I was having terrible sick headaches each month so my doctor put me on a low dose of Prempro . I am 54, still have my period. I looked for someone to give me bioidenticals- so far no luck.
Anyway, I was taking the prempro for 26 days, it was day 13 of my cycle, when I began to bleed. Its been 3 days, still bleeding. It is medium, no headahces. Is this my new cycle or is this just all wrong? I am going in tomorrow to see him.
Ellen

It is a rare doctor who refuses to give prescription type bio-identicals. Now, most won't give naturally compounded hormones, but they don't usually have any problem with things like Vivelle, Estrogel, Climara, lots of them.

I always mention that because many women think you have to go through a compounding pharmacy to get bio-identicals, but there are also prescription bio-identicals.

As for the bleeding, it may just be a period of adjustment.

If it were me, I'd just say No to Prempro. We all know how that drug fared in the clinical trials.

Hi, My name is Roxy. I was given a perscription for prempro last Tuesday. I'm 47. Since getting them I have educated myself in other opitons. I am very intereste in bioidentical hormones and I have found a coumpounding pharmacy. I hope to go see this pharmacist. My biggest problems are hot/day flashes and mood swings. I feel like my joyful, carefree packed up their bags and moved out and I feel like gump HELP

I just read about another recent study on Prempro/Premarin. This one found that women who used Prempro or any horse urine-based hormone product had an increased rate of incontinence.

The doctor reporting this speculated that the horses release a toxin through their urine, and women are ingesting this with Prempro and Premarin.

If you can't get compounding pharmacy bio-identicals, why not just take a prescription bio-identical, if you must use something at all? At least get off of the horse urine, for goodness sakes!!

Premarin/Prempro just makes absolutely no sense to me. I would not trust a doctor who would prescribe it, personally.

I don't think we can make a blanket statement like that. If something helps you, even short-term, then use it.
I am 54 and am not prepared to have sick headaches every month. It happens that I do not drive because of my eyesight and I can't go an hour or 2 to see a doctor who will put me on bio-identicals. My former gynecologist did nothing- told me I had many fibroids and suggested a hysterectomy. When I told her about the headaches she dismissed them, saying that many women get hormone headaches. This present doctor says my finoirds are common, nothing to worry about. Go figure.
I agree that nothing should be taken for years, and I plan to seek other options too. But we must think of our quality of life now. Most doctors are still working 'by the book'. And too, there is the school of thought that says- a hormone is a hormone-and they all have consequences. There is no free lunch.
Ellen

I AGREE completely that if something helps and you really need it, use it. My point was that regular prescription estradiol (not the bio-identically compounded stuff that's so popular since Suzanne Somers) should do the same thing without the additional horse hormones. No woman on the face of the earth is deficient in horse hormones.

I'm not arguing what you or anyone else should take; I'm arguing the point of doctors prescribing horse hormones when human hormones are readily available by prescription. Even synthetic human hormones, for that matter.

As for hormonal headaches, I am the Queen of Hormonal Headaches. I used to get them sometimes for days or weeks. Bad ones. Migraine-types. But with Estrogel (bio-identical, but regular old prescription) I get them very infrequently now. There was a time I thought of suicide, actually.

My gynecologist is a dope, too. She told me to take soy for hormonal headaches. I use soy, but it won't do a thing against a migraine. My internist thinks the gyn is incompetent.

Anyway, you have my utmost sympathy and empathy on those god-awful, miserable headaches. Life really isn't worth living if you have to live like that. Hope you are feeling better.

Ellen,

Your doctor should also be giving you some form of progesterone because unopposed (excess) estrogen can cause problems. Most women will be deficient in progesterone first before they are deficient in estrogen.

Emma

Hi Aimee-- Thanks for your reply. You make some good points, I will ask my doctor about switching to the estradiol on my next appt. I agree with you, and if I could I would be on it now. Doctors as a group are slow to change and at times have knee jerk reactions. I think that 20 years frm now, horse urine will be obsolete asa treatment. I know, soy and black cohosh did nothing for the headaches, although they did cut the hot flashes a bit. Thanks, Ellen

Hi Emma, Prempro has progesterone in is as well as estrogen. I tried using an OTC progesterone cream and it did not stop the headaches either. I have been at this for over a year, tried almost everything, got my hopes up and then was disappointed. I wish the medical establishment would do more for us!
Ellen

One more thing, Ellen, since we both get the awful headaches, I thought I'd mention that I also use Prometrium (bio-identical, but prescription) for 10 days with the Estrogel. When I began using it (I was on Vivelle Dot for estrogen then) the headaches stopped for several months! But they came back--it was like once my body fixed that deficiency (progesterone) it went back to an estrogen deficiency, or something, who knows?

I'm one of those who thinks hormonal "balance" is near impossible.

Take care.

