Guest guest Posted September 30, 2007 Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 First of all, I don't believe most of the ladies on this list are menopausal.You can believe this doc or not - but if it was me I would probably insist (if she can't do it, I'd get it done by another doc) on PROPER hormonal testing (a full sex hormone panel) done on the several times of month that have been suggested by any number of physicians. What if, during the time when your estrogen is supposed to be rising, it isn't - and thats the source of your problems? You (or the doc) won't know that unless you are tested accurately. As it happens, I am menopausal, so I am not familiar with those times of the month (they are listed in our archives), but they are something like the luteal phase etc. etc. ONLY then can your doc say whether or not your systemic hormones fall within the normal range. Unfortunately for some of us, even with perfectly balanced hormones, we may still have estrogen receptor problems in the tissue of the vulva creating a pain syndrome. IYou can get yo ur blood tested without a docs script if you need to go that route, through such places as healthcheckusa (found on line). These labs are available in the DC/Balto. area, as I live in this area. There are also saliva testing resources, Canary Club being one and other sites on line (i.e. http://www.parkerhealthsolutions.com/hormone_f.aspThe hardest thing any of us has ever had to do concerning this disorder is to take charge of the illness and politely, but firmly demand the testing and remedies that have been known to help other sufferers. The doc works for us - we pay him/her for a service. S'no skin off his/her nose to order these blood tests - he/she isn't paying the tab - you or your insurance are. Gunn wrote: HI all, Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to vent. I'm just so frustrated with the way the whole medical system is set up. First of all, has anyone noticed that all doctors do these days is give referrals? It's like a family practicioner doesn't really have to know anything, just how to refer you to another specialist that does. OK first vent out of the way. Now for the whopper. I have pain during sex, and it's gotten a lot better during the last 2 years since I've been off BC. Tampons are uncomfortable too. Basically it's like there's a ring of muscle inside the vagina about an inch in that doesn't want to stretch open. However this pain all goes away around ovulation. So - I think it's hormone related. Now a lot of you ladies have had succes with Estrace and topical hormone creams. I have done physical therapy for a couple of sessions, and am due back for a couple more. I think that has helped everything overall. But I can't ignore the fact that I have O pain during sex around ovulation and pain at a level of a 3 for the week before an dafter my period. I am 30 years old and ovulating most of the time. I would like to try to get a prescription for Estrace and just use it a little bit ot to see if it helps. So I went to a Reproductive Endocrinologist, who happened to be working at a fertility clinic. She basically referred me to Goldstein, who charges $1200 for a visit and doesn't take insurance (I live in the DC area) and said she's not educated on dealing with this issue and she couldn't help me. What frustrates me is this: I posed the question about getting a prescription for estrace, and she said that if I add estrogen at the "bad" times of the month, then I would actually be doing my body harm since it wouldn't have the ups and downs and surges it needs to induce ovulation. In other words increasing estrogen overall will actually act like birth control by raising levels and keeping them at a more steady level throughout the month. Then it occured to me that most of the people on this list are either menopausal or not trying to have babies, which I am neither. She also disagreed with Dr. Vliet's philosophy regarding how much estrogen you should have at the beginning of the cycle. Dr. Vliet says no less than 80 for the first seven days of the cycle, she says it should never go above 60. I was tested in Feb. and had 32. So she says all my hormone levels are perfectly normal, and especially the Estrogen. So... I'm screwed if I leave it the way it is (pain during the first week and last week of the cycle) And I'm screwed if I add estrogen (I'll lose the amount of surge needed to ovulate.) I mentioned that I noticed that I don't ovulate if I eat sugar and she said the best thing for me is to do a sugar busters diet and exercise to help the insulin levels and that could possibly help the dyspeurunia. (sp?) I thought that was interesting. So anyway that's my vent. I'm wondering if there is anyone else trying to have babies that is also on Estrace and what it has done to them. OK so thats all. Sorry for the long post Catch up on fall's hot new shows on Yahoo! TV. Watch previews, get listings, and more! Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news, photos more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 30, 2007 Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 Hi, I am menopausal myself and one of the most frustrating things to me is that known of these doctors test your hormones, it is like they just look at you. I also live in the Baltimore Washington Area, I am curious what doctor you use. If you do not want to talk online, you can email me at mgoodman@.... Millie / Venting - long sorry First of all, I don't believe most of the ladies on this list are menopausal.You can believe this doc or not - but if it was me I would probably insist (if she can't do it, I'd get it done by another doc) on PROPER hormonal testing (a full sex hormone panel) done on the several times of month that have been suggested by any number of physicians. What if, during the time when your estrogen is supposed to be rising, it isn't - and thats the source of