I help women in menopause make their own HRT decision in about 2 hours through The Menopause Solution digital course (follow the link on this page).
I also help hormone optimization practitioners teach their patients about hormones, saving time and emphasizing the long-term health benefits of optimal hormone levels.
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- ABOUT - A licensed compounding pharmacist for over 25 years, Steve Goldring, The Hormone Pharmacist has earned an Advanced Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (ABHRT) Certification from Worldlink Medical, a C4 Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) Certification from Professional Compounding Centers of America (PCCA), and a Brain Health Coach Certification from Amen Clinics. Healthcare providers all over the US, Canada, and the UK educate their patients through Simple Hormones patient education programs.
Thank you so much for this informative video. I'm 47, in perimenopause. I have sometimes experienced PMDD. I've had extremely severe insomnia every night since I was about 2 years old. According to 23&Me genetic testing, I have 9 SNPs that cause low GABA. Natural progesterone cream gave me horrific side effects, including suicidal depression, massive weight gain, severe hair loss, diarrhea, etc etc etc. I am clearly suffering from low hormones, due to perimenopause, but I'm scared to even try any form of HRT, because I reacted so badly to progesterone in the past. I don't know what to do.
@Aurla-R2-D2 Thanks for watching. It does sound like you might be one of those women with some type of progesterone intolerance. The key, in my informed opinion, is to find a hormone optimization specialist who understands the subtleties of hormones and knows what to do when things don't go as expected. Here's a link to request a referral - https:simplehormones.com/referral
Thank you from over here in Tucson. If you know of providers here or Phoenix would very much like to know. All the best and all the rest. A wonderful share with extraordinary disclaimers!! A great example of what so many others should be doing......
@charlybirdful - Fill out my Patient Referral Request Form here to find a hormone specialist: simplehormones.com/referral If you leave a referral request on RU-vid or email it to me, it's extremely likely I'll drop the ball or it will fall through the cracks. Thanks!
This medication gave me a fungal infection. I can’t get it to go away. About to do another round of three Diflucan, which each time, kills off my micro biome. Really unhappy.
@theresamitchell9577 Good to know. I haven't talked with anyone who has used this actual product. The inactive ingredients certainly might be causing some issues with the vaginal microbiome. There are other options that are equally effective.
I seem to experience the total opposite side effect when taking 100mg oral progesterone. Instead of helping me sleep, it keeps me awake. I sleep horribly, 5 hours max. I lowered the dose to 50mg and it helped tremendously but I'm scared that's not enough to prevent uterine cancer. I am also wearing 0.075mg estradiol patch and using a low dose testosterone cream; neither seem to affect my sleep negatively, just the progesterone at a dose of 100mg. Do you have any advice ? Any research that 50mg progesterone can prevent uterine cancer?
Aren't statins known for helping to stabilize plaques and reduce risks of calcium breakoffs? Also, how do you find a doctor that will check apo b and do more comprehensive testing to examine inflammation markers?
@Kimmer Statins are known to stabilize plaques and possibly reduce the chance of a clot forming. One way to find a doctor who understands ApoB and hormone optimization is here . . . simplehormones.com/referral
I turned 64 in May of this year. I just got prescribed HRT this morning. I did my homework and I approached my doctor about it. She listens to me and agreed to work with me on this matter. Menopause was very easy for me. I felt good the first four years of being post menopausal. Then over the past 7 years my symptoms have gotten progressively worse. I now have osteopenia. I’m very active and about to embark on a new life path teaching yoga. I want to feel like myself again. It’s been way too long.
I had endometriosis after 37 and my hormones dropped significantly at 43. So, my lovely GP put me on progesterone first, no estrogen. Even from just taking progesterone my night sweats were gone, sleep quality is the best now, no irritability and depression anymore. And I don't have an uterus. Why do they keep saying that only estrogen is important in menopause? I have fantastic improvement of my symptoms just from taking progesterone. Hope I knew this after my 30, maybe fibroids and adenomyosis wouldn't develop and I didn't have to take my uterus out. I was always complaining about symptoms to my gyno such as breast tenderness since I was like 27, irritability, spotting, etc.
Yup, just looking for this… started HRT 7 days ago with estradiol transdermal gel 0.5, and I am bleeding, almost from the start. I only have to start the progesterone on day 11-21 though…
@bobmason1499 You're welcome. Happy to share my experience. As I say in the video - a CAC isn't the whole picture but it is a helpful, relatively inexpensive, and painless way to learn more about your heart risk.
@CapWalks1 Good idea. My experience is it's a bit tricky to balance low carb and low saturated fat. But I'm trying. My wife isn't too happy about it but it's good for her too.
I have just turned 50, and my symptoms are bad sleep, low libido, irritability, brain fog, dry eyes, while still having periods ( less flow and shorter) . I have just started 0.5 estradiol transdermal gel 7 days ago, and I am bleeding since day 2. Does this mean I do not need estradiol yet, or is this normal? Not getting too much help from the prescribing doctor, so will see another doctor next week.
