Interesting report, worth reading........

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17330378/

Thanks alot for that article. I am currently doing well on combipatch after 6 months of horrific early meno symptoms. I am feeling great but sometimes feel as though I am trading these years for other future years. I know living the way I was was not "living" but I am to some extent scared on HRT. Anyone else feel this way?

Springsjean,

Since you are scared on HRT have you thought about switching your combipatch to an estradiol only patch plus progesterone? I have read that the progestin (contained in the combipatch) is less healthy than natural progesterone. Maybe switching to a human hormone may help put your mind to ease.

I was reading the other day in the “Hormonally Vulnerable Women” by Geoffrey Redmond (starting on page 350) that in the Women’s Health Initiative study, those women taking progestin were more likely to develop breast cancer and heart attacks compared to the estrogen (premarin) only group. Page 361-362 states “Even though the headlines were about estrogen, the study showed that most of the risks reported, except stroke, were not due to estrogen but to the synthetic form of progesterone that was taken with it…”

I do not know of any studies comparing progestins to progesterone but I prefer to take my chances with the real human progesterone rather than a drug that mimics progesterone. Many of the books that I have support using progesterone over progestins but I know that many doctors seem to take the easy way out and give prescriptions for progestins.

I just did a quick Google search for combi patch and I found an article that says that the CombiPatch is the first patch to deliver both estrogen and PROGESTERONE, but then goes on to say that the “progesterone" is norethindrone acetetate. Norethindrone Acetetate is not progesterone it is a synthetic progestin. The article could not even get it right; I think many doctors do not have a clue that there is a difference between progesterone and progestins.

I know it would be hard to switch since you are feeling well on the combipatch….

Kathy