your problems? You (or the doc) won't know that unless you are tested accurately. As it happens, I am menopausal, so I am not familiar with those times of the month (they are listed in our archives), but they are something like the luteal phase etc. etc. ONLY then can your doc say whether or not your systemic hormones fall within the normal range. Unfortunately for some of us, even with perfectly balanced hormones, we may still have estrogen rec eptor problems in the tissue of the vulva creating a pain syndrome. IYou can get yo ur blood tested without a docs script if you need to go that route, through such places as healthcheckusa (found on line). These labs are available in the DC/Balto. area, as I live in this area. There are also saliva testing resources, Canary Club being one and other sites on line (i.e. http://www.parkerhealthsolutions.com/hormone_f.aspThe hardest thing any of us has ever had to do concerning this disorder is to take charge of the illness and politely, but firmly demand the testing and remedies that have been known to help other sufferers. The doc works for us - we pay him/her for a service. S'no skin off his/her nose to order these blood tests - he/she isn't paying the tab - you or your insurance are. Gunn <pletchsr (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote: HI all, Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to vent. I'm just so frustrated with the way the whole medical system is set up. First of all, has anyone noticed that all doctors do these days is give referrals? It's like a family practicioner doesn't really have to know anything, just how to refer you to another specialist that does. OK first vent out of the way. Now for the whopper. I have pain during sex, and it's gotten a lot better during the last 2 years since I've been off BC. Tampons are uncomfortable too. Basically it's like there's a ring of muscle inside the vagina about an inch in that doesn't want to stretch open. However this pain all goes away around ovulation. So - I think it's hormone related. Now a lot of you ladies have had succes with Estrace and topical hormone creams. I have done physical therapy for a couple of sessions, and am due back for a couple more. I think that has helped everything overall. But I can't ignore the fact that I have O pain during sex around ovulation and pain at a level of a 3 for the week before an dafter my period. I am 30 years old and ovulating most of the time. I would like to try to get a prescription for Estrace and just use it a little bit ot to see if it helps. So I went to a Reproductive Endocrinologist, who happened to be working at a fertility clinic. She basically referred me to Goldstein, who charges $1200 for a visit and doesn't take insurance (I live in the DC area) and said she's not educated on dealing with this issue and she couldn't help me. What frustrates me is this: I posed the question about getting a prescription for estrace, and she said that if I add estrogen at the "bad" times of the month, then I would actually be doing my body harm since it wouldn't have the ups and downs and surges it needs to induce ovulation. In other words increasing estrogen overall will actually act like birth control by raising levels and keeping them at a more steady level throughout the month. Then it occured to me that most of the people on this list are either menopausal or not trying to have babies, which I am neither. She also disagreed with Dr. Vliet's philosophy regarding how much estrogen you should have at the beginning of the cycle. Dr. Vliet says no less than 80 for the first seven days of the cycle, she says it should never go above 60. I was tested in Feb. and had 32. So she says all my hormone levels are perfectly normal, and especially the Estrogen. So... I'm screwed if I leave it the way it is (pain during the first week and last week of the cycle) And I'm screwed if I add estrogen (I'll lose the amount of surge needed to ovulate.) I mentioned that I noticed that I don't ovulate if I eat sugar and she said the best thing for me is to do a sugar busters diet and exercise to help the insulin levels and that could possibly help the dyspeurunia. (sp?) I thought that was interesting. So anyway that's my vent. I'm wondering if there is anyone else trying to have babies that is also on Estrace and what it has done to them. OK so thats all. Sorry for the long post Catch up on fall's hot new shows on Yahoo! TV. Watch previews, get listings, and more! Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news, photos more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 My doc didn't "want" to either, but I presented my case - and it is, after all - my dime - and I was able to get my hormones tested. I didn't ask if I could have them tested, I said I wanted them tested because what we had done to date (the doc's way of handling it) wasn't making me better. There was value in this statement and I got my way. It wasn't as simple as all that - as it is very difficult to "tell" a doc what you want..... but it is after all our bodies and we know from various support groups we are in what some of the issues are for women with this disorder. So we sort of have to gather ourselves, arm ourselves with info and take the plunge and tell them what we want in order to stop the pain. Again, if your doc won't do it, healthcheckusa will without a doc's script, as will some of the facilities for saliva testing. or Millie Goodman wrote: Hi, I am menopausal myself and one of the most frustrating things to me is that known of these doctors test your hormones, it is like they just look at you. I also live in the Baltimore Washington Area, I am curious what doctor you use. If you do not want to talk online, you can email me at mgoodman@.... Millie / Venting - long sorry First of all, I don't believe most of the ladies on this list are menopausal.You can believe this doc or not - but if it was me I would