Estriol Vaginal Cream.. Menopause .. anyone tried it for Vaginal Dryness ?

Estriol Ovulo 0.5mg vaginal ovules x 20 ( Ovestin) 

Estriol – The Power of Weak

Estriol is the third form of estrogen.  It is called weak estrogen by the medical profession because it only has 1/25th the proliferative effect on female tissues.  At the same time it is called weak, its usefulness is summarily dismissed by American doctors as some unknown and unproven substance – a testament to a profession’s lack of comprehension for anything that hasn’t been spoon fed to them by the pharmaceutical industry.

Your ovaries (assuming you still have them) produce 2 mgs of estriol per day, far more than any other form of estrogen.  Estriol levels do not rise and fall with your menstrual cycle19, and their production is not naturally curtailed at the time of menopause. 

Unlike estradiol, higher blood levels of estriol are generally protective against breast cancer.  One large trial20 showed that estriol did not increase the risk for breast cancer, whereas estradiol did.

In women age 85 and older who have no heart disease, higher circulating levels of estriol21 are present and associated with healthy blood flow and good circulation.  An animal study confirms that estriol increases the friendly form of nitric oxide22, an important relaxation factor for healthy circulation that helped prevent the formation of atherosclerosis in this study.

A study of women over 80 taking 2 mg of estriol per day found that it increased their bone density23.

Estradiol drugs are known to increase total cholesterol.  A 2-year study of women entering menopause24 found that estriol prevented the estradiol-induced rise in cholesterol.  Whereas triglyceride levels also increased in the estradiol drug group, estriol again prevented this result – even lowering triglycerides.  Since an elevation in triglycerides is a key sign of insulin resistance, leptin resistance, cancer risk, and heart disease – one can only say that a natural substance that directly guards against this (estriol) is a powerful health-promoting compound.

Estriol is sometimes referred to as the pregnancy estrogen, as its production rises from 2 mgs per day to 8 mgs per day during pregnancy.  It is believed that this elevation in estriol is highly protective to the evolving fetus, especially to the fetus’s nervous system25.  It is also believed that the rise in estriol helps stabilize the mother’s immune response26 to the fetus, dampening the possibility of the mother’s own immune system trying to reject the fetus as foreign.  It has been shown that a lack of estriol is associated with low birth weight babies27.  Low estriol is also a factor associated with postpartum depression28.

Unlike the obvious issue of excess estradiol being linked to serious autoimmune problems, estriol is linked to immune stability.

Indeed, the observation of the regression of autoimmune multiple sclerosis during pregnancy has led to some fascinating studies.  Non-pregnant women with MS29 have been given 8 mgs of estriol per day (the pregnancy level) and their MS has gone into regression.  When the estriol is stopped it comes back, and when it is started again it goes away (including the removal of brain lesions).  Phase II clinical trials30 are currently under way.  One of the fascinating aspects of these initial studies showed that estriol could powerfully modulate TNFa31, a significant inflammatory signal that is overactive in many autoimmune problems.  A separate cell study shows that estriol3216 is far better than estradiol at protecting brain cells from toxic exposure.

Estriol has proven effective as a treatment for vaginal dryness and atrophy33, as well as urinary tract infections.  It has been shown to help relieve hot flashes34, acting as a natural hormone balancer.  It helps many women with mood.  If you try some, make sure you can tell it is doing something useful.

The body of evidence shows that estriol is safe and effective, a form of estrogen that is produced throughout one’s life.  It acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, and is particularly effective at protecting the female system and nervous system.

As with any bioidentical hormone replacement, women should always ensure they are working on an overall health improvement program and it is moving in the right direction.  Never rely on any one hormone as a “magic bullet.”  And always keep it to a level that is within what your body would naturally produce.

Estriol is readily available in OTC creams and through a compounding pharmacist. 

( ovestin) ovestinon) also in tablet form, but its the vaginal cream I am interested in.. 

particularly for hot flushes, severe vaginal dryness, heart health and bone protection.....   think this is the right one for me.... least risk for me... 

more info..

Estriol

Let's start at the beginning: Three forms of estrogen occur naturally in a woman's body.  1. The ovary produces a form named estradiol, which is converted into another important estrogen called estrone.

 2. Estriol is yet another form of estrogen metabolized from estradiol, weaker than the other two, but still active. Although estriol is most commonly linked to pregnancy since it is produced in the most measurable amounts at that time, it is still present throughout a woman's lifetime at varying levels and fluctuate throughout the day.