@agnesjuhasz7715 Here's a video that explains a bit more about bleeding after menopause. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_J2wWHx7Bcg.html
10 years ago, I had a multi-month phase of ectopics/tachycardia/fainting fits. I got various diagnoses, including menopause, SVT, malignant arrhythmia, and “just plain crazy, get an antidepressant.” (The medical profession is not kind to women with perceived heart troubles-they advertise that women have silent or anomalous HA symptoms, but if you go into the ER the symptom questionnaire is the men’s list. Then they treat you like you’re stupid for showing up.) In any case, it WASN’T menopause either-still waiting for the bus on that one-so be aware that there are a raft of other conditions, including POTS and post-viral syndrome, that also bring on palpitations and are badly understood.
I am one of those unfortunate ladies who experienced daily acid reflux/gerd shortly after I started HRT, that put me in the ER. I want to take micronized progesterone as I have other health issues, but I cant live with this gerd. Unfortunately, I also have intense meno symptoms.
Micronized progesterone 100mg First 8 weeks it really amped up my anxiety bad ! Then I felt I started sleeping better ! But still anxious ! Ugh How do I know for sure if I am intolerant ? Test progesterone blood level ???? Don’t want to stop something that could help. I don’t have a uterus They told me it would help with anxiety and sleep …but …😢
I just moved to Prescott, AZ, and I don't know a soul, including any primary care physician or hormone optimisation specialist. Any guidance you can give will be greatly appreciated.
Is there any advantage to using Medroxyprogesterone as opposed to a bio-identical version of progesterone for particular uses? For example, endometriosis or endometrial hyperplasia? My wife just got prescribed it for hyperplasia, but if the bio-identical version could serve the same purpose, she'd rather go with that. Also, regarding the doses. The prescribed Medroxyprogesterone dose is 5-10mg, whereas I believe the typical dose for the bioidentical version is 100-200mg. Does this have something to do with the Medroxyprogesterone being more potent?
Hi early hysterectomy because of heavy periods. No ovaries. Osteoporosis. Gluten free and soya free. Soaking wet hot flushes. Night sweats. Weight gain. Mood swings. Electric cooling fans on everywhere. Asked doctor many times to help. Be 70 years old next year. Is there anything that could help please. Desperate. Thank you
OMG! Doctor, you are a GENIUS about Progesterone! But how can you raise it NATURALLY WITH PERHAPS FOODS when later in Life! I need to sleep at least 1 hour at night... Would appreciate a Natural Food and Diet advice. As HRT is definitely a dangerous route, so many women I knew personally who got cancer as a result and some died (especially the wealthier whom I knew over the 60 years, it makes me cry but stay away from it.
@annamartino5681 Increasing progesterone without taking it is an idea . . . But there really are no foods that increase your progesterone, at least not enough that it would truly make a difference. My teaching is based on the fact that the scientific research shows that optimizing your hormones doesn't increase the risk of cancer. That's exactly why my wife has been taking HRT for over 20 years. Thanks for watching though.
No matter how much I exercised or ate healthy including low carbs I was getting 2-3 blockages every 2-3 yrs and I am now at 12 stents,But 6 yrs ago I started taking 8000 fus on empty stomach twice a day and 200 mcg of MK7-K2 twice a day with 5000 IU D3 with food and have not had a blockage in 6 yrs and feel great at 61 yrs old.
Eating a low carbohydrate diet is not good if you mean eating fewer COMPLEX carbohydrates. Eliminate, to the extent possible, all SIMPLE carbohydrates. Consume COMPLEX carbohydrates (these usually contain a lot of fiber).
@tranquilityseeker581 That's true. The best approach to surgical menopause is to have ALL your hormones optimized, including estradiol, progesterone, testosterone . . . as well as insulin, thyroid, DHEA, cortisol, and others. That's how you can 1) reduce or eliminate your symptoms and 2) protect yourself from long-term health risks like osteoporosis, heart disease, Alzheimer's, and type 2 diabetes.
I have taken 400 mg of Progesterone for a couple of years. Before the 400 mg prescription I was taking 100, then increased to 200mg. It is very important to get the right dose. With the smaller doses my symptoms were not getting better. Insomnia, hot flashes, cloudy thinking, bloating, anxiety, depression, I was just miserable. I can't sleep or relax without the 400 mg. Recently my husband took a bad fall, he had a flight for life helicopter flight to a stage one trauma center an hour and half from our home. I just jumped in my car and took off to the hospital without packing my progesterone. During the first two nights that he was in the trauma ICU I stayed in a nearby hotel, I never slept 5 minutes. The first night I thought it was the worry and concern over his situation, after the second night it dawned on me I didn't have my progesterone. The third night I got my progesterone and I got some sleep. I will never leave home without it again.
In the WHI, Provera was used in the estrogen+progestin group as the progestin, where the breast cancer risk was shown to be elevated. Is this considered a true risk in 2024? Unfortunately this is what I am prescribed with an estrogen gel. I am scared to start it. Even though I specifically asked for micronised progesterone, I got the Provera prescription.
