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Progesterone therapy

  • Early Menopause

    I am 39 and having hot flushes and night sweats. I’ve skipped my period for the last 18 months. Does that mean I am in menopause? Help! I’m too young—what can I do?

  • Heavier Flow in Perimenopause

    I am 49 and have had a regular light period all my life. I have 3 children and do not use oral contraception. Recently I have been experiencing large clots and heavier flow. Is is the clots that concern me because I have never seen this before. Should I seek the help of a gynaecologist?

  • Is the use of non-natural medroxyprogesterone what makes HRT bad?

    I don’t think there is any problem with use of HRT as long as the natural estrogen (E2) is balanced with natural progesterone. What do you think? My feeling has always been that the “bad” things reported, supposedly because of HRT, even when E2 is used, are caused by the use of progestin. One can obtain progesterone easily enough, so that shouldn’t be a problem.

  • Lost Periods Due to Stress

    I am 28 years old and I haven’t menstruated for 3.5 years… I believe due to stress. Chinese herbs haven’t worked, nor vitamin supplements. I haven’t tried hormone replacements. My doctor has measured pituitary hormones, my CT scan of the pituitary is normal and my ovaries haven’t gone into menopause. What should I do?

  • Perimenopause and night sweats

    I am 49 years old, very healthy, and starting to feel better as I’m skipping periods in perimenopause. But I’m just dying with night sweats twice or three times a night—I wake up soaked and barely get back to sleep before the next one hits. What’s odd is that they tend to be very bad for a while and then get better. I’ve never had any during the day. I’m having a bad patch right now. I went to my doctor about it a couple of weeks ago and she told me to take a low dose birth control pill. I don’t even need contraception. But so far I’ve seen no benefit for my night sweats. Do I need to take it longer? The flushes just keep waking me. But now I got a period in the middle of the pack, my breasts are sore and swollen and I’ve had a wicked headache for three days. Help! What can I do?

  • Progesterone (not Estrogen) is Optimal Therapy for Hot Flushes

    I’m having really bad night sweats waking me at least once every night and sometimes three or four times. I was given estrogen therapy for them when I was still having periods and it not only didn’t help, it made my flooding and breast tenderness worse. I’m now about two years since my last period and just dying for a good night’s sleep! I tried one of those new anti-depressants and it helped a bit but didn’t take the night sweats away. In fact, I think it made my sleep worse! My doctor says estrogen is what Canadian and USA experts recommend for hot flushes. I have seen so much conflicting stuff that I don’t know what to think. All I know is that I’m scared of estrogen. Are there any other good options?

  • Progesterone Adds to the Positive Bone Effects of Estrogen/Etidronate

    I saw you on Shaw TV last September and want to say “thanks” for such an informative and helpful presentation. I have been a fan of yours for a number of years, ever since I heard you at a seminar at Royal Columbian, when I was beginning perimenopause. I found your symptoms “diary” most helpful and have shared it with many of my friends over the years.

    Being a nurse I always seem to end up checking the pathophysiology of things before I accept them as beneficial to me, and of course menopause was no exception. I heard Dr. John Lee speak about the time I was considering hormone therapy. In 1998 I chose to start on a cream of natural progesterone (50 mg a day). I had to first convince my GP I did not want synthetics if a hormone identical to what I had made for 40 years was available! The reason for hormone therapy was to hopefully ward off osteoporosis because of a strong family history, a congenital abnormality of my back, and BMD showing osteopenia with osteoporosis of one vertebra. I have never looked back. But I did not get a rise in BD as I hoped; after 2 years it stayed much the same. So for the last year I have had estrogen added (as a cream, TriEst 2.5 mg, a natural combination of estrogens).

    My bargain with my GP was that if I had no increase after one year I would agree to start a bisphosphonate. My quandary is that at age 58, three years post last period, should I need to go there? I would rather not take Didrocal® because it doesn’t cause a BMD increase, or Fosamax®.

    Are there any better, safer alternatives coming along? Is a year long enough to evaluate the benefit of being on a combination of estrogen and progesterone?

  • Spotting Before Periods

    I’m a 36-year old woman and basically healthy but I keep having spotting before my flow. I’ve been to several doctors about it and never gotten a good answer. The only option I’ve been given for treatment is the Pill. What’s going on?

  • Why am I no longer interested?

    I’ve been with this thoughtful, loving and attractive guy for two years. We’re both in our mid-thirties, have a healthy sporty lifestyle. We each have good jobs and have made a great home together. I’ve always felt we were quite good for each other, and easily shared lots of important things, especially in bed.

    However, for some reason, I’m no longer interested in sex. For his sake I even sometimes fake it! Could it be related my increasingly bad cramps and heavier, longer flow? Or could it be because my doctor recently recommended and I started the Pill to treat my heavy flow? My guy and I were perfectly happy with condoms and spermicidal jelly before.

  • What is Effective and Safe for Night Sweats in Women with Breast Cancer?

    I’m 47 and wringing the sheets every night with hot flushes. I went into menopause early because of chemotherapy for breast cancer and then had surgery to take out my uterus and ovaries because I have the bad gene (BRCA). I’m now taking the new drug that blocks estrogen production but is making my flushes worse. I’ve tried soymilk, tofu and all kinds of plant estrogens. I’m afraid of herbs because I’m told they may increase estrogen and therefore feed my cancer. And I’ve tried acupuncture-it helps about a week and then I need another treatment.

    Right now I’m fighting taking the newer anti-depressant my doctor prescribed-I’m not depressed. She says that medicine is what the Cancer Agency recommends for hot flushes. I asked my pharmacist and got a printout of its side effects-it causes sleep problems and loss of appetite. I already have them! And I’ve heard they are only likely to be 60-70% effective.

    My question is, can I try something that will help my night sweats without making me at risk my breast cancer will return? Or should I consider stopping the estrogen blocker-I don’t want to because, although it is making my flushes worse, it will prevent another bout of breast cancer. Or am I stuck feeling as wrung out as my sheets for the next dozen years?