I want to speak to women than can relate to what i am experiencing. I also would like those of you that has had good success with bio-dentical to write and encourage me. I just had my saliva testing done and my progesterone is way low.. It is 65 and should be about 100-300. My estroidal is normal range but low range. like, 1.5 and they like it around 2.00 for thereaputic range . Well i faxed my labs to mr huesman, that pharmist guy and he recommended low dose estrogen and 200 mg progestrone. The thing is i have always, always had heavy bleeding and drs cannotfind anything. I have been on the prgesterone cream before and it seemed to make me bleed worse. I have been on cream from another pharmist for 3 months and all i have down these last three months is spot during my periods even more and this period was on 17 days apart and it is very very heavy. How can dr petes thereapy benefit me more than just the cream. He really seems like he knows what he is talking about so i sent for the prescription today. Has anyone else had this problem with heavy bleeding and been helped by his products...help.................someone.................................ps i am only 43

Hi Pattypit,
You are young but it sound like you are in peri menopause. When things were winding down, my periods got closer together just like yours. When I had a period it was very heavy and clotty. About the time you recover it is time to start up again. I have been on bioidentical hormones for a couple years and it is hard to adjust them in peri because you are making some hormones in spurts and it throws everyting off again. I haven't had a period now since Sept. I thought this day would never come but eventually it did. I think Pete at Bellevue Pharmacy will be able to help you. He has lots of experience. I have finally found a doctor that will prescribe BHRT and she actually listens to me. I am using creams but I think the next time I have them refilled I will ask her to use Pete's pharmacy and try the sublinguals.

Hang in there. There is hope. I feel much better than I did a year ago. I know that it seems like it will never end but it will eventually.

Hi bbrowne,

I was wondering what were the symptoms that the bioidentical hormones
help you with? Did you have any side effects?

Thanks

ice dancer

Well, let me see......They helped with the bleeding and made it more normal or regular. They helped with hot flashes and night sweats. They helped with the pms symptoms. I felt much calmer and able to manage. When I got everything balanced on them I was able to start exercising again, eating better and all that helped to. But before, I just felt bad and didn't care. I guess I probably had some depression and lots of fatigue. Because I just didn't want to get up in the mornings or do anything that I should have wanted to do. I guess I just didn't have any joy in anything. It seems like I had sore breasts all the time. Anyway with some work and patience and time I do feel much better. There is a list of 35 peri symptoms somewhere on this site. Look at the home page down the left hand side and you might find it. I am 53 now. Probably from 46 on I gradually started feeling worse and worse. It was like I was out of control of my body and my mind. I never realized at the time that it was peri......I wasn't that old!! haha But now at 53 I am thinking that the worst part is over or at least I'm hoping it is. I have tried every natural remedy that I could find. Some worked and some didn't. The bioidenticals have worked better than anything else I have found.

Hope that helps and good luck.

BB

Dear bbrown,

Thank you for your reply. My biggest symptoms now are depression and lack
of energy. What I don't understand is how some members in my family have
no peri-menopausal symtoms at all and are on the go like a 20 year old and
many have had hysterectomies! (some in their 80s!)

I have spoken to Pete before, and will discuss a protocol for me. It is getting more
dificult to get out of bed. I know it is hormonal.

Thanks again for your post, it helps me feel more connected that someone else
has had similar problems.

Thanks

ice dancer

Hi Icedancer,

I think that the bioidenticals will help with depression and fatigue. During my worst time I didn't ever want to get out of bed (depression) and I have always gone for a 3 mile jog in the mornings but I just couldn't do it anymore which only made other symptoms like weight gain worse. I didn't have the energy or the motivation. Couple that with periods every 19 to 21 days and you are just zapped out. At that time I didn't have hot flashes or night sweats. They have just come on in the last year. Natural remedies helped in the beginning of peri and over the counter progesterone cream did too. I could just feel my skin soaking it in and immediately felt calmer than I have been in months. But it only helped for a while and then I guess I just needed stronger stuff.