@mementomori6585 It's ALWAYS possible to go through menopause without any intervention. The key I want women to recognize is that, whether you take hormones in menopause or decide not to . . . there are risks EITHER WAY! If you start menopause feeling pretty healthy and you have a pretty good diet, that's an excellent place to be. But menopause itself is extremely likely, based on the scientific evidence, to start degrading that health in multiple ways. Here's a video that goes into more detail about that. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-upJCXMFX_mw.html
@tammycarlockrealtor5324 - I do know some hormone specialists all over the US, Canada, and even in the UK. Fill out my Patient Referral Request Form here to find a hormone specialist: simplehormones.com/referral
I'm in this case as well ? But what I Wonder IS wether or not my "free" testostérone has been tested. You Can have low level of testostérone but high free testostérone because the hormone bonding hormone IS low and that IS due to insuline résistance.
Question?...I am now 65 and my dr wants to take me off Estradiol 2 mg..I had the full blown hysterectomy and saplings oophorectomy in 2000 and have been on HRT ever since. Is just suddenly stopping it a safe idea on their part? Will my hair and skin dry out without it and will it increase the risk of dementia 🧐😃 hoping in ernest for a quick reply as I am due to run out of tablets in a month...would patches be as effective as the HRT I am currently taking?
@sueo7834 Here's a video about HRT after 65 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rVzEhxIv7R8.html It's not a great plan to simply stop, just because you had a particular birthday.
@@SimpleHormones thank you so much for getting back to me, but your video didn’t really answer all my questions...re hair falling out and skin going dry and would there be an increased rick of dementia? I will save the video and go through it again with a fine tooth comb. Would it be better to reduce to 1 mg a day for a while first? 🥰
@@sueo7834 The specific symptoms you might experience when you stop HRT will vary from person to person, but those might be included. (Hair and skin issues are more commonly a result of low thyroid.) Having low estradiol for the rest of your life has been shown to increase your risk for dementia, but it's not an immediate issue. My suggestion is that you look for a provider who understands hormones and health risks and doesn't insist you stop them because they're afraid of them. I'd suggest you tactfully try and squeeze a couple more months out of your current doctor to give you time to find a new one. The fact that you've taken oral estradiol 2MG for 24 years is, in my opinion, a very good thing. That's been protecting your heart and bones and brain. If you were to go off it now, you'd probably start getting pretty severe symptoms in just a few days, most likely hot flashes, insomnia, mood swings, irritability, etc..
@@SimpleHormones wow 🤩 that was quick! Thank you again The NHS system has really gone downhill when it comes to seeing a doctor. However, I won’t bore you with that just now. You have given me plenty to go on though and I thank you again 🥰
Not sure what the relationship is between progesterone intolerance and histamine intolerance. But here’s an article by British menopause specialist Dr. Louise Newson about hormones and histamine intolerance. balance-menopause.com/uploads/2021/09/Histamine-Intolerance-1.pdf
Can prometrium cause or worsen insulin resistance in post-menopause? I started BHRT 2 months ago with the following regimen: 2.5 bi-est 80/20 every day with 200 prometrium 12 days per month. Since starting my glycemic control is a mess. A1C went up from 5.5 to 5.9 and fasting insulin went up from 8 to 20. I wear a Freestyle Libre to prevent diabetes and this is disheartening. Have not changed diet or exercise. Chose BHRT for night sweats and brain fog. Too much estrogen increasing cortisol? Any insights? I sleep soundly and have a very hard time waking up.
I would love to have a conversation with you. I’m an acupuncturist. Who provides allergy/sensitivity relief treatments. And have helped a lot of people who previously could not tolerate progesterone well. Feel free to contact me.
The days before I ovulate, about days 11-18, I feel an incredible amount of anxiety and insomnia. I have been told this is because my estrogen is rising too high at that time, causing a histamine release (insomnia) and anxiety. I also get heart palpitations at this time. This theory makes sense to me but I’m not sure that there is a solution (outside of birth control, which I have had issues with). I am now experimenting with various treatments, such as estradiol patches combined with micronized progesterone, but I just can’t seem to “fix” my symptoms during those 5-7 days. I usually just take antihistamines and that’s the only thing that helps. I am 42.
Symptoms vary widely between individuals and between different ethnic groups. The perimenopause period is 4-6 years (or more) before menopause. Menopause is the day that’s 1 year after your last menstrual period. After menopause some symptoms, like hot flashes, last 4-12 years, depending on your ethnicity. Other symptoms, like vaginal dryness, painful intimacy, and urinary incontinence, never go away and usually get worse over time.
I can't wait to try oral progesterone. The cream worked miracles for my heavy painful periods but doesn't seem to touch my anxiety, grumpiness and poor sleep.
I have been using progesterone cream for several months, and it has worked miracles in improving my heavy and painful periods! However, I had hoped it would work better at improving anxiety and sleep quality. I want to try oral progesterone, as well as continuing to use some cream... but my NHS Dr won't prescribe it. I'm going to try some over the counter oral progesterone oil. Fingers crossed it helps me!!
