1. < Osteoporosis & Bone Health

Transdermal HRT

Posted by vkmov @vkmov, Oct 19, 2023

Many studies have found that transdermal HRT protects and builds bone without all the horrific side effects of many first-line osteoporosis treatments. The patch bypasses the liver and thereby avoids the risks of breast cancer, strokes, etc. Has anyone explored this or discussed it with their doctors?

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vkmov | @vkmov | 2 days ago
In reply to @teb "Yes, pretty much. I've hovered around -2.9 in my spine since then. My hips have always..." + (show)
@teb

Yes, pretty much. I've hovered around -2.9 in my spine since then. My hips have always been fine, in fact I think I gained a bit in my hips in recent years. This past year I increased my HRT dose to .05 transdermal so hopefully I will continue to maintain or see slight gains as I am weight training heavier than before.

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Do you mind if I ask your age? I'm on Forteo (8 months now) and .014 Transdermal Menostar (and Progesterone 3x a week). I'm 75 and finding it's difficult to convince my doctors to raise the Menostar dose, even though it is transdermal.

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2 replies
teb | @teb | 2 days ago
In reply to @vkmov "Do you mind if I ask your age? I'm on Forteo (8 months now) and .014..." + (show)
@vkmov

Do you mind if I ask your age? I'm on Forteo (8 months now) and .014 Transdermal Menostar (and Progesterone 3x a week). I'm 75 and finding it's difficult to convince my doctors to raise the Menostar dose, even though it is transdermal.

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I never mind any questions! I'm 68 now. I started HRT at 62.

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gravity3 | @gravity3 | 2 days ago
In reply to @vkmov "Do you mind if I ask your age? I'm on Forteo (8 months now) and .014..." + (show)
@vkmov

Do you mind if I ask your age? I'm on Forteo (8 months now) and .014 Transdermal Menostar (and Progesterone 3x a week). I'm 75 and finding it's difficult to convince my doctors to raise the Menostar dose, even though it is transdermal.

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If that is the estradiol she started me at.025 and raised 3 months later to .0375. I believed she may raise it again depending on results of my blood tests.

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drsuefowler | @drsuefowler | 2 days ago

I have been trying to find a Dr who will prescribe estrogen for me. I am 74 and have broken 5 bones in 18 months. Does anyone know the lowest dosage of an E2 patch and oral gel cap of micronized progesterone? My PCP might agree to prescribing it, but he doesn't seem to know much about it. I have been on a half dose for Tymlos for a year and have recently started taking a full dose of Forteo. My Endo has prescribed Evista to help with my high CTX, but I think I would be more comfortable on estrogen.

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2 replies
gravity3 | @gravity3 | 2 days ago
In reply to @drsuefowler "I have been trying to find a Dr who will prescribe estrogen for me. I am..." + (show)
@drsuefowler

I have been trying to find a Dr who will prescribe estrogen for me. I am 74 and have broken 5 bones in 18 months. Does anyone know the lowest dosage of an E2 patch and oral gel cap of micronized progesterone? My PCP might agree to prescribing it, but he doesn't seem to know much about it. I have been on a half dose for Tymlos for a year and have recently started taking a full dose of Forteo. My Endo has prescribed Evista to help with my high CTX, but I think I would be more comfortable on estrogen.

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My functional medicine provider started me on a
.025 transdermal estradiol patch because I am 76 and had not had any hrt for decades. She just moved me up to .0375.

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1 reply
mayblin | @mayblin | 2 days ago
In reply to @drsuefowler "I have been trying to find a Dr who will prescribe estrogen for me. I am..." + (show)
@drsuefowler

I have been trying to find a Dr who will prescribe estrogen for me. I am 74 and have broken 5 bones in 18 months. Does anyone know the lowest dosage of an E2 patch and oral gel cap of micronized progesterone? My PCP might agree to prescribing it, but he doesn't seem to know much about it. I have been on a half dose for Tymlos for a year and have recently started taking a full dose of Forteo. My Endo has prescribed Evista to help with my high CTX, but I think I would be more comfortable on estrogen.

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Hi @drsuefowler 0.014mg/day probably is the lowest transdermal E2 strength by Menostar. Most other brands have 0.025 as lowest dose. My obgyn prescribed brand Vivelle Dot, which has 0.025, 0.0375, 0.05 mg/day and up. Prometrium (brand for micronized progesterone) has two different strength, 100mg and 200mg as gelcap. I'm currently on 0.025mg/day transdermal E2 and 100mg oral micronized progesterone daily at bedtime. My insurance only covers generics.

Is your CTX high while on tymlos and/or forteo?

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2 replies
gravity3 | @gravity3 | 2 days ago
In reply to @mayblin "Hi @drsuefowler 0.014mg/day probably is the lowest transdermal E2 strength by Menostar. Most other brands have..." + (show)
@mayblin

Hi @drsuefowler 0.014mg/day probably is the lowest transdermal E2 strength by Menostar. Most other brands have 0.025 as lowest dose. My obgyn prescribed brand Vivelle Dot, which has 0.025, 0.0375, 0.05 mg/day and up. Prometrium (brand for micronized progesterone) has two different strength, 100mg and 200mg as gelcap. I'm currently on 0.025mg/day transdermal E2 and 100mg oral micronized progesterone daily at bedtime. My insurance only covers generics.

Is your CTX high while on tymlos and/or forteo?

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Any testosterone and vaginal estradiol?

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1 reply
drsuefowler | @drsuefowler | 1 day ago
In reply to @mayblin "Hi @drsuefowler 0.014mg/day probably is the lowest transdermal E2 strength by Menostar. Most other brands have..." + (show)
@mayblin

Hi @drsuefowler 0.014mg/day probably is the lowest transdermal E2 strength by Menostar. Most other brands have 0.025 as lowest dose. My obgyn prescribed brand Vivelle Dot, which has 0.025, 0.0375, 0.05 mg/day and up. Prometrium (brand for micronized progesterone) has two different strength, 100mg and 200mg as gelcap. I'm currently on 0.025mg/day transdermal E2 and 100mg oral micronized progesterone daily at bedtime. My insurance only covers generics.

Is your CTX high while on tymlos and/or forteo?

Jump to this post

Thanks @mayblin. Those dosages are very helpful. My CTX was 1400 twice on Tymlos, at 3months and 7 months on half a dose. It was recently at 1200 and I'd only changed to Forteo for 3 weeks. I figure that was probably still from Tymlos. P1NP was 190 at 3 months, 310 at 7 months and most recently went down to 190 again.

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1 reply
drsuefowler | @drsuefowler | 1 day ago
In reply to @gravity3 "My functional medicine provider started me on a .025 transdermal estradiol patch because I am 76..." + (show)
@gravity3

My functional medicine provider started me on a
.025 transdermal estradiol patch because I am 76 and had not had any hrt for decades. She just moved me up to .0375.

Jump to this post

Thanks @gravity3. I hope it's working for you. It looks like I may have to find a functional medicine provider if my PCP decides not to help. My endocrinologists are against it.

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