I am inquiring about info on the consultation with dr erica.. has anyone has an interview with her and how did it go? Can she prescribe the hormones over the phone? Please someone help... pat

hi, Yes, i have had a consultation on the phone...it wasn't for me...but why dont' you give it a try ...many people have had better luck. Are you ok ? Moozie

dear moozie.. do you mind telling me WHY it was not for you... 100.. doesnt grow on trees and before i jump into something i would like to have some other peoples experiences first... word of mouth is the best advertisment.. thanks pat

I like her hormones but it really is not for me either. You get about 2 minutes and after that have to call back every month or so for $110. My insurance will not pay for that and not for the hormones either so I could not afford it. I don't think you get any depth to figure out YOUR issues. When there are problems it is very hard to get in touch with Dr. Schwartz. Weeks pass and you are clueless and can get no answers. It is unfortunate because I really like her. If I were you though I would do the free consult - what have you really got to lose and like I said, I like her hormone system. I

I have done the online consultation and i am waiting on the answer if they will work with me. i have had several e-mails from one of her staff telling me they had to wait till today to review my info. i am hoping that my doc and her can work together to help me. i am spending alot on my otc cream. it used to work but my symptoms were too severe and now i am trying her. i cnnot afford to talk to her but i am e-mailing constantly and i did get one call also telling me to wait till today because of the holidays. i hope my insurance will help but i am desperate to start on something. darling

I too called Dr. Erika's office for my free consult and had a heck of a time getting set up for someone to call me back. Finally one of the doctors did call me back, asked me a lot of questions and said that I probably had something going on - environmentally and hormonally. The environment I can't do anything about - I live in rural Nebraska and am surrounded by pesticides, herbicides, etc.... Then the doctor told me that I would have to make another appointment (pay the $$$) and they would tell me what to do to feel better. I never did call back because I felt like I was playing games. You might have better luck calling Pete at Bellevue Pharmacy - he can give you names of doctor's in your area that will work with him and he also has a doctor on staff that I think charges $50 (I hope that is right) to work with a patient for 6 months. Sorry to sound negative, that was just my experience. Others at Power-Surge have had really good luck with Dr. Erika.

I hope it works out for me too. they sent my rx out today. maybe i will get it this week. in 5 months or so i have to have a phone consultation to see how i am doing which will be 100.00. if i can get my doc to work with me and learn about this and find a coumpounding pharmacy i can get it all done in my own town. darling

I actually took the NHP box to my NP and she wrote me the prescription. I could not afford $100 to keep getting them from Dr. S. I did take to another compounding pharmacy in my area but I am not liking their version (the syringe is different, it smells perfumy, etc.) and actually called to have it transferred back. The area compounding pharmacy also called NHP and found out what they were charging and only knocked $5 off the monthly cost anyhow. I think different compounding pharmacies use different mixes, etc. and it may affect your absorption. My recommendation there is to keep getting from NHP if you like the formula. I also may have begun having symptoms from using the other despite it being the identical progesterone amounts, etc. In the end, I did not find Dr. Schwartz to be much help - I think perhaps she got overwhelmed with the free thing - because she would make recommendations I had already tried without success and/or was unavailable. they are, however, nice and helpful and I am happy to give her pharmacy my money. But with some hormones in your possession you can begin the fun game of hit or miss to see if you can find what you need!!

Gosh i hope if i go with another com pounding pharmacy that it is not changed if it works. i am stressing out on this. i want something that works and if they change it ---that defeats the purpose especially if it works. i will call the pharmacy again to make sure that if there formula works -----that i want the same at another pharmacy. this is soooo serious. i saw my doc today and he is going to talk to doc erika and learn about all this darling

the progesterone and/or estrogen (estradiol if from Dr. S) will be the same. However, the pharmacy has to put it into something to deliver it, whether it is a pill, cream, troche, etc. Whatever NHP is using is proprietary and when my local pharmacy called they would not provide any information. Moreover, my compounding pharmacy usually puts their hormones in a tube - not little syringes. That delivery system via a different base may (and I stress MAY) affect how you absorb the hormones, etc. Your doctor always has the option of sending your Rx to NHP so if her's works you can always get there.

