Does anyone use oral bi-est capsules? It seems as though bio in capsule form has fallen out of favor. I used them initially and have since gone on to other delivery systems but I really think that was the best method for me.

No, I've never heard of the capsules but I did take the sublinguals and the creams. Biest didn't work for me though, it wasn't until I started taking just estradiol that I began to feel better.

What symptoms are you having that make you believe your current delivery system isn't working for you? The longer we go into this journey the less estrogen our body is making so maybe you need something stronger? Have you had your levels checked recently to determine what you are getting?

Hi I'm a long term user of hormones vs. using them for menopause symptoms. Went thru menopause many years ago. What I found when I initially used bi-est in capsule form was a sense of well being, calm, peaceful, happy vs my usual aggravated self. That is alot of what I use as a marker. That and body image, clearer mind, more sexual energy, sleep thru the night and vaginal atrophy.

I will be getting blood tests for my estrone and estradiol levels next week. My last test for estradiol was in June and showed it to be 93 which is the high end of normal I think. The test didn't say what is normal for a post menopausal woman on hormones.

I have had a 3 year problem with first break thru bleeding. I was using progesterone continuously, I now cycle and had been having heavy bleeding for about 4 days every month using troches. I wasn't happy with troches at all. I think the problem is going resolved with the sublinguals. Also I am now using DIM Plus daily which I think is making a very big difference with the bleeding. I have fibroids that I think are the whole heaving bleeding problems from the years of cont. progesterone. DIM is supposed to be proven to help with that and I really think it has made a difference.

I can see that the sublinguals go into your body quickly and also exit quickly but are effective. I had to divide my dose into 3 doses vs. 2 times a day to keep it in my body longer. This is bi-est sub. I'll talk to my doctor after I get the blood test results back about just using estradiol.

Do you find that it goes too quickly thru your system? You said you switch from bi-est to estradiol. Was that the reason?

Yes, I use oral bi-est caps. I eat them for breakfast! Truly, they are the breakfast of champions!


Since I am on continuous BHRT, my caps also have progesterone in them. I also use a cream with E, T, & P in it for part of the month. I rarely have any meno symptoms now. I used to have almost all of them, including horrible migraine headaches.

I like both caps & cream. With oral ingestion, hormones are presented to the liver in a much more direct, concentrated way, this would explain why you probably felt better.

Shebee

That's interesting Shebee. I've always heard passing thru the liver first as a negative thing. My latest doctor doesn't believe in oral unfortunately because of the work on the liver and also because the estrogen stays in your body longer vs sublingual where it is in and out quickly. I don't know what to do, whether to go back to my old doctor or continue with my current one. Both have their pluses and minuses.

I think the key with using oral Estrogen is to make sure your Progest. is adequate. I would never take reg. hrt. We know that 90% of oral estrogen is not absorbed and only 10% of oral estrogen is bio-available.

However, the ingested E is not wasted or passed out of the body. It just turns into other forms. Estrone is the"storage" for of E and this can be converted back to estrone as needed. Perhaps this is why that you might get more relief from oral E? Your E. level is probably more stabe. This might be why you felt better on the oral form?


Transdermal estrogens enter the bloodstream directly, bypassing the liver. It does eventually find it way to the liver, but it is distributed to all the body tissues before going to the there. Using a cream has it advantages because you can always add a bit extra if you need it. It does look like the cream for is safer.

By using both oral and cream, I think that I get the best of both worlds.
Shebee

My doctor is also against extrogen creams except used vaginally. She thinks the creams build up in the body and after awhile your body starts to need more and more, it has something to do with the estrogen receptors. I use estriol vaginally from time to time just to stabilize the estrogen. But I do think the estriol used vaginally is what is feeding the fibroids.

i don't know, I know how wonderful you can feel on hormones but it's been a few years since I've been happy with them.

I have found that with the cream, after using it for several months, I am doing less. It could be that it has built up and now I don't need so much to stay feeling good. ???

Also, usually progesterone is used as a fibroid treatment. I remember reading that Fibroids are estrogen dependent benign tumors that need estrogen to grow, so I think that you are on to something. Lack of estrogen causes them to atrophy. (Fibroids always shrink at menopause when estrogen levels are low.)

Bio-identical Progesterone is the most successful way of shrinking fibroids.

Are you using progesterone to balance out the Estriol? I also have read that synthetic Progesterone caused fibroid to grow, but the bio progest. does the opposite.

Just curious...and what dose are you on?

Shebee

I use 100 mg of progesterone for the first 10 days of the month. My gut feeling is maybe I need to go back to my original doctor. You seem to be getting good results. Are you in menopause? How long have you been on bios?

Because of my break thru bleeding when I was on continuous progesterone and oral bi-est, my original doctor did two uterine? biopsies. I am one of those woman who went thru hell with the biopsies. I never had children, many year post menopausal so I have a very narrow opening thru the cervix? I think that is what the doctor told me. We experimented with the doses of both hormones for a few months. Upping the progesterone to 200 mg. stopped the bleeding and the second biopsy showed the results to be normal. But 200 mg. of progesterone made me feel like a zombie. He wanted me to go thru another biopsy and I switched doctor and have been getting yearly trans vaginal ultrasounds instead. The ultrasound showed that i have fibroids. Something you wouldn't pick up with the biopsy.

My new doctor (I've been with this doctor for about 2 years now, I've been on bios for about 6 years) isn't sure whether my problem in addition to the fibroids is too much or too little progesterone. And I am using DIM which I think is making a difference in reducing the fibroids.