Brain fog - how did you get rid of it?!

[WhiteAmericanoNoSugar]

I'm on Everol 50 for six months now. I don't date increase the hrt dose as I have family history of breast and ovarian cancers. When the GP recently prescribed it, I read the increased risks of these and got scared off. Does testosterone help? Or anything at all! It's debilitating.

Everyone is different but magnesium and b12 helped mine x

I take magnesium glycinate every evening. Which magnesium helps you?

I’m just starting on testosterone for this. It’s off label use, because it’s only prescribed for low libido but anecdotal reports are suggesting it helps with memory and brain fog.

Can’t tell you if it works or not yet because I’ve only started with it.

optimal thyroid , vitamin D3, folate, B12
taking magnesium daily and creatine
aiming for 8h sleep a night
HRT - incl testosterone

Your dr should not start testosterone before oestrogen levels are optimal, because testosterone converts to oestrogen if that is what your bodies needs.

the increased risk of cancers from MODERN bio identical oestrogen supplementation has been debunked in many cases (depending on family history and genetics)
it was women who were on the old synthetic oestrogen who are thought to be at higher risk of cancers.

for more info recommend these professionals social media channels
dr Louise Newson
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7o0osDKmCM/?igsh=MXR2OXFqbmdsMDEwNA==

dr Naomi potter
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNM8QJZozKY/?igsh=MWtmMmJ4Z2JxbnBtdQ==

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCCf8elM4QE/?igsh=MTRmZHdhNHdsaXR5OQ==

dr Stacy sims
dr Mary Claire

and some others - see links below - Diary of a CEO recently hosted a chat with 4 key specialists on female health.

https://bit.ly/4ogsgwJ
https://bit.ly/46SMfvR
https://bit.ly/4nbZFI9
https://bit.ly/4hcRuKm

which type of magnesium do you take? I've taken that for years and my brain fog is awful

strongermummy thank you for all that info.

I found DRVegan Perimenofriend taken alongside my HRT has helped massively.

https://drvegan.com/products/perimenofriend?_pos=1&_sid=4c1d7c92e&_ss=r&variant=55311780348277

Progesterone tablets and estradiol gel. I was getting to the point where I wasn’t able to work without making constant mistakes.

Brain fog hit me too hard. Ended up being low iron and poor sleep rather than the patch itself. Once I fixed that, it eased up a lot. Sometimes it's not just the hormones

I gave up gluten about 6 weeks ago and my brain fog has pretty much disappeared and I no longer feel like I am going to fall asleep at my desk in the afternoons. It’s an absolute game changer for me, I’ve been on evorel for 2.5 years, but a lot of symptoms has started creeping back in recently.

Stay busy!! And HRT

How I wish I could give up gluten! I just love bread!

@strongermummy The evidence on the risks does apply mainly to the older forms of progesterone BUT there is still only limited evidence on the risks of using micronised progesterone. It is not totally risk-free.

The older estrogens were never thought to be the risk factor- it's the progesterone.

However, the risks of breast cancer are not thought to increase by increasing the dose of estrogen.

Dr Louise Newson does tend to downplay the risks because although they are small, they do exist and it's still unknown how much micronised progesterone adds to that risk.

That link you left by Dr N is disingenuous. The BMS statement on micronised progesterone states that is appears to be safe for 5 years. There is no data beyond that, so LN saying it's 100% safe is untrue.

The only data available is on short term use of 5 years. There is some other data - a study in France which was over around 12 years - but again, that raises some questions.

My manager suggested menopause vitamins. It really helped.

@WhiteAmericanoNoSugar At the moment there is no research showing higher doses of estrogen increase the risks of breast cancer or ovarian cancer. the risk comes from the type of progesterone.

What sort are you using?
it should be micronised progesterone or dydrogesterone (in Femoston tablets) which have the lower risk.

If your family history is strong, you should be eligible for a BRACa gene test- have you asked your GP about this?

I have found cutting out sugar, dairy, caffeine and alcohol from my diet has made a marked improvement. I don’t eat gluten anyway as I’m a coeliac.

I use Everol 50 patches and they aren't going anything for the brain fog.

@WhiteAmericanoNoSugar

Are you using Evorel on its own as just estrogen? If you are, what progesterone are you also using?

Evorel comes as an estrogen-only patch , or a combined patch with Norethisterone as well.

If you are concerned about the cancer risks, you would be advised to use a different type of patch, not one containing Norethisterone.

That progestin in that patch is the older, synthetic sort which has higher risks.
Your GP ought to know this and have advised accordingly.

The medical advice is to use estrogen as a estrogen-only patch, gel or spray and then use micronised progesterone (not Norethisterone.)

If the cancer risk is high in your family has your GP not put you forward for genetic testing?

@WhiteAmericanoNoSugari can take or leave bread and pasta but I miss biscuits 🍪 however, after seeing such a noticeable difference, it feels worth it (just) and actually you do get used to it.

Second this - and I've doubled protein. Not drinking has helped though caffeine can still trigger anxiety. And I think I miss coffee more than wine, but anything to avoid symptoms. I don't miss sugar anymore - as again symptoms make it less appealing. I try to eat as fresh as possible too.

After months of castigating teen DS for taking creatine I tried some and think it definitely resulted in a bit more mental clarity. Having subsequently done some research seems it's much safer and more evidence based than I originally thought.

I can’t take HRT because of breast cancer in my thirties. Cutting out alcohol has helped.

See I took creatine in my breakfast on and off for a few weeks and noticed no difference...

But I was waiting for improvements in my weight lifting, not brain fog! Maybe I'll try again.

To date absolutely nothing has helped my foggy inability to find nouns and people's names.

I'm on high oestrogen, mirena, testosterone, vitamin D 4000iu and when I'm not on holiday, also mag glycinate. I've also tried lions mane.

I dont drink much alcohol at home, don't worry eat much sugar, but I crave bread at about 4pm everyday. And i fall asleep at my desk in the afternoon.

So I'm following with interest op!

@WhiteAmericanoNoSugar If you are worried about risks you should come off the combined patch and swap to estrogen + micronised progesterone.

TBH if you GP knows your family history they should have not given you a synthetic progestogen.

If you were to swap to estrogen gel, you can adjust the dose yourself gradually to see if your brain fog lifts.

It's far easier to change the dose with gel than with a patch.

Your family history- if you want to investigate your risk, there is info online about what constitutes a high risk (very roughly, it's 2 close family members like a mum or sister having breast cancer early, or lots of other more distant relatives like aunts and grandparents.) If this applies you can consider genetic testing but none of this means you can't use HRT.

You should also be talking to your GP about more frequent screening - mammograms and ovary scans, but it depends on your family history.