I also had my thyroid checked and needed thyroid medication. This can also cause some of your symptoms. Read everything you can so that you will be able to make decisions about what you need without a doctor that gives you 5 minutes of his/her time deciding what is best for you.

I think Pete will be able to help you out. Good Luck

Hello Just read your post and I was very interested to hear you mention Pete Heuesman from Bellevue Pharmacy. I'm just starting out on bio-identicals too, and have talked to him. I found his articles on this site and he seems almost too good to be true. I have also sent in saliva tests and awaiting for the results. I haven't had a period in a few years and I'm considering taking the hormones in cycles...so I will HAVE a period again...a little nervous about that one. I'm having menopausal symptoms and have never taken any hormones at all. I would like to hear about your results when you begin taking them. I'm 57 and have read Susanne Somers book and also Eugene Shippen's book, The Testosterone Syndrome. If anyone has any suggestions please feel free to reply. Thanks!

Hi All!

Happy Martin Luther King Day!
I started on the bio identical hormones last Thursday and within a couple of days could feel the brain fog lifting. It was a thick fog (HA!) so was pleasantly surprised. Been in meno for 2 years now (hysterectomy 12/03, 47 yrs old now) and went thru all the things that come with it...memory loss, aches and pains, depression, no sex drive whatsoever. Never went on HRT because of all the negatives associated with the synthetic hormones. Never even knew about the bio identical hormones til finding power-surge. Wish more doctors were better informed of them and not so quick to issue the usual "Here's some Prozac and call me in the morning" rhetoric. Go back to Dr. Warner (here at power-surge) in one month for check up to see how the bio identicals are working. He's great, this web site is great!!! It's so nice to "talk" to others in the same hormonal boat!!

Dear Meg; Thanks for the information so fast. I didn't know about these types of hormones either until I read the books I mentioned in my post and then on to this wesite. You mentioned Dr. Warner, is he a doctor on this site? I still have not found a doctor who is receptive to this approach...I'm in Florida,but have a cabin in western North Carolina and spend the summers there. Thanks!

Pete Hueseman, R.Ph, PD, has been Power Surge's pharmaceutical consultant for nine years. I've worked with him closely over the years. He's greatly admired not only because of his knowledge, but because of the time he takes and compassion he shows women going through the rigors of menopause and mostly because of his integrity and honesty. I've had many, many doctors as guests in Power Surge, but I can say without reservation that Pete is more knowledgeable about menopause than most of them. He's been compounding bioidentical hormones for many years -- unlike many of those sites popping up on the Internet with people selling bioidentical hormones (because it's the rage now). He also owns and works from a *real* pharmacy - Bellevue Pharmacy Solutions. He was previously with College Pharmacy.

I can't tell you how many pharmacists have written to Power Surge asking Pete if they can teach them HOW to compound natural hormones. I'd rather work with an expert in the field than a novice.

You can also read Pete's last transcript here. At the bottom of each transcript you'll find links to his other transcripts.

Power Surge has never endorsed the use of synthetic hormones -- even long before the abruptly halted Women's Health Initiative Study (WHI) which proved everything that I've said about synthetic hormones for years. I've spoken about natural, plant-derived, bioidentical hormones for many years even when they weren't popular.

These boards, as supportive as they are, are only a small part of a large Web site with information on numerous options for treating menopausal symptoms.

If you want to know more about bioidentical hormones, I suggest reading the articles,

• Natural Bioidentical Hormones,
  and
  
• Your Hormones.

Also, read the many other articles in the Educate Your Body Library.

I'd also suggest reviewing the Recommendations Page for a list of options for treating menopause.

As for Dr. Warner, I've been familiar with him for years. However, he's been one of Power Surge's "Ask The Experts" for 3-4 years. I was first impressed while reading an article about Premarin.

