HRT help required O/T (long, sorry)

[Lise]

The thing is, last summer I had a very bad migraine, 3 days later I momentarily lost my sight (while driving ). I had blood tests which showed my prolactin levels to be 1452 (should be 472!), this was followed by a brain scan. A full year after the brain scan, I find out there is a cyst. None of this however seems to be related to my vision loss. I just can't get any sense or positive comments from my doctor. First she said she wasn't sure about me having HRT because of the vision problem, but then she went on to say "mind you, we never really have found the cause, so it may be okay"

Hi, Gilly, I would not presume to say yes or no for you on HRT. But it worries me that I don't hear that you've had follow-up for the abnormally high prolactin level. I encourage you to do that, if you haven't. I would be very cautious about estrogen use in a woman who has migraines with neuro symptoms (loss of vision).

I am 45, and have endometriosis. A few years ago, I was on Lupron, a drug that put me into instant, temporary menopause. Whew, that sucked. I got some relief from the symptoms by drinking and eating a fair amount of soy, which has a plant-based estrogen. Fortunately, we're born into the end of the baby boom, so many women have gone before us, and there's a lot to be read on the subject. You might want to check out Dr. Susan Love's Menopause and Hormone Book: Making Informed Choices I've always found her to have a reasonable and compassionate approach.

Best wishes, Lise

[pkq]

It's been a long time since I have researched migraines but it seems that vision loss occurs with migraines, too. All kinds of strange vision things happen with migraines.

Momma was allergic to estrogen and couldn't take it. I don't know what her symptoms were though.

My migraines made my vision fuzzy and my stomach extremely nauseous.

Good luck with your health and research.

[massbikebabe]

Gilly,

PLEASE get yourself another doctor!! I would never give my patients the
"it MAY be all right line", and what n hell made them wait a whole year before they revealed the cyst to you???

Take from someone who had to "prove herself sick". I had episodes of tremors and diminished grasp that they called "anxiety". It wasn't until I had a grand mal seizure then they fully evaluated me. Good health is precious. You cannot buy it once it is gone. Take it from me...being sick just plain sucks!

karen

[gilly]

Thank you ladies. You're right, I need to get a second opinion
My favourite doctor left some years ago and I"m finding it very difficult now to find someone who I feel I can talk to, and more importantly, one who will talk to me! Whilst my present doctor is very nice, she is very drippy!
I am having my prolactin levels checked every six months, they are presently at 543, so much better.
I have been worried since I found out about the cyst 3 weeks ago, but did my own research on that and feel okay about it now. Although I did point out to her that I was not happy about not being told.
I'm sure you'll crack up when I tell you that she sat and did a Google search for the cyst so she could tell me more about it
Thank you for the book recomendations Denise, They are available at Amazon UK, so I may go to my local book shop later today and see if they have them in stock, if not at least I know I can order them
I will seek a second opinion, on the HRT and the cyst and this time I will take my husband with me. I always find it easier to stand up for someone else than myself - so alone, I'm a wimp
In the meantime, I'll leave the HRT patches in the cabinet and get some reading done

[RoadRaven]

I know very little about menopause so can offer nothing constructive to this thread... but being not far off (I'm 40 now) I am increasingly interested in hormones, menopause and all those changes our bodies progress through.
So thank you all for this frank and thought-filled discussion.

[jeannierides]

Gilly, I echo the concerns of the other women who have posted to your thread. Please seek a second opinion. Finding a doc you trust isn't an easy thing to do.

I had a hysterectomy when I was 36 (Yikes!!almost 20 years ago) which put me in *surgical menopause*. I was immediately put on ERT - thank goodness not HRT - and faithfully took those until 2 years ago. Every time I went to the doc with an issue or symptom of menopause - and for some reason they began to become increasingly common - the answer was to up the dosage. I finally had enough. I read Dr. Lee's first book..."What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause" & was intrigued. I bought some progesterone cream & started using soy based products & now I hardly have any symptoms at all!! When I made this decision I was on my own. My doc didn't disagree with going off the hormones, but she didn't advise me either. Manufactured hormones have so many side effects, that I just wasn't willing to turn my body over to someone else any longer. There are many things that you can't control in your life, but I felt - for me, at least - that this was one thing that I could get a handle on for myself.

You have to do what you think is right for you and your body. My advise (besides the finding a new doc thing) would be to read read read & make an informed decision, whatever decision you make.

Thanks, ladies, for such frank discussions of all things important to us!

[makbike]

Gilly:

I can only second the recommendations of others to seek a 2nd, 3rd, 4th opinion until you find a doctor you feel comfortable with.

I have not yet experienced menopause and thus have not yet had to make a decision regarding HRT but I can tell you I walked out on a doctor I was seeing because he told me my only problem was I was depressed in an attempt to find out why I was so fatigued and cold year round. After many unproductive visits to this guy and watching him play with his palm pilot as he searched for possible reasons I got fed up and walked out. I calmly stood up, explained I was leaving that I would never return and exited the exam room. The look on his face was priceless. I found myself an endrocrinologist who would listen to me, who would look at my family history and who cared. Keep looking, keep reading and don't settle for anything less than what you deserve, the best medical care out there.

Good Luck!

[Technotart]

From a medical professional...

PLEASE see a neurologist and an endocrinologist! Prolactin is never "just high for no reason"!

I wouldn't start anything in the realm of HRT until you have had a second opinion and a full work up by them. In your case, HRT might be better managed with an endocrine specialist anyway.

There are definate pros and cons to HRT, make sure you read everything you can find and ask lots of questions about it. It helps to abate side effects of menopause, but there are cons as well. Cardiac disease can exist without hypertension so the blood pressure is not the be all/end all.

[gilly]

Thank you, again. I am deeply touched by all your responses.

I am definately NOT touching the HRT, at least until I have done some research AND had a second opinion.
Although second opinions can be awkward to get here in the UK. Because we have a National Health Service, which on the whole is marvelous, you sign up with a surgery of GP's. If you ask another of these GP's for a second opinion it can be frowned upon, and of course you don't know which of these docs isn't going to frown until you see him/her! I cannot simply see a neurologist/endocrinologist/gynaecologist anything in fact, without a referal from my GP. and he/she won't just give me a referal because I feel the need to see such a body. They have to feel the need that I need to see someone in a specialised field.
To this end, my plan is to go and see one of the other GP's and to be armed with as much information as I can find AND my darling husband.

Thank you so much for all your recommendations, this has given me a fantastic level to start at, and to be honest, I hadn't a clue where to start

[DirtDiva]

Ah, the NHS.

[LBTC]

Gilly, your plan, under the circumstances, sounds like a good one. Let us know how it turns out.

I am disgusted that your doctor resorted to Google to give you more information! Terrible!

And, being in Canada, I understand about not being able to just see a specialist because you want to. And getting a second opinion here is not so easy, either, since we are so short of doctors!! We haven't had a family doctor for 10 years, and the doc I see, who I'm not all that impressed with, doesn't see men, so my DH still has no GP.

Good luck, Gilly. And keep positive. You'll find the answers and learn how to work with your body to overcome.

And we'll do all we can to help you out!

Namaste,
~T~