Menopause and hormones

[RCampbell]

So is there anyone here that is menopausal taking hormones? I know the studies on estrogen and seizures, but wondering if anyone here decided to go for it and try hormones and is doing fine on it....or not?

I could really really use some hormones!before I go...

[PhylisFeinerJohnson]

"Hormones, including estrogen and progesterone, have a bearing on seizures. Progesterone, which is produced when a woman ovulates, can reduce the incidence of seizures while estrogen, the other female sex hormone, can increase seizure activity. Since hormones fluctuate greatly during peri-menopause and menopause it is no surprise that the incidence of seizures may increase at this time. Progesterone stops being produced when a woman stops ovulating and is therefore no longer present in adequate amounts in a woman's body to safeguard against seizures."Epilepsy.com as quoted by eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5610161_me...-epilepsy.html

[Zoofemme]

I would talk to your doctor and have them do a hormone panel. You do not want to take hormones if you don't need to. They can be worse than not taking them, trust me, lol. I fought with endometriosis for a long time...estrogen (the usual treatment back then) made me sicker than a dog. It was a good thing actually that I couldn't have kids because I couldn't use any type of birthcontrol that had estrogen in it . I finshed menopause by the time I was 38 without any hormone therapy...I actually think my meds helped, lol. They kept me kind of on an even keel...HAHAHA!

[dfwtexas]

I had a hysteromey when I was 27 and was on hormones until about 7 years ago when I lost my job. The horomes was an extra and first to go with no insurance. At the time, there was so much about how bad the hormones replacement was, that I decided not to go back to it. I do think my oestroposis is related to my lack of hormones...but at this point I take so many meds, not ready to add another one!
jenn

[Endless]

My epileptologist says there aren't any scientific studies showing a statistically significant correlation between menapause and increase in seizures. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen. There's sure enough anecdotal evidence given by the women in here. So much that I tend to believe it.

[Nakamova]

What planet is your epileptologist on?

http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/an.../menopause.cfm

[PhylisFeinerJohnson]

Can he say PROGESTERONE?

[RobinN]

I have used bio-identical hormones with great results. I was seeing a doctor that was not on my insurance plan though and the financial burden along with Rebecca's alternative therapies was too much. So I gave it up.

Rebecca was using bio-identical progesterone for seizure control. I can see its place, but I was trying to figure out why she is having seizures during her TOM. I think it has to do more with adrenal glands, Liver function, and blood sugar levels and estrogen dominance. All tied together in a way I am still learning about.

[Endless]

I'm not sure what planet my epileptologist is on. Unless it's proven by emperical research, it doesn't exist for him, I think. I haven't read the studies cited in the article you linked to, but I'm guessing there may be something newer he's referring to. Crazy thing is he's considered on of the the best epileptologist docs in my rather large metropolitan area, and has been for some time. Some things he's amazing. Others, not so much.

I myself didn't buy his line on menapause. I think it was one of the triggering factors that made my seizures much more frequent and much worse. The other was being put on a low dose of neurontin for nerve pain. That coincides with when my seizures started to go nuts, I think.

[PhylisFeinerJohnson]

Perhaps it's time for a new doc who IS on this planet...

Below is a link to a list by forum members of the Epilepsy Foundation who have had positive experiences with docs over the years. This list is based on personal recommendations and, of course is purely subjective. But I thought it might be helpful for you. The list is organized alphabetically by state...

Comprehensive list of GOOD Neurologists…Epileptologists…Neurosurgeons…and Pediatric D

Good luck...

[flinnigan]

My Epileptologist is involved in a clinical trail using progesterone. I missed it by two days. I used a natural progesterone cream for a year and a half before I was diagnosed and went back on it in a pill form shortly before my surgery. While neither stopped the seizures the reduced the intensity and a felt better all around. I too dropped it as my medical cost increased. Of the two I preferred the cream form. It had other "Benefits" that my husband noticed too.

[RobinN]

Epilepsy affects 50 million people worldwide. Women may be afflicted with catamenial epilepsy, a form of epilepsy related to the menstrual cycle. In catamenial epilepsy, seizures are clustered around the monthly cycle. Despite the availability of several standard and newer antiepileptic drugs, there is no specific and effective therapy for catamenial epilepsy. Moreover, the exact pathophysiology of catamenial seizures remains unclear. It is well known that progesterone possess anticonvulsive properties. The level of this hormone drops near the end of the cycle, leaving women more vulnerable to catamenial epilepsy. Recent studies have shown how progesterone protects women against seizures. Progesterone plays two roles in the brain. First, it binds to progesterone receptors in the brain, which help regulate the reproductive functions. Second, progesterone gets metabolized to allopregnanol-one in the brain called a neurosteroid. We found that allopregnanolone plays a crucial role in seizure protection. The withdrawal from this neurosteroid, which occurs during the menstrual cycle, could provoke seizures. Consequently, we suggest that neurosteroid replacement could be a novel therapeutic approach for catamenial epilepsy.

http://www.ijp-online.com/article.as...3;aulast=Reddy

PURPOSE: On the basis of the neuroactive properties of estradiol and progesterone and the menstrually related cyclic variations of their serum concentrations, we propose the existence of three hormonally based patterns of seizure exacerbation. Because previous reports both support and refute the concept of catamenial epilepsy, we test the hypothesis by charting seizures and menses and measuring midluteal serum progesterone levels to estimate the frequency of epileptic women with catamenial seizure exacerbation. METHODS: One hundred eighty-four women with intractable complex partial seizures (complex partial seizures) charted their seizure occurrence and onset of menstruation on a calendar for one cycle during which they had a midluteal blood sample taken for serum progesterone determination on day 22. Levels >5 ng/ml were considered ovulatory. The cycle was divided into four phases with onset of menstruation being day 1: menstrual (M) = -3 to +3, follicular (F) = 4 to 9, ovulatory (O) = 10 to -13, and luteal (L) = -12 to -4. Average daily seizure frequency for each phase was calculated and compared among phases by repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Student-Newman-Keul's test, separately for ovulatory and anovulatory cycles. RESULTS: The 1,324 seizures recorded during 98 ovulatory cycles occurred with significantly greater (p < 0.001) average daily frequency during the M (0.59) and O (0.50) phases than during the F (0.41) and L (0.40) phases, offering support for perimenstrual (catamenial 1) and preovulatory (catamenial 2) patterns of seizure exacerbation. The 1,523 seizures recorded during 86 anovulatory cycles occurred with significantly lower (p < 0.001) average daily frequency during the F phase (0.49) than during all other phases (M = 0.78, O = 0.74, L = 0.74), offering support for seizure exacerbation throughout the second half of inadequate luteal phase cycles (catamenial pattern 3). Although 71.4% of the women with ovulatory cycles and 77.9% with inadequate luteal phase cycles had seizure exacerbation in relation to one of the three patterns of catamenial epilepsy, approximately one third of the women showed at least a twofold increase in average daily seizure frequency. We propose a twofold or greater increase as a reasonable definition of catamenial epilepsy. CONCLUSIONS: Charting of seizures and menses and determination of day 22 progesterone levels during each cycle may be sufficient to establish the existence of three distinct patterns of catamenial epilepsy. Approximately one third of women with intractable complex partial seizures may have catamenial epilepsy.

http://www.mdconsult.com/das/citatio...3/1.html?issn=


I can not find the Pubmed abstract where it states that a study was done and bio-identical progesterone was the only one that was recommended for this purpose. In their study the synthetic hormones did not show promise. The last line I remember was, "more research needs to be done in this area". I think I linked to it somewhere on this forum, but I don't have time to search. It is out there, and should be printed and shown to your doctor.