Hormone Replacement Therapy for Post Menopausal Women

[ursidae]

A female relative of mine aged 50 has reached menopause (more than a year since last menstruation). Ultrasound of the ovaries has revealed depletion of ovarian follicles. She's already ordered Progestene as per my recommendation. Gynaecologist only thought it necessary to test Estradiol and FSH, results:

She was on estrogen based birth control for two years which she weaned off of, following my advice, so I suspect due to that there's still enough left in her system to exceed the upper limit of the post menopausal range.

Although the estradiol level is adequate, FSH is quite high (as far as I understand negative feedback from estrogen inhibits secretion)
Been reading through a myriad of studies identifying high FSH as a risk factor for cognitive decline, obesity, osteoporosis... you name it

She saw a slightly more capable gynaecologist today who recommended testing morning glucose, insulin, TSH and prescribed a medication containing 1 mg estradiol and 5 mg dydrogesterone.

As far as I know haidut's progestene is as good as it gets and I've heard nothing but bad things about synthetic progestenes. This is also worrying.


Any menopausal women here successfully implementing HRT using Peat principles? Please share your experience

 

[ecstatichamster]

my wife is post menopausal and she's been using progesterone for probably 15 years. It's been fantastic and she's in great health. I would never never never recommend estradiol or anything except bio-identical progesterone. Dr. Peat's Progest-E is what we now use.

I'd also consider body temperature and thyroid supplementation, T4 and T3.

 

[ursidae]

my wife is post menopausal and she's been using progesterone for probably 15 years. It's been fantastic and she's in great health. I would never never never recommend estradiol or anything except bio-identical progesterone. Dr. Peat's Progest-E is what we now use.

I'd also consider body temperature and thyroid supplementation, T4 and T3.

what dosage and frequency of progesterone?

 

[ecstatichamster]

what dosage and frequency of progesterone?

around 4 - 6 drops on breasts and belly button area every night. I try to remind her to give it a break for 5 days or so every month but often forget.

 

[youngsinatra]

Each month from the time of puberty to menopause, a woman's ovaries are stimulated by a hormone made in the brain called follicular stimulating hormone (FSH). FSH causes ovarian follicles to enlarge and produce estrogen.

Over time, fewer and fewer follicles remain to be stimulated and thus estrogen levels decline as a woman ages. This decline in estrogen leads to an increase in FSH as there is not enough estrogen being produced to "turn off" the brain's production of FSH.

FSH is sometimes used as a measure of whether a woman is peri or postmenopausal. An FSH level of > 30 IU/L is consistent with the perimenopause, although FSH levels of 70-90 IU/L are not uncommon for postmenopausal women. Many gynecologists base their decision about whether someone is peri or postmenopausal on the woman's menstrual history and the presence of common menopausal symptoms. The FSH test is not considered diagnostic for the menopause. Sometimes women in the early stages of the menopause transition can actually have high estrogen levels because that month the follicles she has remaining in her ovaries were able to responded to the high levels of FSH and produce more estrogen. Thus, the menopause can be characterized by very high and very low levels of estrogen.

Progesterone has no ability to produce estrogen. DHEA has the ability to produce estrogen in the adrenals.

I know that vaginal DHEA is used sometimes for vaginal dryness in postmenopause. Oral DHEA supplementation has not resulted in significant changes in comparison to controls in the scientific reviews I‘ve read.

So if lowering FSH is your goal, it would be achieved by increasing estradiol exogenously.

 

[HannahB]

I'm 59. Entered menopause about 6 years ago. I believed at that time, I was extremely estrogen dominant. I started taking Progest e, initially to help with hot flashes because I was just learning about Peat. As time went on, I experimented with higher doses of it because I felt my symptoms weren't subsiding. I remained on quite high doses for 4 years (lines of Progest e on my finger and rubbed on my gums, twice daily). About 6 months ago I decided to experiment with Haidut's Pansterone. (dhea and pregnenolone). I believe it has been quite helpful. But of course, with everything Peat, each person needs to try experiment for themselves based on their body.