P.S. I have been going over 10 whole days (LOL) before each headache with my new schedule of hormones, and when I get them they are less bad (crossing fingers). Believe it or not, that's a record for me!

Hi,

I'm kind of confused how to do this so please bear with me. I hope someone will see this and reply. I'm almost 51, having terrible problems with menopause and asked my doctor if I could take Prempro even with the risks. I started menopause last April. I'm 5'5" and only weigh 87-90 lbs. I'm very small boned and I hurt myself exercising a year and a half ago so everything hurts when I try to do things. Two years ago I weighed 106 and was always in pretty good shape before menopause, ate good, exercised regularly and felt good. Now I have night sweats, also I'm afraid I'm going to break a bone because I can't do the weight bearing exercises now and I lost a lot of muscle weight. I still eat good but I get very weak easily now because I can't exercise to gain muscle. I'm also much more emotional these days.

I'm sensitive to a lot of herbal things so I get nervous to take those. That's why I asked the doctor about a hormone pill. It's the lowest dose of Prempro and I wanted to get all the feedback I could, good and bad before I take it. I know everyone is different and what's good for one person might not work for me. I know a couple people who have taken premarin and it worked really well for them. I don't know anyone who's had Prempro. If anyone has taken it and can tell me how it was for them, I'd appreciate it so much like for bones, emotional state, night sweats, etc. On the information sheet it mentions headaches, hair loss, intestinal problems, bloating, blood clots, those things don't sound good. I hope someone can help me. Thank you so much.

Love,

Barb

Hi, Barb!

I'm so sorry to hear how badly you feel. I hope you can find some answers and illumination here.

You say that you've "started" menopause. Have your periods stopped?

I know some women who say Prempro was a life-saver and some who claimed it helped them not a whit. I tried it and got terrible abdominal cramps. I decided that with the side effects I just didn't want to chance it any longer.

What has worked miracles for me is drinking the Revival soy shakes every day. I sorta scoffed at the idea that these might work but they have worked wonders for me. They got rid of my night sweats, mood swings, and foggy brain. I've been sleeping better and I feel more energetic than I have in years. I've been drinking them for about six months now and they've really turned my life around.

If you need to put on weight a daily soy shake is your ticket. They contain a lot of good protein.

Since I've been hit by peri I've been sleeping more too. I now sleep about 12 hours a night and I really need that sleep. Even the nights when I wake up and have restless moments, I make sure that I carve out enough time in the day to get that all-important sleep. It makes a huge difference.

You mentioned bone concerns. Have you had a bone scan? If you haven't I'd strongly advise it. Some doctors, like Elizabeth Vliet, advise menopausal women to take hormones to maintain their bone density and that might be an important thing for you to talk to your doctor about, especially since you're so small.

Good luck and I hope you're feeling better!

Foggy

Hi Foggy,

Thanks so much for writing. Last April I started menopause, it had been a whole year without periods. I will give the Revival Soy drinks a try and see if they help. I wanted to try a hormone pill so bad because I knew of people that were helped by premarin. But when you read all the side effects on the sheet that comes with the Prempro, it's scary.

The people that you know that the Prempro was a life saver for, do you know exactly what it helped? I haven't had a bone scan yet, have been kind of weak to get anywhere these days. I really need some quality of life soon. I feel like I went from the best I had felt to the worst I could imagine. I'd take my periods and menstrual cramps anyday over this.

How long were you on Prempro? I hope you continue to do well and thanks so much for writing me. I was so excited to see your note since I'm new to this and need feedback so bad. Please take care and if you have anymore info, let me know.

Best wishes,

Barb

Hi Barb,
I am now taking the lowest dose of Prempro. I feel better while on it even though I am still having the bleeding problems. I went off it for about a month and there was no change so I guess its my pattern for awhile. But I do feel better, headaches are much less and I can sleep! Best of luck to you.

Hi Ellen,

Thanks so much for writing. You said you still have your periods and the Prempro was mostly for headaches. I do feel for you because I've always had a problem with migraines and my doctor said the Prempro might help. I'm in menopause and still haven't started the Prempro, I got it a couple weeks ago. I'm so thin and small boned and get hot flashes and emotional that I needed quality of life too right now. I practically begged the doctor to put me on it despite the risks if it can help. Then I was reading the information about hair loss, blood clots, etc. and got nervous. How long have you been on it?

I wanted to hopefully hear that it did help people and I want to try it. I also have the lowest dose. I've been having so many problems that I was hardly getting out at all and I have family and friends that need me and that I want to see. I'm divorced and have no children and the divorce happened right when I started to stop my periods. I was doing so well until I hurt myself exercising and started menopause.

I'm so new to this sight and hope to find other people who have taken Prempro or are on it so I get more comfortable trying it. But everyone is different and I realize that. I also have trouble sleeping. I want to see too if it helps bones and joints so I would feel stronger I hope.

