HRT & post-op

[gothique11]

I have a weird question that's never, ever been explained to me -- but why do some people cut their Estrogen dose in half - or even only take 1/4 of their estrogen dose - after being post-op?

I'm just curious. I've talked to others who never had their doses cut post op.

My estrace dose is still the same post-op and I asked my doctor and he said he doesn't see a reason to cut my estrace doses; it's not as if I'm post-menopausal, stopped growing, and entering old age, so who would I be given a post-med dose. I'm a growing girl, basically, and unless the blood tests come back with wonky stuff he doesn't seem a reason to cut my estrace levels. So, that seems to be my doctors view point. Yet, I've heard completely different view points where cutting the dose down (sometimes way down) is way better.

Is there any studies to say which is better and why? What are people's experiences?

I hear a lot of different stuff that gets thrown around, although actual facts and opinion are sometimes hard to dig through.


--natalie

[Beyond]

Some docs are VERY conservative and treat us as natal post-menopausal women.  Wrong, wrong, wrong.  As you said we're still growing.  I think your doc is doing the right thing, we need many years (7-10) of higher levels of estrogen to reach maximum feminization.  To me that means high adolescent levels.  I've been consistently a little above the "normal range" the whole time I've been on HRT (4.5 years) and though I did do a small decrease after SRS (my levels are still high), I don't intend to do any more cuts for a few years.  I don't want to go through what a friend of mine went through.  Her doc slashed to dose to almost nothing and she suffered with postmenopausal symptoms for about 2 years before I convinced her to see my doc.  In those two years her body looked like it aged 10 years, not to mention a major loss of boobage.  She's better now, but I think it's unconscionable (sp?) what her doctor put her through.

[Mnemosyne]

Pre op I went from not needing much in the way of estrogen to being on a pretty high dosage. My endoc has cut me way back but I do not go for blood work for another couple of weeks. If I remember to do so, I will post in here what she says.