HRT Safety

Is this a screening or done due to symptoms?

I have never had symptoms from my osteoporosis. In 2019, at age 62, I began high dose prednisone for my autoimmune condition. I asked my PCP for a dexa as I had read this was recommended when starting prednisone. That is how I discovered my osteoporosis with a spine t score of -2.8 5 and 1/2 years ago.

@dooshie Thank you for sharing your information. I also have a .25 Estradiol patch and 100 mg of micronized progesterone. It is encouraging to hear that your cardiologist suggested BHRT. I'm not aware ofhear medical doctors recommending this where I live in Canada. It's also interesting that your hormone levels were tested. My naturopath said she could test me if I wished but that this wasn't necessary. She said she would not be increasing my level of estrogen which was somewhat surprising. Did your functional medicine doctor recommend testosterone cream? My naturopath also dismissed testosterone when I asked about it. I am aware of others who have a higher level Estradiol patch but .25 isn't unusual from other posts I've seen. Did you have good results from the Tymlos?

Hi Debbie…my cardiologist was very progressive and highly educated in the use of BHRT. When he initially ran my bloods and all my cardiac screenings, he said I needed hormone replacement therapy. He was very confident that I would benefit from adding that to what I was already doing (D3, calcium, magnesium, K2 (for my bones). I am on a 0.25 mg Estradiol patch, 125mg capsule of progesterone and 0.5 mg of testosterone creme daily. I’m also pretty active (pickleball, weights, cardio). Of course my rheumatologist was livid that I was taking a break from the traditional meds, after Tymlos and said the hormones would do no good…and she may be right, (I hope not), but I had to give it a try. I went off Tymlos in July of last year with a 15% gain in my spine and 5.5% gain in my hip after 2 years. If I could have continued the Tymlos therapy I would have…very few side effects. My integrative doc took over my cardiologist’s hormone patients after he unexpectedly passed a few months ago but she is also educated in hormone therapy and continues to prescribe what I need.
This journey comes with so much conflicting information but I try to stay educated and pray the choices I’m making will benefit me physically and mentally. 🌹Rose

@nme1985 Thanks for sharing your experience. Your numbers look great to me. Your story is encouraging around the benefits of HRT. Yes, I think you made a good decision in not taking Prolia. It sounds like a scary high risk medication and who would want to be on it for life at your younger age! It sure wouldn't be my drug of choice if I ever need to take an OP medication!

Hello,
How long have you been taking HRT? Do you take DHEA as well? Any other supplements. 60 yr old postmeno with osteoporosis trying to treat naturally

Has anyone tried bio-identical transdermal estrogen/progesterone therapy and started it at over 70 years old? (Or even started the patch after age 70) I feel like the lack of hormones are wreaking havoc on my body-sleep, mood, energy, vaginal dryness and atrophy etc but I have had limited trials of low dose bio-identical in the past 5 years and have had side effects such as bloating, water retention, PMS-like symptoms and cramping. I’m 71 and wondering after all this time not having estrogen and progesterone in my body (blood tests showed almost none) that my body no longer knows what to do about these hormones! I read the best time to start HRT is right after menopause. I really never had the need to consider HRT until the past 5 years. Thankfully, my daily walks, having been a strong and physically active woman all my life and supplements have kept me from osteoporosis but I am in osteopenia with 2 vertebrae now showing osteoporosis due to arthritis and I cannot even consider osteoporosis drugs because I am extremely sensitive to drug side effects.

@kshea2 I'm so sorry to hear about your fall and fracture. I hope you are not suffering a lot of pain. This is a stark reminder of how fragile and vulnerable we are often without knowing. Your REMS Echolight scores are interesting. The difference in your spine T score compared to DEXA is similar to my initial Echolite spine score compared to DEXA. Mine was .5 lower than the dexa and yours .6. My femur neck T score however was the same as the dexa score at -2.6. My second Echolite 10-months later showed my femur neck at -2.3. When I was initially diagnosed with osteoporosis in 2019 with spine T score -2.8, I took calcium and vitamin D for the next 4 years but still rapidly lost bone to a level of -3.5. However I was taking high dose prednisone during 2019/20 for a year for an autoimmune condition. I began many other supplements and diet changes, including increased calcium from food sources, increased protein, K2 Collagen...suggested by Keith McCormick in December of 2023. I find the nutritional and supplement counseling another benefit of the N.A. Menopause Society naturopath. I provided her records of all my DEXAS, Echolight, CBC lab tests, including urine calcium, CTX, vitamin D etc. My blood tests were mostly fine, including vitamin D, calcium and urine calcium. My CTX was at 670 which the naturopath and osteoporosis doctors surprisingly said was okay (Lab test shows 100 to 1000 is acceptable) However Keith McCormick says this number is too high and should ideally be below 400. So it will be interesting to see the result of my follow-up CTX next week. I have heard that HRT can reduce the rate of bone turnover (confirmed also on chat GPT). I consulted with an internal medicine doctor specializing in osteoporosis in May of 2024. She recommended Evenity. I said I would like to hold off to see if I could stop the progression of bone loss first and consulted with the naturopath in July of 2024.

Started HRT at 74 yrs. I had a partial hysterectomy when I was 44. I have osteopenia, coronary heart disease, and managed vulva and vaginal atrophy.
This is my regime:
Transdermal Estradiol .05, patch, 2x a week (Cardiologist approved)
Estradiol Vaginal Cream 0.01% 2-3 times a week
Testosterone 4mg, DHEA 25 mg cream, used daily on vulva and clitoris and systemically on thighs.
2x a week I use an over-the-counter product, vaginal hyaluronic acid RepaGyn.
I take 2.5 mg of tadalafil (Cialis) daily to maintain the overall health of my heart, brain, bones, and blood flow to the vulva and clitoris.