probably insist (if she can't do it, I'd get it done by another doc) on PROPER hormonal testing (a full sex hormone panel) done on the several times of month that have been suggested by any number of physicians. What if, during the time when your estrogen is supposed to be rising, it isn't - and thats the source of your problems? You (or the doc) won't know that unless you are tested accurately. As it happens, I am menopausal, so I am not familiar with those times of the month (they are listed in our archives), but they are something like the luteal phase etc. etc. ONLY then can your doc say whether or not your systemic hormones fall within the normal range. Unfortunately for some of us, even with perfectly balanced hormones, we may still have estrogen rec eptor problems in the tissue of the vulva creating a pain syndrome. IYou can get yo ur blood tested without a docs script if you need to go that route, through such places as healthcheckusa (found on line). These labs are available in the DC/Balto. area, as I live in this area. There are also saliva testing resources, Canary Club being one and other sites on line (i.e. http://www.parkerhealthsolutions.com/hormone_f.aspThe hardest thing any of us has ever had to do concerning this disorder is to take charge of the illness and politely, but firmly demand the testing and remedies that have been known to help other sufferers. The doc works for us - we pay him/her for a service. S'no skin off his/her nose to order these blood tests - he/she isn't paying the tab - you or your insurance are. Gunn <pletchsr (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote: HI all, Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to vent. I'm just so frustrated with the way the whole medical system is set up. First of all, has anyone noticed that all doctors do these days is give referrals? It's like a family practicioner doesn't really have to know anything, just how to refer you to another specialist that does. OK first vent out of the way. Now for the whopper. I have pain during sex, and it's gotten a lot better during the last 2 years since I've been off BC. Tampons are uncomfortable too. Basically it's like there's a ring of muscle inside the vagina about an inch in that doesn't want to stretch open. However this pain all goes away around ovulation. So - I think it's hormone related. Now a lot of you ladies have had succes with Estrace and topical hormone creams. I have done physical therapy for a couple of sessions, and am due back for a couple more. I think that has helped everything overall. But I can't ignore the fact that I have O pain during sex around ovulation and pain at a level of a 3 for the week before an dafter my period. I am 30 years old and ovulating most of the time. I would like to try to get a prescription for Estrace and just use it a little bit ot to see if it helps. So I went to a Reproductive Endocrinologist, who happened to be working at a fertility clinic. She basically referred me to Goldstein, who charges $1200 for a visit and doesn't take insurance (I live in the DC area) and said she's not educated on dealing with this issue and she couldn't help me. What frustrates me is this: I posed the question about getting a prescription for estrace, and she said that if I add estrogen at the "bad" times of the month, then I would actually be doing my body harm since it wouldn't have the ups and downs and surges it needs to induce ovulation. In other words increasing estrogen overall will actually act like birth control by raising levels and keeping them at a more steady level throughout the month. Then it occured to me that most of the people on this list are either menopausal or not trying to have babies, which I am neither. She also disagreed with Dr. Vliet's philosophy regarding how much estrogen you should have at the beginning of the cycle. Dr. Vliet says no less than 80 for the first seven days of the cycle, she says it should never go above 60. I was tested in Feb. and had 32. So she says all my hormone levels are perfectly normal, and especially the Estrogen. So... I'm screwed if I leave it the way it is (pain during the first week and last week of the cycle) And I'm screwed if I add estrogen (I'll lose the amount of surge needed to ovulate.) I mentioned that I noticed that I don't ovulate if I eat sugar and she said the best thing for me is to do a sugar busters diet and exercise to help the insulin levels and that could possibly help the dyspeurunia. (sp?) I thought that was interesting. So anyway that's my vent. I'm wondering if there is anyone else trying to have babies that is also on Estrace and what it has done to them. OK so thats all. Sorry for the long post Catch up on fall's hot new shows on Yahoo! TV. Watch previews, get listings, and more! Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news, photos more. Got a little couch potato? Check out fun summer activities for kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 I don't know if anyone has brought this up yet in relation to this thread, but saliva testing is not considered as reliable as blood testing - blood testing is what you need. The most highly regarded specialists in hormones don't even bother with saliva testing. Just don't want people to waste their time... Melinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 3, 2007 Report Share Posted October 3, 2007 I'm not a doctor, but my understanding is a little bit of topical estrace a few nights a week isn't going to make a big enough difference to make you stop ovulating. I found several docs that would rx topical estrace and I'm only 31. I hope you find a better doc who will give you what you need. And I also hope you go to www.ratemds.com or some such site and rate this so-called specialist (who sounds pretty unspecial to me). Lindsey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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