didn't taper off the WP..now thinking twice about huge mistake

[Guest guest]

Hi Laurel and group,

Starting on the WP on March 11th 2011 was the beginning of all my troubles. I

continued on it until April 24th 2011, so what is that around 7 weeks. The

longer I was on them the sicker I got. Caren kept telling me to up the estradiol

to more lines and then divide them during the day instead of taking them twice a

day. I followed her instruction to the tee. nothing helped. By the time I

stopped, my b/p was so high, I thought I was going to have a stroke. my anxiety

got worse and worse and I couldn't sleep or be a functioning person in any sense

of the word.

When I stopped, and I mean cold turkey stop, a very smart gyno and one I

trusted, and who thought the WP was the craziest thing he ever saw, lowered my

doses to more reasonable amounts, but because my P and E was so high according

to saliva tests I had, no amount, reasonable or tiny continued to keep me in

misery. I couldn't take any hormones without it making me sicker, so I stopped

all of it again cold turkey. Now that I am in Adrenal fatigue and Thyroid

crisis, I don't know if it all came from the WP or stopping the massive amounts

of creams cold turkey. I never knew anything about tapering. I think Caren told

me I could just stop as did the NP in Florida who put me on the WP. Being I was

only on the Protocol for less than 2 months. did I do an injustice to myself by

just stopping? what do I do now, now that the damage has been done and my entire

endocrine system is damaged?

I am seeing an osteopath and waiting for numerous blood test results to come in.

I know I have a high Reverse T3, high evening and nightime cortisol levels

(causing terrible insomnia) causing so many symptoms I can function. I can't

sleep, I can't eat, my blood pressure has dropped to dangerous levels and had to

begin weaning off my beta blocker, have all day palpitaitons with a rapid

pounding heart, headaches, dizziness, lightheadedness,muscle aches, RLS,

achiness in legs at night, faint, weak, IBS, hot flushes, rage, brain fog, cold

hands and feet, hair loss, anxiety and depression and the list goes on and

on.....

I don't know what to do now. I don't know if the doctor will find the cause of

all this and what caused it. I have all the symptoms of AF, hypothyroid and

menopause. I read that high progesterone levels can cause high cortisol levels

and if the adrenals burn out from anxiety and stress, you get AF which can

affect thyroid and visa versa. it's a vicious cycle.

What can any of you suggest if you know?

I am scared now to put any prgesterone or estradiol in my body. I read that

older women don't need progesterone, only estrogen, but I also read you

shouldn't take unopposed estrogen. I am so confused and scared.

What did I do to myself? is there anything I can do to remedy this mess?

I am still waiting for anyone interested in pursuing the WP suit to contact me

with their story in a short paragraph, so I can send it off to my daughter.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings.....

Take care and be well,

xoxox

Nanci