Greetings,

I am wondering what would be recommend to either take naturally or through pharmaceuticals to limit blood clotting issues while taking Estrogen?

Another question I have is, Can Estrogen cause severe leg cramps and not be due to blood clotting?

I would like to start back up on HRT as I have been off of it for some time...

Rebekah

I doubt that the estrogen would do that, but if you take Spironolactone, then too high a dosage of it could cause leg cramps.

Marcy,

Thanks, I know the Spiro did when I took it... But even after stopping Spiro and taking just Estrogen without the Spiro that after a few days I would have severe pains in my lower legs......

And that was after stopping all hormones for more then 6 months and just starting the estrogen again.. My body cannot tolerate Spiro for some reason so my doc. recommended a natural approach which has really lowered my Testosterone levels. A High combination of Saw Palmetto and Hops.

But the pain only comes after 3 or 4 days of taking estrogen gels

Low dose ASA (aspirin) is the usual for preventing some kinds of clots. As far as leg cramps, make sure you drink enough water as electrolyte balance might go out of whack from spiro.

edit: oops, didn't completely read reply

Garlic tablets are supposed to be good for thinning the blood. I take them every day.

There's lots of info about it online and they are cheap and easily available.

Take 1 Baby Aspirin per day while on Estrogen. My endo prescribes this. Aspirin is a blood thinner, and yes Estrogen can cause blood clotting... hence the recent law suits over Yaz/Yasmin... which contain a more potent form of estrogen, ethinyl estradiol.

AS Flan said earlier, low dose aspirin, the same thing they use for helping to prevent some heart attacks. My endo had me on it to keep from having problems.

And if you are not on spiro, leg cramps could be caused by low potassium, but its best to talk to your doctor about it before making any major changes in supplements or diet.

Yeah, it's best to speak with your doctor (or pharmacist maybe) before making assumptions and acting on your own.

All of the HRT drugs cause and can have secondary effects, which is one reason we need to take them under medical supervision. It is fine to say take an aspirin  a day to reduce thrombosis but it is still a two edged sword, you may become a bleeder, and that isn't good. Spiro has less depressive problems than advocar, but has more liver problems. All of these need to be balanced. Hence a reason for an endo and a family Dr to be involved.

By the way if you are getting lower leg cramps and if the leg is sore to touch in that area call an Ambulance. You may have a DVT which is a very serious issue but can be treated quite easily. Leaving it could lead to an embolism and a cardiac arrest.

Cindy