Thanks Patsy i really am very thankful for your help. I am so stressed over all of this love darling:(

Hi All, I just wanted to let you know about my experience with Dr. Erika. I had a consultation back before it was free and paid $100.00. I didn't have to pay anything when I called back for adjustments and I talked that time to a Dr. Levada and that was fine. Since then I have asked several email questions and they have been answered, again at no charge. They send my hormones out each month at a charge of $75.00 for the Estrogen/progesterone and $40.00 for the Testosterone. My insurance did not pay anything for the consultation but it does pay 80% on the medicine which leaves it costing me about $23.00 per month. Hope this helps. Brenda

Yes bbrown this helps alot. thanku soooooooo much darling:D

Hi B, You said you are on testosterone. Can you tell me why they put you on that and has it helped? Thanks

Hi Ms. Squirrel. One of my biggest complaints was no sex drive at all....."0". I didn't even like for my husband to hug me. I read somewhere that it was like when you are 8 and boys have cooties!! That's how I felt. After I had used the natural estrogen/progesterone for a month it still hadn't helped with that situation. So, they started me on testosterone and I have used it several months now and it has helped a lot. My husband is much happier now!!

That's exactly how I have felt for years!!! My testosterone was high (in April) my estrogen low and progesterone very low. They put me on estrogen and progesterone, but my husband is still very neglected. Did you have any bad effects from the testosterone?

BBrown they are sending me 2 rx's and billed me 150.00 all at once . i thought i would be billed at 75.00 per month. I am trying to contact them to explain how they do things. I thought also that i would get one rx at a time. confused? darling:o

No, their "default" system is to send a two month supply at a time for $150. I, of course, forwarded that on to my insurance company, who refused to pay anything since it exceeded the maximum prescription amount (in my case a 30-day supply). Since then, I have had to specifically tell them I can only have a 30-day supply or the insurance will not pay. Generally, the insurance pays only $3 for the progesterone anyhow so sometimes it is not worth the effort of filling out the forms. NHP is very expensive because of the delivery system, which apparently all the insurance companies balk at paying.

Thanks Patsy for a quick answer because really i cannot afford this but i cannot afford not too take something stronger.OHHHHHHHHHH brotheerrrrrrr. well if this works then it will be worth it alllllllllll.:o:o:o:o:o love darling

Hi, Sorry to just get back with you . Yes, the first time I got my prescription filled they sent two months at once. They said because it would take that long to see how you adjusted to that prescription. But, I believe they listed it as a two month supply and billed separately. After that, they sent them once a month. My insurance pays 80% so I am lucky with that. I have had no bad effects with the testosterone. It started out at .25 three times a week. Later we increased it to .50 three times a week. The cost for that is $40.00 per month which is about 12 applicators. They said that I could use it ever day if necessary but I would have to get it refilled every two weeks because they can't send anymore than that for some reason. (Government regulations on testosterone I suppose). Anyway, I hope that helps.

hi bbrown, I loved your previous post - "boys have cooties" - I definitely can relate to that - I've been trying to get a prescription for test. but my dr won't write it! Do you feel it really works? I am still looking for another dr - I feel I'm too young to give up on sex! All my dr said to me was read a "romance novel" - funny if a man was to walk in and say he was having trouble, he'd be given something in a second

Hi Sue, Yes, I think the Test. really has helped. I just could not even stand for my husband to touch me which made me avoid him because I didn't want to go through that again. Then, we wouldn't talk because I would rather fight than be "touched" and on and on it went. I think the estradiol and progesterone helped my mood calm down and the test. made the rest much better. I will never be a very agressive person in the sex area but I never was. At least now I don't run and try to hide from him. Things are much better. Call Dr. Erika and they will prescribe it for you. Then you can see for yourself. If it doesn't help, cancel the prescription.