Please take care, best of luck to you too and I hope you continue to feel better.

Sincerely,

Barb

Hi, Barb!

I was only on Prempro for about 2 weeks. I got abdominal pain and it may have been due to other things like my period, which is always very painful, or the ibuprofen I took, since ibuprofen and I don't get along. But I stopped taking the Prempro out of fear that it might be the culprit.

For the short period I was on it I did feel better and I was sleeping much better than I had in a long time. But understand I'm only at the beginning of the periods-gone-crazy phase. I'm still a few years from menopause I suspect.

A friend who is into menopause took it and said it didn't help her hot flashes as much as she would have liked. After about a year she stopped taking it. These days she gets about 5-6 flashes a night and is generally miserable but soldiers on without any HRT.

If you're scared of trying the Prempro you might try experimenting with the dosage--taking a pill only every 3 days to see if it has any effect. That's what my doctor suggested.

You should also explore this site a bit more because there are many HRT alternatives to Prempro that some of the ladies take and find benefit in. Other prescription drugs like FemHRT that supplement estrogen but not in horse-estrogen form.

My doctor said "There are so many products out there I can't even begin to keep up with them all, so if you read about something you're interested in trying, just tell me." And I think that's the approach you need to take. Read a lot. Talk to other women. See what other women recommend. There are SO many different solutions.

One of the most important things I've learned from this site is that every woman is VERY different in both the way she goes through menopause and the solutions that will make her feel better. It is extraordinary how different we all are. What helps one women through this difficult phase is not necessary going to help the next woman. We all need to find our own best solution.

The Revival has helped me tremendously and it may just be because it gives me a good daily shot of protein and I was never good at eating lots of protein.

But then I'm in the early stages of monthly-periods-gone-wild. I think it will be a few years before I get to menopause and my hormones go completely bonkers.

I can't recommend enough that you get a bone scan. You need to keep yourself strong and healthy for the years ahead.

I hope you find some relief soon. Don't give up! All this will pass. If you need any kind words or support just reach out. We're all here listening and willing to help.

if a woman is still in perimenopause and having periods,can it be harmful to begin continuous HRT and eliminate the monthly cycle?

That is one of the million dollar questions Moonlight. There are many studies pro and con. My doctors have offered that as an option for me, a perimeno woman. I know women from this board who take the combination so they don't have to bother with a period. I chose not to as I don't do well with progesterone. Oh, one more thing, BCP is that same combo and that is frequently recommended to peri women.

Hope that helps.

BCP's ARE the same combo,but you have a monthly bleed.couldn't a person take a week off of hrt and do the same each month?

Yes, you could do exactly the same thing I suppose. I personally have not asked my doctor about that one

I know there are forms of HRT that are designed to get a monthly bleed.I guess my question is what brands are there other than premphase?

Remember, please, that some of us are very allergic to plant based estrogens and progesterones. Climara and I do not get along, and my kidneys cannot handle prometrium AT ALL. Soy messed up my thyroid.

That said,prempro has worked for two years for me, but I have to take a slew of other stuff too or it CAUSES nightsweats. Now it isn't working, and I am trying to learn if the dose needs adjusting, or what is going on. Good luck to all!

I'm sure that's true, but I think it is always best to try something identical to what the human body produces as a first choice, unless you already know you are allergic (since most people do eat plants, but do not drink horse urine, for example).

I hope that didn't sound sarcastic, because it is not meant to be, and I'm just giving my opinion.

I hope you get the Prempro worked out.

Well, it did sound sarcastic, but I know what you meant and did not take it that way. Having lived where both the horse urine and the soybeans are produced, and educated myself what goes into "bio-identicals", and knowing most people do not consume massive amounts of yams or do to plants what gets done chemically to formulate estrogen, I tend to view all hrt as the devil we must sometimes contend with. My first choice was lifestyle changes--when that wasn't enough, I did bcp. When that wasn't enough, I tried herbs and supplements which did nothing but mess with my thyroid. Then I did try bio-identicals--and I am one of those rare women who are allergic to them. Since chronic unrelenting sleeplessness was just not an option, I happily accepted animal based treatment (it really is NOT more "synthetic", just less the form our bodies make.) It is working well for me again, since I lowered the dose. I plan to continue weaning down, and hopefully, someday, off.

If I have any advice for anyone, it is this: don't assume your hrt (whatever the form you and your dr have chosen) needs a HIGHER dose if you still have symptoms. You might, but then again you might need a LOWER dose.

I'm using climara (estradoil) patch, .050 mgs. Works great but took a month to get rid of the hot flashes. I was told that the patch, will be less of a chance of blood clots and strokes because it is directly absorbed and does not go thru the liver. I have not had any depression/anxiety or weight gain yet. I had a partial hysterectomy 26 yrs ago, so don't have to use progestrone. So far so good!

Irene