Hormone Replacement Therapy E4 Women

[Maria4/4]

Does anyone know what the current evidence is on using estriol vs estradiol cream. My doctor has prescribed an estriol/testosterone combo cream for me from the start. But in my search of studies for brain, bone, and cardiovascular health it seems they always use estradiol. I am trying to get some research done before I go back to see the doctor in about 2 weeks. Should I request a switch to estradiol? I would be grateful for any info

Hi Sandy,

I just found your post about estriol. I have the same doubts.

I am using a patch with 0,05mg of estradiol and I take 100mg of progesterone and I feel fine (all my menopausal symptoms have disappeared). With this dose I am able to have the Estradiol minimum levels required in the Bredesen protocol.

Recently I started seeing a functional medicine doctor and she prescribed 0,5mg estradiol (10 times more than I am taking) and also 2mg estriol. This would be a huge increase in my estrogen intake, so I didn't ordered it to the pharmacy and continued to use the estradiol patch. I am afraid to get cancer with so much estrogen.

I read this thread several times and discovered this usefull information:
E2 (estradiol) receptors in brain, not E3 (estriol)
E3 good for atrophic vaginitis and urinary issues

and also:
when older women with breast cancer were treated with estriol, 25% had increased growth of metastases.[15] Overall, his experiments led him to conclude that continuous estriol was not an effective therapy for breast cancer in women. Thus, the "safer" theory of estriol therapy over estradiol and estrone with regard to breast cancer prevention in postmenopausal women has not been established. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/571299_3

Honestly I'm confused. I don't know why my doctor prescribed this huge amount of estriol. I talked with some of my friends that are on HRT and they all take estriol + estradiol (it seems that the functional medicine doctors here are all prescribing this combination).

Were you able to find out more information about this theme?

Thanks a lot,
Maria 4/4

[kateg]

Should I as a 38 year old women take birth control pills then as preventative therapy?

[JML]

Should I as a 38 year old women take birth control pills then as preventative therapy?

Ideally you could have your hormone levels tested to confirm that you have adequate levels of the sex hormones now (assuming that you are pre-menopausal?).

Many women consider taking bioidentical hormones during and after menopause to avoid the steep declines that can affect cognition. It's good to consult a doctor who is well-versed in bioidentical hormone therapy.

[kateg]

Ok thanks! I’ll look into this at my next OBGYN appt.

Kate

[sarahb12]

My understanding is BC pills use a form that 1st has to be broken down. Some if the issues with HRT is suspected to be caused by the wrong forms being in the body too long. This can also be complicated by a COMT variant which can slow down the breakdown. That is why a lot of people go with bioidentical for hormone replacement.

[Kitkat]

An article in the New York Times (published July 10, 2023) reports on a Danish study finding an association between taking HRT and dementia. I note that the study does not address the APOE4 gene.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/10/well ... Position=2

https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj-2022-072770

Thoughts from anyone about this?

[Plumster]

I have read the posts that include DHEA here, but am still unsure how to handle my DHEA levels. It is currently 213. My functional ob/gyn doctor says it's too high. She wants it in the 100s. I read that low DHEA has been found with AD patients, and I know that Bredesen's book has DHEA even higher than mine. Any thoughts on whether I should follow my doctor's advice or push back and address the relation between DHEA and longevity or any other pro for a higher DHEA? Thanks for your thoughts!

[Chrisweides]

I am also very worried about this

https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj-2022-072770

And wondering if I should stop my HRT

But then, there are these

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 142747.htm
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36624497/

It drives me nuts, these contradicting and confusing findings. Also, they don’t differentiate between Apoe3/e4 and apoe4/e4

How is anyone supposed to know what to do.

[sandyt]

The first study you linked used progestin. That is a very different drug than progesterone or Prometrium, which is widely used today. progestin is known to have several horrible side effects.

[kellipsf]

Really appreciate all of this information! I have reduced consumption to once/month after this discover 18 months ago so might as well continue to make the effort to reduce. I am excited by the progress getting reported on AD and even more so about the potential for AI to speed up diagnostics and hopefully interventions/treatments. Crossed fingers for us both and again thank you for your optimistic info and support. Really emotionally helpful