 

[Peatress]

A caller asked Dr. Peat about balancing hormones, including high LH and high FSH. She has tried progesterone but wasn't getting results from that so he suggested some dietary changes including increasing calcium, vitamin D and trying pregnenolone. Dhea was mentioned

Herb Doctors Aging and Energy Reversal start @ 20mins


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viIv1x2pRzQ&t=1255s

 

[mostlylurking]

A female relative of mine aged 50 has reached menopause (more than a year since last menstruation). Ultrasound of the ovaries has revealed depletion of ovarian follicles. She's already ordered Progestene as per my recommendation. Gynaecologist only thought it necessary to test Estradiol and FSH, results:

View attachment 53861

She was on estrogen based birth control for two years which she weaned off of, following my advice, so I suspect due to that there's still enough left in her system to exceed the upper limit of the post menopausal range.

Although the estradiol level is adequate, FSH is quite high (as far as I understand negative feedback from estrogen inhibits secretion)
Been reading through a myriad of studies identifying high FSH as a risk factor for cognitive decline, obesity, osteoporosis... you name it

She saw a slightly more capable gynaecologist today who recommended testing morning glucose, insulin, TSH and prescribed a medication containing 1 mg estradiol and 5 mg dydrogesterone.

As far as I know haidut's progestene is as good as it gets and I've heard nothing but bad things about synthetic progestenes. This is also worrying.


Any menopausal women here successfully implementing HRT using Peat principles? Please share your experience

I'm 73 and post menopausal. I researched this issue via Ray Peat's articles and interviews. Women (and men) continue to have estrogen, it causes inflammation. Your relative needs progesterone, not estrogen. DHEA is tricky because if you take a little too much it will turn into estrogen. It is safer/easier to take pregnenolone and the body will convert it to DHEA more safely. Taking pregnenolone normalized my DHEA, proven via medical testing; my doctor was amazed.

I take around 2 pea sized blats of progesterone daily; which equals around 40-50mgs/day (I think). I use a Progest-E like product that I make myself by mixing pure progesterone powder into high quality vitamin E oil. I'm sure that Progest-E would work fine too but I like the pump dispenser that the vitamin E comes in better. I rub one blat on my gums and insert one blat mixed with an equal amount of coconut oil vaginally. I also take pregnenolone daily (around 1/32 teas.). I've been doing this for about 8 years. It has resolved vaginal pain.

If you want to understand all this, take the time to listen to these three interviews of Ray Peat:

• Politics & Science: Progesterone Part 1
• Politics & Science: Progesterone Part 2
• Politics & Science: Progesterone Part 3

also:

Progesterone Pregnenolone & DHEA - Three Youth-Associated Hormones

Ray Peat

raypeat.com

and

Blocking Tissue Destruction

Ray Peat

raypeat.com

 

[ursidae]

Thank you all so much. I'll be making use of these resources @mostlylurking, the relative in question is my mother. She's been taking progestene and reports calmness and effortlessly falling asleep. She was struggling with insomnia and being high strung previously. She probably has been needing this for years now. I'll let her experiment to find the best dosage. I was already considering pregnenolone so will look into that too

 

[mostlylurking]

Thank you all so much. I'll be making use of these resources @mostlylurking, the relative in question is my mother. She's been taking progestene and reports calmness and effortlessly falling asleep. She was struggling with insomnia and being high strung previously. She probably has been needing this for years now. I'll let her experiment to find the best dosage. I was already considering pregnenolone so will look into that too

If your mother is reporting calmness and easy sleep then she may be taking enough for her. It's really a trial and error thing. I needed more to achieve those same results.

 

[Kray]

A caller asked Dr. Peat about balancing hormones, including high LH and high FSH. She has tried progesterone but wasn't getting results from that so he suggested some dietary changes including increasing calcium, vitamin D and trying pregnenolone. Dhea was mentioned

Herb Doctors Aging and Energy Reversal start @ 20mins


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viIv1x2pRzQ&t=1255s

Thanks for the link- do you have a time marker where caller comes in?

 

[Kray]

A female relative of mine aged 50 has reached menopause (more than a year since last menstruation). Ultrasound of the ovaries has revealed depletion of ovarian follicles. She's already ordered Progestene as per my recommendation. Gynaecologist only thought it necessary to test Estradiol and FSH, results:

View attachment 53861

She was on estrogen based birth control for two years which she weaned off of, following my advice, so I suspect due to that there's still enough left in her system to exceed the upper limit of the post menopausal range.

