Women’s stories

“It’s a relief for everyone; just ask my kids!”

Low libido in perimenopause had Sandy so concerned she started taking HRT. But instead of feeling better, she felt worse than ever, with ongoing hormonal imbalance plus the side effects of HRT. Now on the Personal Program, Sandy’s mood, thinking, and agitation have improved, and her family’s delighted to have a healthy, happy mom back again.

“Two years ago I went to my doctor because my libido was nonexistent. He started me on hormone replacement therapy (HRT). It worked for a while and I thought I was feeling better, but it wasn’t worth the side effects. HRT made me feel more aggressive and agitated, and when I added progesterone for ten days, — it was really bad.

“I thought I was having some sort of a mental breakdown. My thoughts were muddled, I felt like I was in a fog, and I had terrible night sweats. I didn’t feel like myself. If you ask my kids, they’ll tell you I was never in a good mood.

“I knew my symptoms were probably due to hormonal imbalance because my mom started perimenopause at about the same age. Back then there weren’t a lot of options. She muddled through it, taking hormones for 20 years. But she didn’t want that for me. The more you read about HRT the scarier it is, but before we found the Program, I just didn’t know what other options were open to me.

“Before my period I was always a mess. With PMS my face was always oily, and I’d break out with terrible acne. My libido was zero, and I was horrible to live with — the harder I tried to be nice, the worse I was. It seemed like the longer I took HRT, the more my life was spent in that horrible PMS state.

“So I returned to the doctor. This time I saw a female gynecologist, thinking she might understand me better. She wanted to put me on Zoloft and take me off the HRT immediately, without getting off it gradually. When I got home and talked to my husband about it he said, ‘Oh no. No way!’

“So he went on-line and desperately started seeking help. In one of his searches he came across the Personal Program, showed it to me and said, ‘This might work for you.’ I was miserable, so I called.

“I started feeling better immediately, because it was such a relief knowing that I was going to get help. Just reading the Women’s Stories on the website and knowing that there were other women like me going through something similar was a big help. Physically, about two weeks after starting the Program I had more energy, and my thoughts were clearer, too. Every day I wake up, take my supplements, and think, Thank goodness I have these! I was surprised; you always go into new things feeling a little skeptical. I thought, I don’t know about this... But today, even though I have mild PMS, I’m still happy. I don’t want to kill anyone and I don’t have that awful, painful acne. It keeps getting better, progressively.

“In addition to taking Essential Nutrients and Herbal Equilibrium, I’ve started working out more. I go to Curves for 30–45 minutes, and that works for me. We’ll slowly start to work on the dietary recommendations, too.

“What I like most about the Program is the personal contact. You get regular e-mails, and people actually call to see how you’re doing. I feel like people care about me.

“I’m surprised the change was so quick for me. Words can’t describe how much better I feel. I’m just so hopeful, knowing that my life isn’t going to be hell for the next 10–15 years. It’s a relief for everyone, too — just ask my kids.”

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Original Publication Date: 11/10/2007
Last Modified: 02/16/2010