HRT Safety

Posted by debbie1956 @debbie1956, Jun 8, 2024

I wanted to share this Medscape article I received today about new study on HRT. I am considering HRT for my osteoporosis at age 67 and am so encouraged by this article: https://www.medscape.com/s/viewarticle/hormone-therapy-after-65-good-option-most-women-2024a10007b2?ecd=mkm_ret_240608_mscpmrk_obgyn_menopause_etid6577682&uac=36

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Osteoporosis & Bone Health Support Group.

@bluebonnet242

I’m happy for your success! Thank you for sharing your amazing results. Would you mind sharing which supplements McCormick suggested you take?

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I forgot to include omega 3s fish oil on my long list. They are an effective anti inflammatory and help manage my triglyceride levels.

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@mayblin

This is awesome @debbie1956! The reduction in CTX is phenomenal. This paper published long time ago showed that a greater than ~55% reduction of CTX after 6mo estradiol patch is correlated with a positive bmd response at 2 years:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10831925/
Your ALP changes over time is interesting and confirming the information that we knew. Mine almost doubled from pre-tretament of Forteo to 13mo with Forteo. Yours went the other way. As you suggested, the reduction in your ALP could be indicative of a downturn in bone formation which is best confirmed by bone-specific ALP. Curious, were your other liver enzymes such as ALT, AST and total bilirubin all within normal range during the period you had 'abnormal' high ALP?

Your results also confirm that transdermal estradiol patches, even at a low dose, could suppress CTX to this level. Well, at least for both of us 🙂 . When I first saw my CTX result, I was thinking that I might have a low baseline (which I did not have) to start with. Now I don't really need to second guess estrogen's power. Thanks Debbie.

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@mayblin, Thanks so much for this Pubmed study. The results of this give me encouragement that the .4 increase in my second Echolight T score after 10 months may be valid and not a fluke. I've been reviewing my ALT, AST, ALP total bilirubin and Gamma GT results, you asked about, back to January of 2020. The rise of my ALP appears to be independent of my raised ALT and AST. The ALT, AST and Gamma GT were out of range in January, 2020. The ALP began creeping up in September, 2020 and went out of range in December, 2020 until two weeks ago. My bilirubin was always at a good low level, never out of range. My high level Gamma GT correlated with the ALP and AST high levels. All these liver test results were down within range as of February 28, 2025. I'm not sure what the pattern of these results means. I would need further testing, such as a BALP, for definitive answers I imagine. I know I was rapidly losing bone between November, 2019 and November, 2023 with DEXA spine T score plummeting from -2.8 to -3.5. I was also on high dose Prednisone from February 2020 until September, 2020. Have your liver enzymes stayed within normal range? Thanks again Mayblin for all your input.

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@debbie1956

I forgot to include omega 3s fish oil on my long list. They are an effective anti inflammatory and help manage my triglyceride levels.

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Thanks so much!

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@debbie1956

@mayblin, Thanks so much for this Pubmed study. The results of this give me encouragement that the .4 increase in my second Echolight T score after 10 months may be valid and not a fluke. I've been reviewing my ALT, AST, ALP total bilirubin and Gamma GT results, you asked about, back to January of 2020. The rise of my ALP appears to be independent of my raised ALT and AST. The ALT, AST and Gamma GT were out of range in January, 2020. The ALP began creeping up in September, 2020 and went out of range in December, 2020 until two weeks ago. My bilirubin was always at a good low level, never out of range. My high level Gamma GT correlated with the ALP and AST high levels. All these liver test results were down within range as of February 28, 2025. I'm not sure what the pattern of these results means. I would need further testing, such as a BALP, for definitive answers I imagine. I know I was rapidly losing bone between November, 2019 and November, 2023 with DEXA spine T score plummeting from -2.8 to -3.5. I was also on high dose Prednisone from February 2020 until September, 2020. Have your liver enzymes stayed within normal range? Thanks again Mayblin for all your input.

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@debbie1956 Endo was explaining to me that total ALP comes from bone + liver/GI, roughly 50/50 but % varies among individuals. When total ALP goes up without other abnormalities in liver/GI functions, then the increase is most likely coming from bone (increased bone-specific ALP). Since my other liver enzymes didn't change when total ALP surged, the surges were expected as I was on Forteo at the time. So total ALP could be a surrogate marker for bone formation during anabolic therapy, provided liver/GI functions are normal. In your situation, CTX result said it all (that estrogen is doing its work). It's equally important that your current liver enzymes are all within normal ranges. Past elevation reflected a state of liver function during that time - many factors could cause an elevation including certain prescription drugs. I hope my last comment didn't inadvertently give rise to any unnecessary worries.

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