Too Young to Feel This Old
Monday, February 25, 2008
By: Carla H.

How BHRT made me enjoy life again

In 1996, I was diagnosed with a large fibroid tumor in my uterus. It turned out the tumor was very large. Since I was already 39 and had both my daughters, I opted for a "partial" hysterectomy. My surgeon assured me that if my ovaries were still "healthy" he would leave them intact. In 2005 I began having terrible pains in the same area of my stomach, and an ultrasound showed that both my ovaries were covered with fibroids. This time I opted to "clean house", removing ovaries and ovarian tubes in hopes of ending these troubles. Now my doctor informed me I was in full blown menopause as a result of the surgery. I was put on a patch along with Premarin pills. That medication made me so very ill. My joints became stiff and painful and I was swelling....face, legs, ankles, fingers, etc. I thought I was losing my mind. The night sweats were horrifying. Sleep was almost non-existent and I got to the point that I didn't care if I lived through another day. Enter my wonderful Internist, who I turned to when my gynecological surgeon felt I was overreacting. She asked me to trust her and took me off all the synthetic medications. She began with a low dose of compounded bio-identical hormones and over the course of 6 months we finally got the right numbers. My sanity and sleep returned. I am enjoying life again and the night sweats are almost completely non-existent. These compounded drugs are lifesavers and perhaps if any of the men who run the companies had to go through menopause they would understand.