I'm Too Young for This!: The Natural Hormone Solution to Enjoy Perimenopause (30 page)

Like many other women I started suffering the effects of perimenopause. Night sweats, hot flashes, itchy dry skin, but worst of all absolutely no sex drive. I had one doctor tell me to drink a glass of wine. (Like that was going to help.) I went to several doctors about having no sex drive, but no one could help me. I read your book and researched and found a compounding pharmacy near me and a doctor that would prescribe them to me. It changed my life. I feel like a teenager again. I lost 40 pounds, as well, that I had struggled with before taking the hormones. I preach to every woman that will listen about the benefits. Thank you for changing my life.

—Myrna S.

I am forty-eight years old and currently using BHRT. I have an active life. I have three boys who are fifteen, thirteen, and ten. My husband owns a successful food distribution company. One day runs into another. I am cook, laundry person, money manager, educational advocate, and I am sure I can come up with many more titles. I have read your books and have seen you on different shows talking about BHRT. At first I took in the information and stored it away, because I thought I was not experiencing any symptoms and did not think it applied to me. Well, was I wrong! I was feeling like I had the flu or was about to get it. I was tired all the time, which didn’t make sense because I worked out, ate healthy, and slept well. More symptoms started popping up. I was feeling overwhelmed, depressed, crying in
the middle of the day while folding clothes. I could not even decide what to make my family for dinner. I knew I had to do something. After finding out my estrogen and progesterone were low I started the process of balancing out my system. The estrogen made a huge difference. I am quite sensitive to hormone fluctuations, so I work with my doctor still. But it is so worth it. I take estradiol, progesterone, and a little testosterone. I am able to function again and take care of all my boys.

—Gretchen B.

I began taking bioidentical hormones in March 2012. Prior to this I knew something wasn’t right but trying to get a doctor (the right kind of doctor) to listen to you is very hard. Thankfully I now have the right doctor. I was anxious, not sleeping well, no sex drive, among a few other things. I feel like a new person. I noticed immediate results. My anxiousness and sleep issues were solved right away. I am very thankful for your book and my doctor suggesting I read it. It got my doctor and me talking and got me to take a more proactive approach to my health.

—Sue T.

I am a busy wife of an MLB executive. I do charity work and travel a lot. I tried to ignore heavy bleeding for three out of five days of my cycle for several years. I found myself scheduling trips around my cycle out of fear that I would be on a flight and not able to get up every ten to fifteen minutes to use the lavatory. There was an embarrassing time when we were guests for dinner at another baseball executive’s home and I was in the bathroom repeatedly. My husband and I ended up having to leave the dinner early because I ran out of sanitary pads, and the
hostess had already given me everything she had. I was miserable. By the time we were leaving, I realized that I had soiled my slacks and may have even soiled the suede chair in the dining room where we ate. By the time we arrived home, it was a mess; I was a mess. The years of heavy bleeding caused me to become anemic and always tired. Now, I read everything I can that you write because you research everything and understand what women need to know to be informed. I call it cutting to the chase. Thank you, Suzanne Somers, for all your hard work and research, and for writing this book.

—Linda S.

I was about to lose my mind. I was tired and absent-minded and cried all of the time. I went to see a neurologist and an endocrinologist, and they both told me I was just getting older and I needed to see a psychiatric doctor to help with the crying. I called a friend who was a doctor for advice. He told me to go straight to a lab and do blood work. Then I went to get your books. What a lifesaver you both have been to me.

—Lisa A.

I started perimenopause symptoms when I was forty-four. I suffered mood swings, night sweats, day sweats, lack of sexual drive, and weight gain for four years. I finally could not take it anymore and went to my doctor who prescribed a hormone replacement patch, Climara Pro. It worked very well, took away all the symptoms; except for one problem, dense cystic breasts. I developed benign tumors in both of my breasts. Two surgeries later, I decided to go cold turkey and stop using the patch from fear of developing breast cancer. I went with no hormone
replacement for three years. I had full-blown menopause, it came back with a vengeance worse than before. I knew about Suzanne’s books, being an avid reader I often went to Barnes and Noble, and I had read excerpts from
Ageless
. At first I was skeptical but a friend of mine who had read the book, referred me to a local doctor. Dr. Tara Solomon changed my life. After blood work and a lengthy consultation she prescribed bioidentical hormone replacement. BHRT has changed my life. In two weeks I was a fully functioning, sexy woman again. My husband of thirty-four years is very happy and thankful. I have been on BHRT for two years. I have had clean mammograms and ultrasounds for two years. No lumpy breasts. No side effects of any kind with the exception of a very elevated libido (no complaint from my husband). I recommend it to all the women suffering from menopause. And the cost is minimal. This is my story. I am fifty-six years old and loving life. Thank you.

—Maggie A.