Because estriol has been considered a by-product of another from of estrogen and thus too weak to matter, it has been largely overlooked as a beneficial piece of the hormone pie. However, studies suggest that it can help reduce a variety of symptoms associated with perimenopause and menopause, including:

Hot flashes

Vaginal dryness

Bone density

In addition, research points to the benefits of estriol for heart health, post-menopausal urinary tract health and protection against osteoporosis.

Estriol's strength is actually found in its weakness. Tests show that while relieving the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, estriol *** doesn't seem to increase the risk of breast cancer. This is because estriol binds to the estrogen receptors on the breast cells, but it has much weaker activity. Therefore, it actually blocks the stronger estradiol from binding to those cells and subjecting them to the higher estrogenic activity which has been shown to be protective against breast cancer. And for women who have difficulty tolerating stronger estrogens for the treatment of hormonal imbalance due to aging, estriol is often the right choice.

Jay xx 

may help some ladies..

Estriol vaginal the kinder choice.. ovestin - gynest etc 

To understand menopause, it’s imperative to know more about your hormones, estrogen and progesterone. When a woman hits her 30s, blood levels of estrogen and progesterone gradually decline as nature intended because the childbearing years are over.

In the ’60s, more than half of the 30 million postmenopausal women in this country were prescribed esterified estrogens (usually from a horse) as the antidote to aging. However, about that same time, studies began showing that these women were five times more likely to develop uterine cancer and an increased prevalence of breast cancer than the women who did not take this estrogen replacement therapy.

There are three types of estrogens in a woman’s body that work like a symphony to safely produce the desired effects. The three types of estrogen are estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3). 

However, estrone and estradiol have now been shown to be *'carcinogenic when given by themselves unopposed with progesterone, while estriol has been found to be * anti-carcinogenic and therefore protects the body from the harmful effects of the other two.

Because natural products in this country cannot be patented, all of the current estrogen drugs used in this country are combinations of synthetic copies of estrone and estradiol.

Estriol is considered the “forgotten” estrogen. It has been labeled historically in the U.S. as a weak or ineffective estrogen. 

However, in Europe, estriol has been recognized for its benefits and has been used for years. I like to call estriol the anti-estrogen, and the need to use a safer form of estrogen seems crucial at this time. One of the most exciting things about estriol is the fact that it exhibits considerable evidence showing that it protects against breast cancer and even shows promise in reducing the brain lesions of multiple sclerosis. Fear of cancer prevents many women from restoring youthful hormone levels. We have also found when large quantities of estrone and estradiol need to be removed from the blood stream, probiotics, vitamin B6, fiber, fish oil, and calcium-D-glucarate (you find this in apples and oranges), will also help the elimination process. The pith of tangerines and oranges is especially good for this. When estriol is applied through the topical (transdermal) route; estriol is not associated with increased cancer risk because estriol has a much lower affinity for binding to blood protein as compared to estradiol; therefore, a greater percent is available for biological activity. Other methods women can use to prevent hormone-related cancers include consuming abundant vitamin D, cruciferous vegetables, soy, D-glucarate, and lignans, while minimizing meat and high-fat dairy intake.

I use 1mg Esriol it is safe and cancer protective although the weakest form but good for one other little thing wrinkles yes wrinkles the transdermal cream i get i use .5 vaginally and the other .5 on my wrinkle and leftover i dot a little on my neck under the chin too )) comes from a good source do not tell ur doc u want it for that though lo .I also take estrogel (estradiol) 1pump (1mg) and progesterone 60 mg split up 30 daytime 30 night and 200mg at bedtime prometrium orally and 1mg testosterone. My levels are still low so i just started on pregnelone 2mg a day 1mg am and 1 mg pm all bioidentical compounded except for the prometrium and i get it free from my gyne. i am hoping the preg will help support my adrenals to start making my back up hormones mostly progesterone as it is very low, only on a few days so cannot tell any difference as yet and need my labs done to see any changes to my levels  so will be back with that when i can prolly another few weeks.P.S. I also supplement with seriphos for adrenal support from a MD/ holistic Dr. Anyway CHEERS and CHEERIO for now be back soon!      

Didnt really want to use this because I went through the menopause  15 years ago with hardly any problems and didn't want to put unnecessary drugs into my system.

i finally relented after reading internet reviews and boy am I glad I did.  Practically overnight I felt great.  My aches and pains cleared and my previously dead sex drive returned.  Hurrah....   Will be seeing my G.P.  To find long term usage results.  So far so good.  Booking smear test soon. Don't know if the sex drive thing is normal or just me.