TransDermal

I've been on oral estradiol for several months now and have not done
well on it. I've read here and elsewhere about the cortisol
connection and because I am in counseling now for anxiety and OCD, and
we've been taking about adrenaline fatigue and high cortisol levels, I
am going to try a transdermal patch starting tomorrow. If it goes
well, I will consider moving into compounded estrogen cream, but for
right now, I just want to see if it works. Besides, my doctor gave me
some free samples.

What should I expect at first as far as going from oral to
transdermal? I'm going from .5 oral to .5 patch. I think my
pharmacist mentioned when I asked about it before that my body will
absorb more of the estrogen in the patch form than it does in the
oral. Don't know what that means as far as side effects. I really,
really don't need anything else that is going to make me feel hyped up
and interfere with my sleep. I so much hope this helps.....

Pat

On Jun 19, 6:58*pm, Miss Trish <trishca...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> I've been on oral estradiol for several months now and have not done
> well on it. *I've read here and elsewhere about the cortisol
> connection and because I am in counseling now for anxiety and OCD, and
> we've been taking about adrenaline fatigue and high cortisol levels, I
> am going to try a transdermal patch starting tomorrow. *If it goes
> well, I will consider moving into compounded estrogen cream, but for
> right now, I just want to see if it works. *Besides, my doctor gave me
> some free samples.
>
> What should I expect at first as far as going from oral to
> transdermal? *I'm going from .5 oral to .5 patch. *I think my
> pharmacist mentioned when I asked about it before that my body will
> absorb more of the estrogen in the patch form than it does in the
> oral. *Don't know what that means as far as side effects. * I really,
> really don't need anything else that is going to make me feel hyped up
> and interfere with my sleep. *I so much hope this helps.....
>
> Pat

Pat,

.5 patch means a stronger dose than .5 oral estrogen. Transdermal
doses should be lower than oral doses to get an equivalent dose.
Susan knows more about this than I do; hopefully she'll weigh in.
More estradiol shouldn't hype you up and should actually help you
sleep, but everyone's different. Don't forget cancer risk, and try to
find out what that .5 patch actually corresponds to. Susan Love's
Hormone Book has that kind of information.

I have on-again off-again anxiety and OCD too. Has your counselor
helped zero in on what's making you anxious, or do you already know?
I've never been to a shrink and wonder how they address these
problems. Stress and high cortisol do create a feedback loop, hope
you can get it under control.

Les

> .5 patch means a stronger dose than .5 oral estrogen. *Transdermal
> doses should be lower than oral doses to get an equivalent dose.
> Susan knows more about this than I do; hopefully she'll weigh in.
> More estradiol shouldn't hype you up and should actually help you
> sleep, but everyone's different. *Don't forget cancer risk, and try to
> find out what that .5 patch actually corresponds to. *Susan Love's
> Hormone Book has that kind of information.
>
> I have on-again off-again anxiety and OCD too. *Has your counselor
> helped zero in on what's making you anxious, or do you already know?
> I've never been to a shrink and wonder how they address these
> problems. *Stress and high cortisol do create a feedback loop, hope
> you can get it under control.
>
> Les- Hide quoted text -
>
Hi Les,

When I increased the oral, it did hype me up and I couldn't sleep. I
think I posted here and Susan thought that was probably because it was
oral - I am hoping that is the case. So far so good - I put it on
this morning and the only thing I've noticed is that I had a long hot
flash I guess when it started kicking in.

I am seeing a really good counselor, although I'm going to have to
change because she is not on my health plan and I can't afford her
weekly. I do have some situational things causing the anxiety and
OCD, and I also have a chronic illness that contributes. She does CBT
(cognitive behavioral therapy). She says, and I've read myself, that
it is the gold standard treatment for anxiety. It seems to be more
effective than medications. I've been taking Buspar for about a
month. It is an anti-anxiety med that is also supposed to help OCD
and it has helped with the anxiety, but I hope to be able to taper off
of it before too long - if I can ever get my freakin' hormones
straightened out!

Thanks for replying - I hope you can find some relief for yours.

Pat

x-no-archive: yes

Miss Trish wrote:

> What should I expect at first as far as going from oral to
> transdermal? I'm going from .5 oral to .5 patch. I think my
> pharmacist mentioned when I asked about it before that my body will
> absorb more of the estrogen in the patch form than it does in the
> oral. Don't know what that means as far as side effects. I really,
> really don't need anything else that is going to make me feel hyped up
> and interfere with my sleep. I so much hope this helps.....


Because none of the drug is destroyed by digestion as it is in pill
form, it's usual to dose less because all of it ends up in your blood
stream; transermal meds bypass the liver until they've already
circulated. You may end up with more than you need.

When I take too much, my breasts get hard and lumpy. I use a gel, not a
cream.

Susan

x-no-archive: yes

sage hen wrote:

> .5 patch means a stronger dose than .5 oral estrogen. Transdermal
> doses should be lower than oral doses to get an equivalent dose.
> Susan knows more about this than I do; hopefully she'll weigh in.
> More estradiol shouldn't hype you up and should actually help you
> sleep, but everyone's different. Don't forget cancer risk, and try to
> find out what that .5 patch actually corresponds to. Susan Love's
> Hormone Book has that kind of information.

I wonder if there's a cancer risk with transdermal, and if so, how it
might differ? Certainly, our tissues are not meant to respond to
youthful levels lifelong, but the lack of HPA disruption has to help, too.

>
> I have on-again off-again anxiety and OCD too. Has your counselor
> helped zero in on what's making you anxious, or do you already know?
> I've never been to a shrink and wonder how they address these
> problems. Stress and high cortisol do create a feedback loop, hope
> you can get it under control.

Quite a few shrinks do know of these endocrine connections. I know of
several Cushing's patients whose shrinks told them they thought their
mental health issues were endocrine.

Susan