Medication HRT after SRS / GRS

[jamiejo]

Morning Ladies,

So I'm counting down the days to SRS/GRS (224), but I'm also counting down the days to be off spironolactone! 

I assume the dose of estradiol is also lowered....is this correct?

Over the passed 12 months I have no tolerance to alcohol (suffering a little this morning), general two drinks okay, but the third kicks like a mule!!!  Have you noticed a difference in your tolerance to alcohol post-op?

I have been strict on the intake of potassium, I miss bananas so bad, can I assume I can also start increasing my potassium intake post-op too?

I appreciate any advice you can share.

Jamie

[paulault55]

Jamie, congrats on your up coming surgery, depending on your surgeon, they will have you stop all meds except if you take heart or diabetes meds about 2 weeks before surgery, Dr. Mcginn lets you stay on spiro till a couple days before surgery but estradiol was stopped 2 weeks before, the reason for watching your potassium is  because of the spiro, a banana once in awhile should be ok, watch other foods too, you might want to Google foods with potassium to see what to stay away from or limit intake, make sure when you have blood work they the check the potassium level, too much could cause heart failure, after surgery you should be off spiro and back to eating what ever you enjoy.

Paula

[Ann Onymous]

I assume the dose of estradiol is also lowered....is this correct?

yes, there is a lowering of the dosage...just how much is between you and your endo based upon your individual bloodwork and physiological responses post-operatively.

Over the passed 12 months I have no tolerance to alcohol (suffering a little this morning), general two drinks okay, but the third kicks like a mule!!!  Have you noticed a difference in your tolerance to alcohol post-op?

It has been so many years that I could not tell you if there was any difference...I'm going to guess 'no' though since I can still put a significant quantity away and have no visible effects.  I think it must be one of those rock star livers like Zoe has often mentioned having    That being said, I probably do drink a lot more now than I did back then...there are some truisms about the legal community and I also know I enjoy my red wine with dinner...

I have been strict on the intake of potassium, I miss bananas so bad, can I assume I can also start increasing my potassium intake post-op too?

probably so...but again, a question best addressed to your endo.

[FairyGirl]

I assume the dose of estradiol is also lowered....is this correct?

it depends on your blood test I guess; my new endocrinologist actually tripled my original pre-op estradiol dose, as well as increasing my progesterone.

The problem I think is they treat post-op women as post-menopausal as far as E dosage, probably because there aren't a lot of studies done on post-operative women exclusively so they go by studies done on post-menopausal women.  I was fortunate to find an endo here in Sydney with experience treating post-op women, who understood that sometimes we need to maintain more than simply bare minimum levels.

Over the passed 12 months I have no tolerance to alcohol (suffering a little this morning), general two drinks okay, but the third kicks like a mule!!!  Have you noticed a difference in your tolerance to alcohol post-op?

It's a fact women have a lower alcohol tolerance than men, something to do with a hydrogenase enzyme they they have more of than we do or that we lack.  Obviously this is affected by female hormones.  I'm with you-- 3 drinks per night is my absolute limit if I don't want to hear stories about me dancing topless on the table as I'm nursing my queen-sized hangover the next day lol

I have been strict on the intake of potassium, I miss bananas so bad, can I assume I can also start increasing my potassium intake post-op too?

Consult your doctor of course, but I did sneak a banana occasionally, though not often.  For some strange reason it also made me crave tomato juice, as well as salt.  I do remember having the permanent sniffles as long as I was on spiro.  This went away after I stopped taking it, which was right up until the day before going in the hospital.

Congrats on your upcoming surgery!

[Ann Onymous]

I'm with you-- 3 drinks per night is my absolute limit if I don't want to hear stories about me dancing topless on the table

may I offer you another beverage...I think it will only be the fourth or fifth one 

[FairyGirl]

lol at both of you

[jamiejo]

So I  thought I would take a different approach, light white wine.  Nope, three glasses, my license to walk in heels was taken away, it's now 8PM and I'm going to bed.......God I miss the party girl!!!!

[FairyGirl]

Recently at my boyfriend's house as the night progressed I ended up drinking most of a bottle of Yellowtail Cabernet (good ol' cheap Aussie wine).  He had like, 2 glasses and I had the rest.  Of course as I was with him in private it didn't matter if I engaged in a little strip dancing lol.  But omg did I pay for it the next day... owie

It was kind of my idea to triple the dosage- my endo started out by doubling it, then in between visits I began taking a little extra because it just made me feel better.  At my next visit I explained this and he told me it was okay to stay on the higher dose.

