HRT Patch

[Sarah_Faith]

Hey all,
          I was wondering if anyone had any experience with, or knew anything about the HRT patch. I was thinking of trying it, as if I had any negative side effects, I could just take it off. If not, are there any herbal treatments or anything whatsoever that can make me feel more feminine?
                        Thanks all,
                                         Sarah


Posted at: April 20, 2006, 12:07:40 PMNote: I am not considering self help. Just any anyday things that are non harmful that would help me feel more feminine.


Posted at: April 20, 2006, 12:34:20 PMI have been looking at www.myevanesce.com . Its herbal, but seems to work from what I can see on the forums. Maybe some of yous could give me your opinion.

[stephanie_craxford]

Hello Sarah Faith.

Firstly I just want to say that herbals DO NOT work, DO NOT waste your money, been there, done that, got the tee shirt.

I can remember in the 80's and 90's checking out every herbal on the market , trying anything to get me going.  None of it worked. Just wasted a lot of money on false hopes.  These companies have realized a marketing gimmick and are simply exploiting our community preying on our needs, taking advantage of us.  And I'm afraid to say that there are those in our own community who are doing this for the almighty $.

From their web site - read this very, very carefully (try to ignore the spelling mistakes and poor grammar) and realize what they are actually saying.

Pregnenolone -
Often called the "Mother" Hormone because it is the precursor of all other human hormones.
We have found via long-term feedback that in younger people, it will sometimes increase testosterone effects, so we mostly recommend it for those over age 40 years old, and we recommend that it NOT be used with Evanesce or Feminol until after noticeable physical changes from those products begin..
Pregnenolone by itself is not a breast development herb; it works when taken with other things. Pregnenalone is a naturally occuring bio-molecule, but its production declines markedly with the aging process. There is some scientific research which indicates that pregnenolone also rejuvenates the beta cells of the pancreas in persons with some types of diabetes; I can personally attest to a vast improvement in the stability of my own blood sugar numbers since beginning taking pregnenolone. Our Pregnenolone, at 99% purity, exceeds pharmaceutical grades for purity. Available in 50mg capsules, 90 capsules per bottle, recommended at no more than 1-2 capsules daily.
ALERT: Pregnenolone, as a generality, should only be used by people over 40 years old.
Pregnenolone is NOT recommended with your first or second order.
Pregnenolone sales are limited to one bottle per order.
Canadian Customs has ruled that Pregnenolone is a drug, and that only a doctor or pharmacist may import it into Canada.

Their site also quotes that pregnenolone is a bio-molecule, however if you check the list of known bio-molecules you will find that it's not listed.  Here is the definition of a bio-molecule:

A biomolecule is a chemical compound that naturally occurs in living organisms. Biomolecules consist primarily of carbon and hydrogen, along with nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur. Other elements sometimes are incorporated but these are much less common.
Biomolecules are necessary for the existence of all known forms of life. For example, humans possess skin and hair. The main component of hair is keratin, an agglomeration of proteins which are themselves polymers built from amino acids. Amino acids are some of the most important building blocks used, in nature, to construct larger molecules. Another type of building block is the nucleotides, each of which consists of three components: either a purine or pyrimidine base, a pentose sugar and a phosphate group. These nucleotides, mainly, form the nucleic acids.

In short, don't bother.

Steph

[Chaunte]

Sarah,

First off, this is not a recomendation of any kind and, of course, hormones should only be taken under a physician's care.

The advantage of using an epidermal patch of ANY kind is that it reduces the stress on the liver.  Injesting a pill requires that it be broken down in your digestive tract and then have the chemistry pass through the liver before it goes into your bloodstream.  Think of this like being a tsunami of material that the liver suddenly  has to process.

A transdermal patch places the medication directly into your bloodstream by passing it through the skin (epidermus).  This removes that initial chemical shock the liver would normally face.  Subsequent passing of the medication through the liver is done at a much more managable rate.  Also, patches usually release their medication at a known rate so a single patch would keep a more constant level of medication in your bloodstream.

The long term advantage is that this reduces the probability of organ damage and may reduce the risk of bloodclots and subsequent strokes.

Chaunte

[Melissa]

For somebody who has not started HRT, patches are not recommended, because they were not designed to go through thicker male skin.  However, once you have experienced enough changes, it may be a viable option.

Melissa

[Annie Social]

Good advice, all. There are two other points:

First, Estradiol can be taken sublingually (dissolved under the tongue), avoiding the digestive tract and reducing the stress on the liver. It also gets much more of the medication into your bloodsteam than swallowing it would.

The only disadvantage to the patch (other than cost), is that if you are concerned with possible side effects, there will be a time delay between removing the patch and the concentration of estrogen in your body dropping off. This is true with pills as well, but the delay is supposedly geater with the patch.

Pills have the advantage that dosage can be easily adjusted, ramped up or down. You simply go from 1 a day to 2 a day or 3 a day. Once you've bought a supply of patches, that's it (although you could use multiple patches, I suppose).

The best bet might be to start with low dose pills, adjust dosage as needed, then switch to the patch once base levels are determined. Remember, all this should only be done under a doctor's supervision & frequent monitoring, as everyone reacts differently and an approach that works well for one person may be extremely dangerous to another.