref menopause: 27-133)

LH 13IU/L (ref menopause: 5.2-62)

estradiol 37 pg/mL (menopause <28)

progesterone 1.0 ng/mL (menopause <0.02)

SHBG 91 nmol/L

free testosterone <0.01 ng/mL (ref <0.01)

bioavailable testosterone (Kaufmann & Fiers formula): 0.06 ng/mL (ref <0.25)

My doctor´s practice has been closed in recent months so I have not been able to see her. However, I recently saw my gynaecologist for an annual check-up, and she suggested two alternative approaches:

- switching to continuous HRT to get bleed-free; she suggested Kliofem. She said that synthetic progesterone is more likely to stop periods for good than bio-identical P;

- take a POP (Cerazette) until my FSH and LH show I´ve reached menopause; this should guarantee my periods will stop, but I cannot take estrogen with it, so what will happen to my hot flushes?

If anyone else has experienced this, and found a solution, I´d love to hear about it. The fact that doctors have very different approaches does not make things easier...I´m all for bio-identical hormones as they have a better risk-profile, but maybe my gynaecologist is right that synthetic hormones will affect the body more...?

All I want now is for my periods to stop for good. However, I have read that some women continue to have periods until age 55 or even 58, and that would be a true nightmare for me.

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