Hi Diane,

There's some overlap in these two issues, but heavy bleeding-- and
hysterectomy-- are very serious issues of their own which I'll address
briefly below but wouldn't be addressed by the skin cream we're
talking about.

First of all, I know when one has heavy bleeding even one more day of
it can seem like too much-- but I would encourage you to do some
serious research into alternatives before your hysterectomy. As one
poster mentioned, endometrial ablation is one of those options. I can
suggest a few books that are worth your while to read cover to cover,
since there's no going back after hysterectomy:

- A Gynecologist's Second Opinion: The Questions & Answers You Need to
Take Charge of Your Health (Second Edition) by William Parker

- Your Guide to Hysterectomy, Ovary Removal, & Hormone Replacement:
What All Women Need to Know by Elizabeth Plourde

And, believe it or not, despite the title,

- The Hysterectomy Hoax: The Truth About Why Many Hysterectomies Are
Unnecessary and How to Avoid Them, 3rd Edition by Stanley West

You may not agree with everything they say, but you will be making an
informed decision whatever you decide.

It's also a good idea, once you've read these books, to get a second
opinion from a specialist in hysterectomy alternatives and/or
minimally-invasive surgery, but you knew that...

Now, the overlap with the hormone issue. One of the biggest
no-brainer approaches to heavy bleeding, which prevents a large
majority of hysterectomies, is to insert something called the Mirena.
It is an IUD, but they call it an IUS ("intrauterine system") because
everyone remembers the scary IUDs of the 1970s. This one isn't like that.

I consider it an obvious first choice when dealing with heavy
bleeding. If you want your doctor to read about it, ask him to look up
a medical paper called "Progesterone or progestogen-releasing
intrauterine systems for heavy menstrual bleeding" by Cochrane
Database, 2005. BUT... it releases a little bit of an "androgenic";
progestin called levonorgestrel, so if you have papulopustular
rosacea, it could make it worse. There ARE cases in the literature of
women getting acne from the Mirena. But here's the important thing:
if it causes problems, you can have it taken out immediately. So way
ahead of a hysterectomy, I would suggest thinking about the Mirena.

Regarding the Depo Provera shot: Yes, it probably would have helped
the bleeding. On the other hand, I know of no contraceptive that
uniformly makes women feel worse, and once it's in you you're stuck
with its effects for 3 months. Doctors love it because women don't
come back pregnant within the next 3 months; what they don't realize
is that the combination of depression, weight gain, and irregular
bleeding is so unpleasant that most women NEVER come back; as a
contraceptive, 50% of women discontinue it within a year, which should
tell you something. Not to mention that it is known to reduce bone
density, and appears to increase the risk of breast cancer when used
in HRT. It's not fun stuff.

Now, the question: What connection does all this have with hormone
creams and the study we are doing? That has a 2-part answer:

1) The over-the-counter hormone creams we've been talking about in
this thread are not strong enough to make a difference in heavy
bleeding. The hormone that helps reduce bleeding is progesterone, and
when it's used on the skin a lot of it gets metabolized by the skin,
and little gets into the general circulation.

2) The study we will be doing will also have groups on systemic
hormone replacement, which COULD help. A cycling HRT regimen can
eliminate heavy bleeding when it's the result of peri-menopausal
wackiness-- when you don't get any period at all one month and then
the next month you get "flooding," basically two together. But it
doesn't sound like that's what's going on for you. (By the way, has
your doctor told you what they think IS going on with you? Is there
an adhesion or something from the old tubal ligation surgery? This
would be pretty important to know before going in there and pulling
out the wrong thing! I'd want to be pretty clear on exactly what the
problem is.)

A lot of problems can be calmed down by getting a progestin directly
to that area-- either the synthetic progestin in Mirena (which goes in
the uterus) or, if you have papulopustular rosacea, real progesterone
vaginally (either a compounded cream, or a gelcap called Prometrium
inserted vaginally in the appropriate dose and schedule, or a
super-expensive cream called Crinone that's so expensive because it's
mostly used for infertility treatment). You could also try the IUD
made with real progesterone (the Progestasert) instead of the Mirena
and see if that worked; the real progesterone shouldn't make for acne
like the synthetic progestin in the Mirena, and the Progestasert
should help some, even if not as much as the Mirena. And, like the
other poster mentioned, there are also other less-drastic alternatives
to hysterectomy to consider such as endometrial ablation.

I'm sorry that what we're doing probably isn't the magic answer to
your problem. But the good news is that there are lots of less
drastic alternative approaches to heavy bleeding now other than
hysterectomy, and they're ones that won't make your rosacea worse-- so
check them out!

Best of luck,

Elaine

P.S. You can still try out one or both of the skin creams as
described in previous posts and see whether either one does anything
for your skin-- they just aren't likely to affect the other issue at
this dosage and delivery route...

===========================================================

--- In rosacea-support%40yahoogroups.com">rosacea-supportyahoogroups.com, "dianewickersheim"
<dianewickersheim...> wrote:
>
> I just read your post and I'm in my glory!! I'm am so interested.
> I have been doing my own research into estrogen/progesetrone and the
> effects it has on your skin. Heres my story.
>
> I'm 40 and have been bleeding heavily every month since i had a c-
> section and tubal ligation 5 1/2 yrs ago. I have suffered with high
> blood pressure since being pre-eclampsic as well so my ob/gyn
> wouldnt put me on birth control pills. I never wanted to try these
> because of my skin. Every thing I do and think about involves my
> skin. Last week I saw him to discuss my options and he thought the
> Depo shot would be helpful in the short term(I'm having a partial
> hysterectomy in October). My blood pressure is better and i'm no
> longer on meds.. After researching the depo shot and other
> synthenic hormones I said no to everything. I dont know what to
> try. Would estrogen or progesterone help my bleeding, but what
> would it do to my dry/flakey broken out skin? I'm afraid and need
> help. Can y0u consider me for y0ur trial and if so how do you apply
> this cream you mentioned? I have a vitamin shoppe around the corner
> and know they have it. Thanking you in advance.
>
> Diane Wickersheim

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