[AbraCadabra]

Honey,
now I start to get the idea, that what initially goes down jolly easily may be the reason that I'd been feeling crappy, crabby the next day...

I seem be OK taking it whilst the going is good - but there are certainly more then the more usual pre-HRT after-effects.

Thank you for sharing, ....... too bad when in such good company to pull the hand brake,
Axelle

[Ann Onymous]

Recently at my boyfriend's house as the night progressed I ended up drinking most of a bottle of Yellowtail Cabernet (good ol' cheap Aussie wine).  He had like, 2 glasses and I had the rest.  Of course as I was with him in private it didn't matter if I engaged in a little strip dancing lol.  But omg did I pay for it the next day... owie

LOL...if he had two glasses, you couldn't have had much more- one generally only gets about four and a half glasses out of a typical bottle of wine.  Which means...hmm...here, have another glass so we can also see the dancing 

[Dinky_Di]

<chants ...dance, dance, dance!>

I'm okay at 2 glasses, but after hitting 3 I'm likely to be unpredictable myself.

Can't say I blame you Chloe. If your sweetie hasnt gone in attack mode before then, sometimes you have to break out the striptease, lol.

...and if that doesnt work, bonk him over the head and drag him into the bedroom.

Seems like 3 glasses is the magic number....don't I know that.

Bonking him over the head would be the easy part.  Dragging him into the bedroom I would have very little hope sober and even less hope with a few glasses of wine.  I'm a typical weakling female these days.

[jamiejo]

Yellowtail Cabernet (good ol' cheap Aussie wine). 

NOOOOOOOOOO.......!!!!!!!!!!

Call me a wine sobe, but being from Australia, not a great example of our fine wines.

So when you say you finished the bottle was it a 750ml or 1.5Litre???

Jamie

[FairyGirl]

wow we have lots of Aussie girls here.  I also prefer other Australian wines,  but the point that night I think actually was to do a little dancing for my honey.   It was probably a 750 ml, so yeah, not a lot to get as happy as it made me lol

[AbraCadabra]

Hey girls,
the OP was about "medication" ... you sure cheap Aussie white wine is by endo prescription??

Have any of you figured out what causes tinnitus with post-op HRT?

Axelle

[Dinky_Di]

wow we have lots of Aussie girls here.  I also prefer other Australian wines,  but the point that night I think actually was to do a little dancing for my honey.   It was probably a 750 ml, so yeah, not a lot to get as happy as it made me lol

I don't worry about the price so long as I like the taste, call me a cheap drunk....

Have any of you figured out what causes tinnitus with post-op HRT?

Axelle

Haven't heard of that occurring....maybe to much use of a noisey vibrator.....

[Ann Onymous]

Have any of you figured out what causes tinnitus with post-op HRT?

was not aware that was an issue anyone was having on a broadscale basis...and my guess is that it would have a cause outside of the HRT. 

But back to the wine...I had a client a few months back who actually DID have a prescription written by a doctor authorizing up to two glasses of red wine for therapeutic reasons.  We needed the prescription for the purposes of community supervision modifications since otherwise she was not permitted to consume alcohol...

[AbraCadabra]

Ann,
* was not aware that was an issue anyone was having on a broadscale basis...and my guess is that it would have a cause outside of the HRT. *

Thanks,
though it might HAVE to do with E levels / E products (pills, etc.) ==> hypertension?
(Hot flushes, - I'm off E right now)

I know at least two hysterectomised females that also had these issues.

Both had to change to E gel (Femigel) and E cream (from Compound pharmacy).
This apparently fixed the problem.

Axelle

[Debra]

Yes a lower dose of E is usually recommended post-op. Marci had me off Spiro and on a low dose of E up until the day of the surgery and then I was off it for 2 days and went back on it on the 3rd day (same low dose). Within a couple weeks, I went back to my doc and we experimented with getting me back on injections again. The dosage was lower than before but only slightly and that seems to work for me. It'll be different for everyone and really should be more based on how your Estrogen levels react more than anything.

[Danacee]

I've not had enough money to see a specialist since my insurance dropped me 3 years ago(american -sigh-), but the gist of every source I've heard even officially by my ex endo was estrogen is generally halved.

[Jennifer_Lynn]

I would guess as far as meds go you could drop the spiro but as far as the E is concerned I would want it kept high as well as the progesterone. Any doctor who think we are fully feminized after 2 years needs his head examined. Tell me do GG only go through 2 years of puberty? And as far as breast enhancement is concerned why would doctor wait till the patient is at least 18 and some even 20 before considering them? IMO I think most of use if not all are way under medicated as well as not medicated at high doses long enough. Just my opinion.

Hugs,

Isabella