Your original questions was asking if there are others who started BHRT at an older age. I am 73 and just started BHRT for the first time on Sept. 22. I, too, am offended that not one of my medical providers in all these years after menopause began ever even mentioned BHRT to me! Guess they were all too scared from the WHI.

I have not had over 4-5 hours straight of sleep in one night for many years, I have extraordinarily dry skin, low energy and motivation, nonexistent libido, and a DEXA showed osteoporosis in femur heads at -2.9, so I did a lot of reading and decided to try BHRT to see what differences that made.

I found a gyno who would prescribe a weekly Estradiol patch of .050 mg and Prometrium 100 mg taken vaginally each night; however, she would not prescribe any blood tests to check levels, nor would she discuss Testosterone or anything else. So I am now in the process of looking for a different provider who will at least do testing. I do see to sleep a bit better, maybe for six hours straight at times, and I have noticed my shoulders don't hurt from sleeping on my side. I had a pap test a few weeks ago and the PA was amazed at how pink and plump I was inside, as she had expected a lot of atrophy at my age. She thinks it is due to the estrogen.

I am taking the generic form of Climara estradiol and the generic form of Prometrium. The gyno says they are bioidentical, my PA says they are not, so I am not sure who to believe. Any clarification on this would be appreciated. I live north of KC, so if anyone has a recommendation for a good gyno/integrative dr/PA, etc., who is knowledgeable about BHRT and takes Medicare, please let me know. I so appreciate having this forum that has so many ladies who are willing to share their knowledge and experiences. 🙂