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?

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

dinah1 | @dinah1 | Mar 16 11:17am
In reply to @hopefullibrarian "It blows my mind that so much of the medical community is stuck in 2002. You..." + (show)
@hopefullibrarian

It blows my mind that so much of the medical community is stuck in 2002. You must have been swimming against the tide by continuing HRTs after the highly publicized WHI study came out. I bet you're glad you did though.
It saddens me that a whole generation of post-menopausal women missed out on HRT benefits.
What was it like at the time? Did you have to fight to stay on the treatment, or was your doctor supportive?

I'm starting CombiPatch this weekend, and am glad to hear that it's been good for you. I've never had HRT treatment before. Because of the personal experiences of many of the members of this support group, I anticipated difficulty, and maybe even a battle to get a doctor to prescribe it. Fortunately, the gynecologist I went to was well up-to-date on treatment safety and efficacy. That was such a relief.

Jump to this post

First let me mention that I am a retired librarian. 😊. I started HRT prior to the big study, back when you were encouraged to take hormones, especially with early menopause. After the study, both my primary care and my gynecologist (both women) said that the results were not definitive and we probably would not know for sure during our lifetime. My gynecologist said she planned to stay on hormone replacement her whole life. In recent years, as I mentioned, a liver enzyme started creeping up and my triglycerides took a sudden climb and both doctors said it’s the hormones. I did some research (librarians can’t resist) and learned that oral delivery was likely the problem and I convinced my doctor to let me give transdermal a shot. I think she was so impressed with the rather dramatic improvement in both labs that she is unlikely to suggest I stop HRT. Also, the reduction in the likelihood of blood clots with transdermal helped influence her. One more thing, I did experience some very slight bleeding for a few days the first few months on CombiPatch. I went through the whole diagnostic procedure with pelvic ultrasound and uterine biopsy and all was normal and the bleeding stopped. It was just my body adjusting to the change in delivery methods. So don’t be discouraged if that happens to you. Good luck.

REPLY
1 reply
hopefullibrarian | @hopefullibrarian | Mar 16 2:52pm
In reply to @dinah1 "First let me mention that I am a retired librarian. 😊. I started HRT prior to..." + (show)
@dinah1

First let me mention that I am a retired librarian. 😊. I started HRT prior to the big study, back when you were encouraged to take hormones, especially with early menopause. After the study, both my primary care and my gynecologist (both women) said that the results were not definitive and we probably would not know for sure during our lifetime. My gynecologist said she planned to stay on hormone replacement her whole life. In recent years, as I mentioned, a liver enzyme started creeping up and my triglycerides took a sudden climb and both doctors said it’s the hormones. I did some research (librarians can’t resist) and learned that oral delivery was likely the problem and I convinced my doctor to let me give transdermal a shot. I think she was so impressed with the rather dramatic improvement in both labs that she is unlikely to suggest I stop HRT. Also, the reduction in the likelihood of blood clots with transdermal helped influence her. One more thing, I did experience some very slight bleeding for a few days the first few months on CombiPatch. I went through the whole diagnostic procedure with pelvic ultrasound and uterine biopsy and all was normal and the bleeding stopped. It was just my body adjusting to the change in delivery methods. So don’t be discouraged if that happens to you. Good luck.

Jump to this post

Thank you fellow librarian (@dinah1)
During that time, you must have been one of the lucky few who had not one, but two doctors still supporting use of HRTs.. The gynecologist who prescribed the patch for me, is very switched on, though not quite in support of use past the age 60--at least not yet. I'm hoping that by the time I reach that age, she'll be onboard with lifetime use.

REPLY
tsch | @tsch | May 31 9:17am
In reply to @bayhorse "Could someone please translate this study summary for me??" + (show)
@bayhorse

Could someone please translate this study summary for me??

Jump to this post

Whatever this says, its probably out of date from 2013.

REPLY
doglover1962 | @doglover1962 | Jun 1 8:07am

I too could benefit from transdermal hrt but none of my 3 practioners feel comfortable prescribing it for me since I carry the gene deficiency factor v leiden which puts me at risk for blood clots. I went through menopause late ( at age 60) and I'm 62 now. My main cause of osteoporosis is loss of estrogen. Currently taking Teriparatide injections (over 2 months now). Then comes a bisphosonate but don't wanna be on them too long. I haven't seen any studies with transdermal hrt with people like me that have factor five leiden but one study and can't understand all the medical terminology it includes. Until I can find a promising study, I will present it to my providers.

REPLY
babs10 | @babs10 | Jun 14 1:03pm

If interested:

The next OsteoBoston Program is on July 8th with Dr. Stephanie Osiecki and the topic is "Hormone Therapy for Osteoporosis."

If you want to be on their email list for programs, go here: https://osteoboston.org/

All of their videos are recorded and are available for rely on YouTube, too.

REPLY
View MoreView Less
Please sign in or register to post a reply.