Started Pueraria Mirifica this week for hypogonadal SE's
Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2022 7:20 am
This past Sunday I started taking Pueraria Mirifica (PM) 2X daily for hot flashes and osteoporosis. I have been castrate for over five years due to cancer treatments and have not had so much as a sexual thought during that time. I've been taking Effexor (venlafaxine) for most of that time and it has reduced the frequency and intensity of hot flashes, but I still wake up with night sweats. Fortunately, after the first two years it significantly stabilized my moodiness.
Also I have been quite concerned about my bone health. I know that I have been osteopenic for probably twenty years, since my first DEXA was done following a traumatic orthopedic injury. Then when my radiation oncologist started me on Lupron I requested another one. Then there's my GP, who does one every two years, just because I am old. There has been significant turnover in my doctors and I have tried to impress upon each of them my concerns about bone health.
When my GP does DEXA's he just shows me the graph and points out where women fall on the chart. Next month I plan to impress upon him how low my testosterone actually is and ask him BLUNTLY what is the difference between a woman without estrogen and a man without testosterone.
BTW I already have mild gynecomastia. My previous urologist suggested that I see a surgeon about it. I was initially concerned because my left nipple was very tender. I have a friend who went thru lengthy treatment for metastatic breast cancer (yes, it happens) so I brought the tenderness up with two different doctors and made sure that it was in my chart. But then more recently my left breast became less painful and now it is the right one that feels the same way, so I'm pretty sure it's not BC.
After researching the typical post menopausal HRT's I read about PM in the cimetidine thread, and ordered several bottles from various manufacturers. I am uncertain of the quality of each, as some are outrageously expensive and others have some poor reviews. Some have B vitamins added to them and others have DIM, so to minimize the possibility of hypervitaminosis or filler induced toxicity I plan to rotate thru different brands so that I am not taking it all from one single source. Most state their dose as something like "1000mg from 100mg PM extract".
So nothing to report so far. I understand that these things take time to take effect. I will probably mention to my GP at my annual physical next month, either as a lead-in or follow up to the testosterone issue, that I have started taking a phytoestrogen and why.
I am curious if there are other men among this group taking PM for therapeutic purposes rather than for feminization.
Also I have been quite concerned about my bone health. I know that I have been osteopenic for probably twenty years, since my first DEXA was done following a traumatic orthopedic injury. Then when my radiation oncologist started me on Lupron I requested another one. Then there's my GP, who does one every two years, just because I am old. There has been significant turnover in my doctors and I have tried to impress upon each of them my concerns about bone health.
When my GP does DEXA's he just shows me the graph and points out where women fall on the chart. Next month I plan to impress upon him how low my testosterone actually is and ask him BLUNTLY what is the difference between a woman without estrogen and a man without testosterone.
BTW I already have mild gynecomastia. My previous urologist suggested that I see a surgeon about it. I was initially concerned because my left nipple was very tender. I have a friend who went thru lengthy treatment for metastatic breast cancer (yes, it happens) so I brought the tenderness up with two different doctors and made sure that it was in my chart. But then more recently my left breast became less painful and now it is the right one that feels the same way, so I'm pretty sure it's not BC.
After researching the typical post menopausal HRT's I read about PM in the cimetidine thread, and ordered several bottles from various manufacturers. I am uncertain of the quality of each, as some are outrageously expensive and others have some poor reviews. Some have B vitamins added to them and others have DIM, so to minimize the possibility of hypervitaminosis or filler induced toxicity I plan to rotate thru different brands so that I am not taking it all from one single source. Most state their dose as something like "1000mg from 100mg PM extract".
So nothing to report so far. I understand that these things take time to take effect. I will probably mention to my GP at my annual physical next month, either as a lead-in or follow up to the testosterone issue, that I have started taking a phytoestrogen and why.
I am curious if there are other men among this group taking PM for therapeutic purposes rather than for feminization.