Hormone Replacement starting at 75yrs old

Posted by curlyqlinda1 @curlyqlinda1, Jan 23 9:46am

Doing reach, I have decided to try HRT with testosterone, very low dose. I’m in pretty good health, but was diagnosed with Polymyalgia Rhuematica 2yrs ago. I’m Just trying to make a better life with what yrs I have left. There are so many positive messages out there, and yes I’m on the older side. I have 6 daughters and we have all been doing a lot of reading on this subject. Is there anyone else trying HRT at an older age?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Women's Health Support Group.

Laurie, Volunteer Mentor | @roch | Jun 7 8:46am

In reply to @rswartz "I’m 63 yrs I would love to try HRT but my Doctor says no because I..." + (show)

@rswartz

Did your provider talk about other drugs beside HRT that might help.

This Mayo Clinic web site list some drugs that might be an alternative.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hot-flashes/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20352795
I went thru menopause multi times, once early in life after a hysterectomy due to endometriosis. Eventually the provider put me on HRT. Then later in life when stopped HRT. It is terrible and definitely effects your quality of life.
I use to lay in bed with fan blowing on me.

Hope you find a solution.

tearose | @tearose | Jun 17 4:59pm

Hi ladies. I have a menopause-related question and hope you all have some insight. I am 56 years old and bloodwork (along with 14 missed periods) confirmed that I was post. Well, at about the 18-month mark, I had a period. of course, we sounded the alarm and did bloodwork, ultrasound, and D&C. That was last summer. A year later (yesterday), the ordeal started again. spotting, then today a period. I was able to get in with my ob/gyn this morning and also had my hormone bloodwork. Tests just came back with FSH at 16.6 iu/l; Estradoil at 77.8 pg/ml; and Progesterone at .68 ng/ml. I'm not great at this, but just comparing to the numbers from earlier, it seems like something is off. Has anyone else experienced this on-again/off-again menopause?

Thanks so much for your help - I know this was a lot!

celia16 | @celia16 | Jun 24 8:32pm

In reply to @tearose "Hi ladies. I have a menopause-related question and hope you all have some insight. I am..." + (show)

I hope you get some responses. I can’t recall my numbers.

healthsnobw3 | @healthsnobw3 | Jul 3 12:22am

I took HRT (estrogen and testosterone and progesterone) for twenty years and stopped when I was 73; this month, I had to have a complete hysterectomy because of a thecoma, a rare, benign tumor that often is an estrogen producer, never mind any of the other problems attached to a huge growing mass in my abdomen. I lost my ovaries, now *and* the tumor (of course). I was very happy with what I had been taking (Covaryx + progesterone) and stopped only because I stopped feeling any of the good results I had enjoyed. Now, I'm going back to it, since I have virtually no estrogen production in my own body. The HRT I intend to return to increased energy, helped with developing and maintaining muscle mass, was good for my bones and my heart. I have little likelihood of developing breast cancer, which is increasingly recognized as not the concern it had been, anyway. Few MDs will bring this formula up—I'm glad my doctor did; remember that this is not estrogen but *three* hormones that balance each other out.

healthsnobw3 | @healthsnobw3 | Jul 3 12:34am

In reply to @roch "@rswartz Did your provider talk about other drugs beside HRT that might help. This Mayo Clinic..." + (show)

Think about a professional / integrative medicine practitioner like an acupuncturist / herbalist. But I'm a believer in HRT, having had only good results from an estrogen/testosterone/progesterone triple hormone; I never went through menopause in the senses that as soon as I started developing migraines, my doctor put me on that HRT combination: never had hot flashes, slept well, developed some muscle mass, had more energy, softer skin, great bone density, didn't suffer from memory loss. I stayed on it for twenty years. I just had an hysterectomy and will go back onto HRT. I'm 77, and one would think there was little estrogen production at my age, but there was, and I am eager to replace what was there (and then some); but the issue is the testosterone, not just estrogen.

healthsnobw3 | @healthsnobw3 | Jul 3 12:39am

. . . I forgot to mention that I'm 77, and even at my age, I feel the loss of my body's ability to make estrogen or testosterone—from memory ticks to less soft/pliable skin. I'm a small, Caucasian, small-boned woman who does not want to risk serious osteoporosis, or cardiac health. It's been two months since the hysterectomy, and I am noticing changes that are not pleasant.

celia16 | @celia16 | Jul 3 3:32pm

I guess I really need to find a doctor to help me with my options.

janieben | @janieben | Jul 3 7:22pm

What type of doctor is recommended if I want to discuss HRT?

celia16 | @celia16 | Jul 3 7:36pm

I just found a gynecologist who specializes in Menopause at Duke, which is near me, but I might explore an endocrinologist…..I’m not sure really,

kisu | @kisu | Jul 4 12:10pm

In reply to @janieben "What type of doctor is recommended if I want to discuss HRT?" + (show)

Endocrinologist, Rheumatologist, GYN, Phyician assistant, primary doctor and many more. It really comes down to how 'up to date' the person is with HRT. To save a lot of time and disappointment call the office and ask if the doctor prescribes HRT or more specifically for postmenopausal women. I just asked Copilot to list doctors close by me that prescibe HRT. It showed me 4 options. One of them was my primary but did not show my Endocrinologist who manages my HRT.