[Caramel]

For the last year and a half I have been trying to raise my low hormones by using bio-identical hormones. My body does not absorb them very well in the cream or troche form. I absorb estradiol and testosterone better than progesterone. This has been part of my plan to help heal depression and anxiety. My dosages have been raised a few times without much improvement.

I am 57 years old, and haven't had a period for a year so I am officially in menopause. I don't want to use Premarin or Prempro. My doctor suggested I take a probiotic to help my body absorb better. It has helped my digestion, but my hormone levels haven't come up. Have any of you used Estrace, the Climara patch, Vivelle-Dot patch, or Prometrium natural progesterone?

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I could help my body absorb the hormones better?

Thanks for your help!
Caramel

[Perna]

I don't think one can get hormones the way our body produces them; I have to take thyroid hormone but that causes aches/pains and other problems because the oral hormones aren't used the way the body uses the ones it produces; no way to get hormones into the bloodstream and where they're "supposed" to go if they don't start in our body, manufactured by that body.

If it isn't helping your symptoms, I'd try other things besides estrogen? Hormones not our own (I'm not talking about whether they're bio-identical or not but whether they're produced by our body or not) can cause other, cascading problems. These things are not understood well yet by researchers/doctors. The female body naturally lowers estrogen after menopause for all women. I don't know how I'd mess with estrogen if I had to.

Here's a site that's helped me: http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=197

[Nupoet64]

I know that my body works best with more natural substances. Maybe a natural hormone cream?