"Dr. Warner, an obstetrician and gynecologist, formerly the director of the Menopause Institute of Northern California wrote: 'The prescribing of oral Premarin by physicians for estrogen deficiency has evolved over the years as an automatic ‘Pavlovian’ response without any thought to giving individual treatment. Premarin is not a ‘natural’ substance in human consumption, nor is it the best choice of treatment despite its wide usage. The notion that a substance derived from horses is ‘natural’ to the human female is a tribute to 50 years of successful advertising.' "

Truer words were never uttered. I like a doctor who takes a stand against the mega-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry.

You can Dr. Warner questions at Ask OB-GYN, Phillip Warner. M.D.

And, anyone can ask Pete Hueseman anything about menopause and bioidentical hormones (or any prescription or OTC medication) at Ask The Pharmacists.

Best,
Dearest

When I used him a couple of years ago, even though I do consider him very knowledgeable (which I can't spell), he was a little heavy-handed in the recommendations. I ended up using about half of what he suggested and it worked very well.

I really believe in starting as low as possible. You can always move up little by little until it helps.

Hi Jean - Yes, as Dearest just said, Dr. Warner is available through this web site. He is in Northern California (like me) so I was fortunate to meet with him personally a couple of weeks ago and was thoroughly impressed by him. For those not geographically close enough to see him he will do consultations by phone. His number is listed here at Power-Surge, just click on his name and it will take you to him. He truly listens! Thanks to Dearest and this unbelievably terrific Power-Surge web-site she has developed I do believe I'm on my way to feeling like me again!!!!

hello, i started this post and wanted to come back and check the posts. WEll, i have been on his therapy for about 1 week. I must say that i do feel better. I notice that i have not been spotting like about 10 days after my period. Of course i have only been on this about week, I have a question. I have always read that progesterone is a precursor for estrogen. That in dr lees book he says that if you dont have enough estrogen use progestrone. Well, i am 43 years old and my estrogen was low and pete started me on estrogen. I am really nervous about taking estrogen even though he has me on progesteron also. I know it is natural but what about dr lees book..

Of all of the doctors I've asked about progesterone converting to estrogen (I also asked Pete), they all say it is such a small amount as to be "insignificant."

[B][I][FONT=Arial][COLOR=blue][SIZE=7]
Where in Northern California is Dr. Warner located? I live in N. Calif. too and am very interested in the possibility of being able to see him. Thanks in advance for the info.

[B][I][FONT=Arial][COLOR=blue][SIZE=7]
Where in Northern California is Dr. Warner located? I live in N. Calif. too and am very interested in the possibility of being able to see him. Thanks in advance for the info.

Vickie - Dr. Warner is in Marysville - (530) 749-8511...201 D Street, Suite K., across the street from Mervyn's, next to Radio Shack (giving you exact location simply because I went around the block a few times before seeing his office) I hope you are able to see him, in one months time he (and bio identical hormones) have improved my health, mentally and physically, unbelievably! He is one of those doc's who actually listens, he "gets it", he understands what we are going through at this phase of our life. Almost tempted to drag hubby along to one of my appt's!!! Lol!!! Wishing you only the best, Vickie!!!

Hi all,

I'm a new patient of Bellevue Pharmacy and have consulted with both Paul and Pete Hueseman. I've just started on BHRT and have had to tweak the dose a bit, but am hopeful it will work. Something has to! I'm 50 and haven't had a period since July 04 and experiencing hot flashes, bloating, fatigue, cranky--general yuckiness. I work full-time and have a 10-year old daughter, so I need my energy! While on my journey to find some answers, I came across Power Surge (thanks, Dearest for this site) and I also bought two books: The HRT Solution (which is great!) and A Woman's Guide to Natural Hormones--good, too. I keep both on my bedside table and constantly refer to them for reassurance. I brought them into my internist, along with my prescription from Pete and told my dr. all about what I had learned. She was open to approving the Rx. Both Bellevue and the authors of A Woman's Guide to Natural Hormones will give you a listing of drs in your area that prescribe BHRT.