Advice on using HRT please: What are the pros & cons?

@colt1234 I take bio-identical hormone replacement that was prescribed by an environmental medicine doctor. He also tested me to see how well my body breaks down estrogen and it's byproducts. He said that is where the trouble lies because if your body doesn't break it down, that can increase the cancer risk. There are supplements he prescribed that help in detoxing called Methyl Cpq from Orthomolecular. It aids in the methylation detox pathway. He also told me, bioidentical hormone replacement lowers the risk of colon cancer.

This is something to be discussed with your doctor, and doctors may have differing opinions too. Some people are genetically more prone to get cancer, and cancer can be related to estrogen even if a person never does hormone replacement therapy. My doctor said estrogen needs to be balanced against progesterone and some testosterone, and the estrogen is given at the lowest dose that doesn't produce hot flashes which is lower than it was when my body was producing it.

Bioidentical hormones are made by a compounding pharmacy by prescription. Pharmaceutic companies use the urine from pregnant horses to collect hormones for their products. Here is a link that explains:
https://www.avma.org/javma-news/2002-04-15/veterinary-equine-community-dispel-accusations-against-pregnant-mare-urine

Have you discussed this with your doctor?

Colt1234, I'd like to add my welcome to @jenniferhunter's. I moved your question about the pros and cons of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to this existing discussion:
- Advice on using HRT please: What are the pros & cons? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/advice-on-using-hrt-please/

I did this so you can see the previous posts and connect easily with other members talking about HRT.

Are you experiencing menopausal symptoms? Has HRT been recommended for you?

@ellie1937
Ellie, I see an environmental medicine ( functional medicine or integrative medicine) doctor for the bioidentical hormone replacement. He says it lowers the risk of all types of cancers and slows down the aging process. I have been searching for literature on this and there still seems to be a controversy about it. 2 of my doctors have told me it reduces cancer risks when taking bio identical hormone replacement, and they are doctors outside of conventional medicine. Progesterone has a protective effect, so it is used with estradiol. From what I have been told by my doctors, estrogen alone (without progesterone may increase cancer risks). The other factor is how well does the body break down the estrogen after it is used, because that can cause trouble if the compounds are not broken down and cleared from the body. There are some blood tests to test for breakdown products, and I had been prescribed a supplement to assist the body in doing this that had a lot of B vitamins in it.

I get the progesterone from a mainstream pharmacy that comes as a capsule in peanut oil. The estradiol is compounded by a compounding pharmacy. If you need to find a doctor who would do this, calling a compounding pharmacy may get you a list of doctors hopefully near you. It is mail order, so they could be anywhere. This is the pharmacy that does mine.

This can be very controversial and may not be well understood in the medical community. My doctors prescribe the lowest dose that prevents hot flashes which is a lot lower than hormone levels of a young woman in her twenties. I do know I have more aches and pains and fatigue if I am not in the hormones, and my memory isn't as good. Per my physician, the female brain has receptors for estrogen that help it function which is different from the male brain.

I wanted to jump in on this conversation about HRT. I am 77 years old and have been on HRT (Estradiol) for 27 years (post hysterectomy). When I started menopause I was living in Albuquerque, NM. , had a female gynecologist about my age. She strongly encouraged me to read the Women's Health Initiative Report of 2002. She said the study was deeply flawed and after reading it and using my somewhat limited knowledge of statistics I had to agree. Since then I have had two male GYN's who both agreed that taking HRT is a quality of life issue. They have both said that taking women off HRT in the early 2000's was a disservice to most women who had no contraindications to taking HRT. My current male GYN said that women who use HRT tend to have better collagen in their skin and are healthier. I do not have a family hx. of breast cancer and no other medical contraindications to using Estradiol. My bone density tests indicate normal bone density. Incidentally my mother died at age 71 from issues related to severe osteoporosis. I know of other women who have taken Fosamax and were unfortunate enough to be in the small group who developed necrosis of the jaw. I have also noticed that the RX meds to restore bone are extremely expensive. I currently pay $12 for a 90 day supply of Estradiol from Sam's Club. I also live on the Mexico border and HRT is available in Mexico without a prescription. Obviously HRT may not be for everyone but for many of us it is appropriate. I don't plan to ever discontinue unless absolutely medically contraindicated. Fran.

I am almost 80 years old, and I am a medical researcher (PhD) and an intersex woman, and still teach a wee bit at a large med school.
Being intersex means for me, my body never made adequate amounts of any sex hormone, and because of this, I take HRT for decades now. These days, all prescribed hormones are bioidentical, and I am still of the opinion that many family doctors have little knowledge about hormones. Men and women have the same hormone receptors, they just need to be stimulated to react to estrogen or testosterone. One does not need any specific medications to remove the metabolized hormones from the body, we have the liver doing this for us.
We all need a certain amount of hormones, including testosterone, to live well and have energy to do our day to day work. The best medical professional who can decide which amounts of hormones would be good for you are endocrinologists. No other medical professional, including myself, has as much knowledge about hormones and our endocrine system as the endocrinologists have. All they other medical professionals can give themselves any fancy name their education in med school was not really geared to the hormone needs of humans.
For me. HRT is a life saver, without it, I would be gone many years ago already! An endocrinologist can analyze your bodies needs and prescribe the right amount and composition of HRT to prevent any DVT or cancer.
Linde

i'm sorry. I'm wondering at what age you started your HRT? was it just estrogen or combo with progesterone? how long did u take it before you got cancer diagnosis? does cancer run in your family? thanks and i hope you are feeling better or have kicked the C out into remission by now.

I'm sorry about your C. I'm wondering at what age you started your HRT? was it just estrogen or combo with progesterone? how long did u take it before you got cancer diagnosis? does cancer run in your family? thanks and i hope you are feeling better or have kicked the C out into remission by now.

hi thanks for sharing! i'm wondering if you are also no progesterone? or just estradiol?

I had a total hysterectomy at age 56 so currently take just estradiol. Previous to the hysterectomy I was on progesterone and estradiol. Just an update: I am now almost 78 and going strong with HRT. There have been even more studies done on HRT that continue to indicate the huge disservice to women when millions went off of HRT in response to the WHI study. Fran

I am 80, have been on estrogen only since age 50 (hysterectomy age 38) and do not intend to stop ever. I use estradiol patch at lowest dose. I do not think there is harm from it and there are positive benefits.