Although the estradiol level is adequate, FSH is quite high (as far as I understand negative feedback from estrogen inhibits secretion)
Been reading through a myriad of studies identifying high FSH as a risk factor for cognitive decline, obesity, osteoporosis... you name it

She saw a slightly more capable gynaecologist today who recommended testing morning glucose, insulin, TSH and prescribed a medication containing 1 mg estradiol and 5 mg dydrogesterone.

As far as I know haidut's progestene is as good as it gets and I've heard nothing but bad things about synthetic progestenes. This is also worrying.


Any menopausal women here successfully implementing HRT using Peat principles? Please share your experience

Thanks for this post. Being in this period of life, I always find these discussions helpful as there isn't as much out there to address us and our needs.

 

[Peatress]

Thanks for the link- do you have a time marker where caller comes in?

20mins

 

[Kray]

20mins

Thank you

 

[frannybananny]

Each month from the time of puberty to menopause, a woman's ovaries are stimulated by a hormone made in the brain called follicular stimulating hormone (FSH). FSH causes ovarian follicles to enlarge and produce estrogen.

Over time, fewer and fewer follicles remain to be stimulated and thus estrogen levels decline as a woman ages. This decline in estrogen leads to an increase in FSH as there is not enough estrogen being produced to "turn off" the brain's production of FSH.

FSH is sometimes used as a measure of whether a woman is peri or postmenopausal. An FSH level of > 30 IU/L is consistent with the perimenopause, although FSH levels of 70-90 IU/L are not uncommon for postmenopausal women. Many gynecologists base their decision about whether someone is peri or postmenopausal on the woman's menstrual history and the presence of common menopausal symptoms. The FSH test is not considered diagnostic for the menopause. Sometimes women in the early stages of the menopause transition can actually have high estrogen levels because that month the follicles she has remaining in her ovaries were able to responded to the high levels of FSH and produce more estrogen. Thus, the menopause can be characterized by very high and very low levels of estrogen.

Progesterone has no ability to produce estrogen. DHEA has the ability to produce estrogen in the adrenals.

I know that vaginal DHEA is used sometimes for vaginal dryness in postmenopause. Oral DHEA supplementation has not resulted in significant changes in comparison to controls in the scientific reviews I‘ve read.

So if lowering FSH is your goal, it would be achieved by increasing estradiol exogenously.

A friend of mine who is a PA (Pysician's Assistant next to MD level) came up with this formula to rejuvenate vaginal tissues after menopause. It is used topically and contains DHEA. As you look at the list of ingredients you can see that she is into all things Peaty (except maybe lecitihin?) It is worth a try to alleviate menopausal symptoms and prevent atrophy of that area. REJUVENATE CREAM

 

[youngsinatra]

A friend of mine who is a PA (Pysician's Assistant next to MD level) came up with this formula to rejuvenate vaginal tissues after menopause. It is used topically and contains DHEA. As you look at the list of ingredients you can see that she is into all things Peaty (except maybe lecitihin?) It is worth a try to alleviate menopausal symptoms and prevent atrophy of that area. REJUVENATE CREAM

Very interesting formula.

 

[Ildikó]

I'm 59. Entered menopause about 6 years ago. I believed at that time, I was extremely estrogen dominant. I started taking Progest e, initially to help with hot flashes because I was just learning about Peat. As time went on, I experimented with higher doses of it because I felt my symptoms weren't subsiding. I remained on quite high doses for 4 years (lines of Progest e on my finger and rubbed on my gums, twice daily). About 6 months ago I decided to experiment with Haidut's Pansterone. (dhea and pregnenolone). I believe it has been quite helpful. But of course, with everything Peat, each person needs to try experiment for themselves based on their body.

Would you be so kind and share your experiment with Pansterone.
I am 60, had total hysterectomy with bilateral oophorectomy. Basicaly I have no sex hormones . I am taking 300 mg daily progesterone capsules to help with my insomnia, keeping a week off and just started taking around 10 mg DHEA per day in devided doses. My lab test showed my dhea lever at the lower end of the normal range.