Before I started on hormones I had a very low sex drive and lots of vaginal dryness. I got better with the dryness using estrogen and progesterone, but when I started using low doses of testosterone.… WOW, did my desire for sex explode. I try not to take too much testosterone, as I can see why it can be abused. It makes you feel so vibrant and strong. I take what I am supposed to and if my blood tests show that I am high I will stop it for a while. Sadly, if I stop for too long my libido tanks fast. So I try now to stay on top of it and stick to what my doctor tells me. I feel I would have no sex drive at all if not for my replacement hormones.

—Kelly L.

I started on bioidentical hormones years ago when I first read about them in your books and my relationship with my husband, who is also on them, is better and sexier than ever … EVER! It wasn’t that way before BHRT. We slept together, but rarely were intimate. Yes, we hugged and kissed in bed, but nothing serious. We love our sex life together now and giggle a lot every time we conclude a couple of hours of lovemaking. My husband claims that were it not for you, we would be hobbling along and missing all the fun. Since BHRT, my face is less wrinkled, my muscle tone is firm, my skin is smooth and tight.

You have changed my life.

You have saved my life.

You have saved my marriage.

You have gifted me with an incredible quality of life.

You have given me good reason to work on my health and break through that one hundred mark and celebrate by having sex with my husband.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

—Marge

I was forty-eight when I had my first appointment with the doctor in our area that uses bioidentical hormones. I am perimenopausal and still have fairly regular periods. However, I had gained fifteen pounds over the past few years, had a lower libido, was irritable, and had dry skin and achy joints. After my “hormone” doctor reviewed my blood work she put me on Armor thyroid to boost my thyroid level, and progesterone for fourteen days of my cycle, plus I began testosterone and estrogen. I saw a difference in just over two weeks! Dry skin gone, libido up, aches gone! I lost twenty pounds after four months of using the bioidentical hormones. This was three years
ago. Unfortunately my insurance won’t cover it because it doesn’t recognize bioidenticals as a proven treatment therapy. Hopefully, this will change. I am blond and fair and I have noticed an increased amount of facial hair—so now waxing my chin and lip area is part of my regime. I am told this is a common side effect for some of us.

The bioidentical treatments I get are pricey, but make such a difference in how I feel and give me a calmer sense of well-being because my hormones are more balanced. Bioidenticals have really helped me feel more energetic and youthful! I like to think that when we begin to feel good and beautiful on the inside it can’t help but radiate to our outer self—a bonus!”

—Cindy B.

I was on our bucket list vacation with my husband when my hot flashes and insomnia became so unpleasant that I decided to see a doctor as soon as I returned home.

I was put on a prescription for synthetic hormones that made me so miserable I considered taking my own life. My family was afraid to leave me alone. I stayed in bed day after day trying to avoid human contact. I had become a monster. I hated everyone including myself. I later learned that I was experiencing something called “roid rage.” After several months of this awful existence, I made an appointment at a natural medical clinic to inquire about my options. I was able to wean off the synthetic hormones and start bioidentical hormones and I am a new woman. I feel wonderful and whole again. I am grateful for every day of my life. The added bonus is that my sex drive has returned after being nonexistent for years. I never thought that would happen! That was
three years ago. My health is still good. I still feel attractive and empowered.

—Shannon H.

It’s not a “suddenly wake up and feel awful” feeling. It’s not overnight. It is a slow gradual decline down a spiral staircase. And then one day, you realize how low you’ve descended. You can’t sleep a full night anymore. You are cranky every day, and for no reason. Your hairbrush is full of hair and you wonder why you’re not bald yet. You get unbearably hot in front of an air conditioner. You forget important details. You can’t tolerate your husband’s touch. You can’t seem to ever get enough lotion on your dry skin. And the scale rises, it seems, daily. Clothes become tighter until you aren’t wearing more than half your wardrobe. It’s a cruel joke.

I was desperate to help myself (and my poor family) to stop this ruthless decay. Once I started a tailored program for bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, I began to feel normal again. No, no. That’s not right. I didn’t just feel normal. I felt vital. I felt better than I had in years. My skin became soft, my hair stopped falling out. I started smiling and laughing again. Nothing bothered me anymore. I desired my husband more than I had when we were young! My memory returned. No more night sweats. The hot flashes vanished.

—Shannon S.

In 2007, at age forty-nine, I suddenly had no energy. I had read a lot about bioidentical hormones and had already been using progesterone cream for about eight years (to prevent breast cancer by balancing my hormones), so I
decided to start using estriol and testosterone creams. Almost immediately, I had much more energy and at a time in my life when I was dealing with my daughter’s health crisis, I needed it. I am fifty-four now, still using the hormones, and I sailed through menopause with the only symptom or side effect being my cessation of menses: no hot flashes, no mood swings. I feel great. A couple of years ago my husband added testosterone shots to his health regimen, and together with mine that makes for an incredible sex life in our midfifties. Who would have dreamed it!

—Jackie D.

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