Hormone replacement causing vasovagal symptoms?

Hi, @sondrachristo1. What a frightening experience. I’m glad to hear you’ve been following up with your doctors.

Menopause and hormone replacement therapy can have a wide range of effects on our bodies, and everyone experiences it a little bit differently. You might find some helpful information from the following active conversation on Connect:
Hormone Replacement starting at 75yrs old – https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/hormone-replacement-starting-at-75yrs-old/

Are you still waiting to hear back from your prescribing doctor?

@klp
Thanks for reaching out.
Just heard back from the doctor. I was told to stop all hormones immediately, which scares me a little as I don’t know what to expect.
The earliest I can be seen is this Monday, April 21st.
I’m so disappointed as HRT was my last hope. I’ve already taken 5 different osteoporosis drugs and had serious side effects from them all. I was hoping HRT, while maybe it won’t grow bone, I was hoping to at least stay stable.

@sondrachristo1, thinking of you today. Will you let us know how your doctor's appointment went?

@klp
Hi Kelly, what a disappointment today was.
It took an hour to get to the doctor’s office. My appointment was for 11:30 and I didn’t get to see the doctor until 12:15. I waited 45 minutes to see a doctor for 15 minutes and drive another hour home.
The doctor had no answers or suggestions. She said she had never heard of these reactions to HRT. She suggested I see my cardiologist and if he gives the ok, I can start HRT again.
The whole thing was ridiculous. I can’t understand why the doctor insisted I had to come into the office and be seen, when I could have easily been told the same thing over the phone!
I did reach out to my cardiologist and I’m waiting to hear if I should make an appointment for this issue.
At this point I’m ready to just give up on trying to find a solution to my osteoporosis.
I’ve tried 5 osteoporosis meds, I just can’t take them. I feel very lost.

@sondrachristo1
Hi Sondra, I am wondering what HRT your doctor put you on? I won't take the pills and only use the patch. I have to use the NON-Generic patch, as the generic brand is a thicker, spongy material and breaks me out in hives beneath it. The clear patch, I replace every Sunday morning, and as long as the doctors leave me alone, I have done fine for years. I say leave me alone, because I have left two doctors or PA's who are very young and raised in the genre, that HRT is BAD for us. I tried to get off, and over a 2-year period of trying to stop and getting hot flashes so bad that I couldn't sleep; get back on and then reduce the amount of the patch, then try to get off again, I WENT FROM 5'4" DOWN TO 5'2-1/4". It's hard enough to find "short" pants for 5'4". These youngsters today don't seem to understand that HRT when stopped also clouds clarity of mind, and definitely causes major bone loss. I went back on my 0.0375/m patch, once a week and have had absolutely no more bone loss in over 6 years now. The reduced amount of HRT gives me major relief from hot flashes, which I started at 28 years of age, following a complete hysterectomy. So I have been on HRT for many years, as I turned 75 in December. I told my new PA, not to even talk to me about getting off my patch, because I'm 75, and if I die from a heart attack, at least it will be quick. I'm not going through the misery I went through trying to get off the patch for 2 years, with 5 attempts. I literally threw blankets on and off all night and did not get hardly any sleep. Which do you think would be worse for us at this age --- no sleep or HRT??

@shiver
Hi Sharon, I was prescribed the .0375 estradiol patch, 200 mg progesterone and a vagifem insert.
I stopped all meds except the insert 9 days ago. Starting Sunday I will restart the patch and begin a 7 day cardiac monitor to see if I have anymore dizziness and palpitations.
After this I will decide next steps.
I spoke to the prescribing doctor today, he said it could be the progesterone causing the side effects , so I will use only the patch for a few weeks and then add back in the progesterone. If I have any symptoms, he will switch me to a progesterone IUD. This way the drug will not be systemic and may not cause any side effects.
We will see what happens over the next few weeks. Fingers crossed.
I never had menopause symptoms really, so HRT never came up. Although I know what the answer would have been if it did, the old it’s too dangerous routine.
I had to go to a new gynecologist to get the HRT, my original doctor was totally against it at my age, 65 and 15 years post menopause.
I’m hoping this helps me in my osteoporosis journey.

@sondrachristo1
Hi Sondra,
One other thing I wanted to touch base with you on that I went through at 64 years of age. I still do all my own yard work, and have a double lot, plus 4-5 flower gardens and a small veggie garden. All of a sudden I started with severe dizzy spells. So bad that I thought I was having a stroke. My Dad had a stroke and when got up from a nap and went to go outside he stepped off the high side of the steps and kept going sideways and couldn't walk straight at all. I was up on my second tier and bent over and when I went to straighten up the dizzy hit full force and I was doing that same sideways gait. Thankfully there was a 150 year old oak up there that I reached out to balance myself, or I would have had a 4-foot drop off. My BP was out of control and no one was paying attention. Sometimes I think long-time doctors get to comfortable with what was and not what is, so they don't look. I made an appointment to see a different doctor and on the first visit -- BINGO -- she nailed it. She asked me if I had been tested for my D-3. I thought she was crazy, since no one is outside more then I am. My BP was jumping from 180/100 to 280/180, and dizziness and palpitations were my 24-hour bedfellows all of a sudden.
My D-3 was "severely low," and she put me on 10,000 IU of D-3 a day. It took 18 months to elevate my D-3 to normal levels, but I can't stop taking it at that level. Our bodies change and don't absorb things the same as we age. All the sun I get does nothing. My BP went back down to 140/80 in 6 weeks, but I was still having lots of palpitations. She had me hooked up to monitor to watch the palpitations and when she got the results she had the front desk call me to make an appointment to come in to see her. She did another blood test prior to coming in, and when I got there she asked one question only. "How much water do you drink each day?" I felt like a kid caught with my hand in the cookie jar, because I don't drink enough water. My electrolytes were not balanced at all, because, again, as we age our body doesn't absorb things the same way. When I am outside working now, I have a very tall bottle of "Plus" Water with me and if I'm out for more then 3 hours I stop and get a 16-oz jug of Gatorade too. If I steer away from my follow through, the palpitations return. If I stick with it, they only appear if I get into caffeine. Everything for me is caffeine free, except dark chocolate, and I'm not giving that up for anything. I have two pieces every day after lunch. It used to be in the evening after dinner, but just that small amount of caffeine was keeping me awake at night. I moved it to lunch and voila -- Good for the gold!!
I use the patch with estrogen only, because progesterone causes hair growth all over my face, so I have never had to deal with that since in my 40's. I hope all goes well with you.

@shiver
Hi Sharon,
I appreciate you sharing your experiences with me. I think we can all learn a lot from each other.
I too am a gardener. I have large vegetable garden, I also grow many herbs and all my own flowers. I start everything from seed. I also keep chickens.
Between all that and caring for my grandchildren a few days a week, I’m pretty busy.
My BP is always in the 110/65 range every day. I’ve always kept a check on it myself a few times a week.
My vitamin D level was always in the 20’s so years ago I started taking 5,000 IU per day. That only got me to a level in the 30’s. So I added 400 mg of magnesium citrate a day and my level is now in the 50’s. That was the missing piece for me.
This dizziness and palpitations started 4 weeks after I began HRT therapy. I feel pretty confident that at least one of the meds is the cause. It’s going to be a wait and see kind of thing.
Take care!