Life without HRT! NO!!!

I took HRT (estradiol only) due to surgical menopause from total hyst/ooph for 10 years prior to my diagnosis.  Stopped cold turkey the day of diagnosis.  I would be very surprised if any doctor would advise any hormonal support after diagnosis, including bioidenticals.  There are some other meds that help with hot flashes such as anti-depressants, but I do not have any personal experience with them.

dib -

I was only on the patch for homone replacement for about 4 years prior to my diagnosis of bc in 2010.  

I finished radiation in May 2012 then started Arimidex.   I have noticed only this past year is the rapid decline and aging of my skin.  

I know that a lack of estrogen is a serious culprit but I also wonder if the chemo and especially the radiation caused some longer lasting damage on the cellular level that has caused this as well.

Chatsworthgirl, I agree.  Chemo & RT, and just the enormous stress of the whole bc experience, do damage our skin, but with lots of TLC, I think it can be revived.  It just takes time.  I've been treating myself to microderm abrasion txs in recent months (I've found some excellent deals with Groupon, etc.), as well as been on an absolute crusade to find products that have healed my skin.  But it's still hard not to notice the changes that are surely due to no estrogen.     Deanna  

I was on HRT too for premature ovarian failure at a very young age.  I had to go off the HRT as well and to manage the hot flashes use Effexor.  That took about 6 weeks to kick in, but was a god send. The hotflashes for me were the worst part of not being on HRT and taking the AI's.

Good luck to you. Perhaps you could ask your doctor about Effexor.

Laurie, I second the opinion that you will probably have a difficult time getting a DR. to prescribe ANY HRT, including Bio-identicals.   I was on Estradiol for 5 years before I went through Menopause at 48, and then for another 5 years after.  I quit, due to BC concerns, and then went on Bio-identicals (which I foolishly thought would be harmless) I was on them (Estrogen, Progesteron, Testosterone, and DHEA) when I was diagnosed with DCIS/LCIS in my left breast.  I quit cold turkey, and it was not pleasant.....I still miss them, as they are the only treatment that EVER controlled the Rosacea I have-especially in the eyes.  However, I did not want to aggravate a situation that may have been caused by using them in the first place.  Good luck!

Namaste and God Bless - Jackie

When I read stories like Ariom and many others who have been so careful about hormones etc. and wind up with bc anyway, I always come back to the same thought - is it really hormones that cause the problem?  It doesn't seem to matter whether you do them or not.  I am torn every single day that I put that llittle Arimidex pill in my mouth.  I mean really, at 71 there isn't that much estrogen left in my bod anyway.  Besides, what is that little white pill doing to me?  To my bones?To my brain?  And is it worth it?

I have my own theory about the cause of cancer of all types.  I can only say that I have recently read that science is starting to consider other causes such as hit and run viruses.  After all, cervical and head and neck cancer are caused by the human papilloma virus for which there is now a vaccine.  

the positive thing is that I believe within the next twenty years there will be a true understanding of the cause and quite likely a vaccine for bc and other types of cancer.  I hope for all those who are young enough to see that day and be cured. God speed.

I'm not sure how much longer I am going to take the little pill.  I have a really hard time convincing myself every day that it will really make a difference.  Am I wrong?  Who knows.

Laurie, as well as the great information and support you've already received, there is a section at the main Breastcancer.org site on Managing Menopausal Symptoms that includes info on Menopause and HRT (one of the articles down the left side of the first page).

• The Mods

I miss my HRT terribly.  I was on bioidentical Sotto Pelle pellets.  These little rice sized grains of estradiol and testosterone were implanted into my hip about 3-4 times per year.  They were awesome and they made me feel awesome too.  I think I felt better than I had in my entire life when I was using them.  I had energy, slept well, had a sex drive, my skin glowed and my brain worked....now....not so much of any of the above.  But, my DCIS is about 80% estrogen positive so I had to stop.  My oncologist allows me to use Vagefem which helps with the vaginal dryness.  She even let me try a compounded testosterone cream to help with the sex drive and sleep issues, but my blood tests showed too much of it was being converted to estrogen.  I decided it was just not worth the risk.  

I wish I had some advice or some magic elixir that we all could use safely to replace our hormones.  

Laurie,

I started using bio-identical progesterone cream 6 months after I was diagnosed with DCIS after reading Dr. John Lee's What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer and after a blood test showed I was very estrogen dominant.

If you can find a D.O. (like mine) or an MD who is knowledgeable re bio-identicals, they are likely to be ok with you taking bio-identical progesterone and maybe even estriol, as both do have some studies indicating that they may even be preventive when it comes to breast cancer. Both of these, unlike the HRTs given  in the Women's Health Initiative study, are identical to what the body itself makes.

Wishing you all the best,

Sandie

hi I am in the same situation. I most likely will soon start the estrogen suppression pill. Ari.    I had to go off hrt cold turkey. I have been off hrt 3 weeks. The worst is ahead.  I had a lumpectomy e/r marker. There doesn't seem it be any solutions for mr or you. I am a otherwise healthy 75 y. O. 

hi thanks for your summary of your experience. I had a lumpectomy last week. It is nearly healed. I had stage one e and r positive. I have had a dysphasia In my other breast. I am contemplating bilateral masectomy. I am 75years old. In excellent health otherwise. I am in process of going off hrt cold turkey. Off of them for 3 weeks. The worst is ahead. Rather than doing radiation and the e and r suppression pill.  It seems that bilateral masectomy would be a better choice for peace of mind. Difficult decision. I too was foolish about biodentical hormones. I was in them for 10 years. Also on prempro for 5 years.