At the age of 40, I was forced into menopause overnight due to diseased ovaries that had to be removed, a complete hysterectomy and I started menopause. Without the benefits of compounded bioidentical hormones my life would have been a living HELL.... it was still difficult even with these hormones....and at 65 I am still benefiting....STOP Big Pharma from ruining our lives.

I was postmenopausal and was having problems in every facet of my life. Sleeping, sex, emotions, hair loss, dry skin, depression and hot flashes. My husband made an appointment with my gynecologist for me. Had blood tests and my hormones were compounded for exactly what I needed. At first I was tested once a month and then three months and then six months until I had the dosage perfect. I couldn't have survived through this period without these hormones. I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Pathology reported it was not hormonal related. At that time I opted to only stay with progesterone and thyroid. Now both of those are tailor made for exactly what my body needs. I wouldn't sleep and have to resort to sleeping medication without the progesterone.

Taking progesterone daily has decreased the production of the painful ovarian cysts I was getting frequently before being prescribed this treatment.

Hormones are necessary for positive quality of life. I am 54 and had to start cBHT when I was 38. Thank God for it. I have since had to add additional cBHT as I aged. So many problems were solved with a little cBHT. I experienced severe sleep issues, muscle pain and weakness, constant menstration, fatigue and exhaustion, depression, etc. I am symptom-free and live a wonderful, active life. I feel strong and healthy all because of cBHT. Please let cBHT continue helping people!

My doctor tried regular Pharma's one-dose-fits-all BHRT. It didn't help much at all and I was not happy with the risks. I changed doctors and was put on compounded BHRT. What a difference! Hot flashes ended, and my discomfort ended! The nuanced dosage worked! I won't go back!

Getting just the right amount of testosterone has relieved my brain fog, low energy, and low libido. I had had what I guess were "regular" doses that were too much or too little and they didn't help - my labs were all over the place. Then the doctor switched to compounded and that's what finally helped me.

Due to menopause, I suffer from debilitating hot flashes, memory loss, fatigue and depression which all can be managed and reversed naturally with hormones. Restricting this type of therapy would do irreparable harm to me and millions of women suffering from menopause.

I had terrible brain fog and I was unable to function mentally. The hormone replacement therapy has balanced my hormones and brought my hirmones to be balanced again. The bioidentical hormones are much safer than pharmaceutical synthetic hormones which I cannot use since my mother had breast cancer.

This kind of therapy has corrected my thyroid issues and has also corrected my hormone issues. I have a body that is messed up because of chronic Lyme. These types of medications have greatly improved my quality of life. Without them I don't think I would have made the improvements that I have. I have been take these medications for 13 plus years. Please don't stop them. I and many others depend on them.

I'm actually not premenopausal. I'm in another group of people who need hormone replacement therapy who have been overlooked. I suffer from Endometriosis, hypo-androgenic PCOS, Addison's Disease, as well as other autoimmune diseases. My hormone producing organs are severely damaged and no longer function properly. Because symptomatic onset started in my mid-20's, and because I was thin, Addison's disease and PCOS were overlooked for over a decade. My health began to deteriorate rapidly at 35 years old. I had been an athlete since I was a child but I always suffered from chronic exhaustion, and by the time I was 35, I could no loner participate in sports. I sought out experts in reproductive endocrinology and adrenal endocrinology. I was deemed infertile, I had no libido, I was depressed, chronically fatigued, suffered from an inability to focus and be productive in work, and I had an atrophied vagina. While my doctors are still fine-tuning the correct dosages of hormones right for my body, hormone replacement therapy has saved my life and my marriage. I've regained some normalcy in every day activities. And, most importantly, hormone replacement therapy, especially for those who are not peri-menopausal, menopausal or post menopausal, and for those who want to live normal, active lives and retain their fertility, tailored, compounded hormone replacement therapy is critical.

I started with Progesterone only at 44. I was able to sleep and not feel so irritable prior to my period. I'm now 65 and don't want to think of life without my hormones. My last bone density was really good and my physician said the hormones definitely made a difference, since I'm at risk for osteoporosis. I have risk factors such as being petite and 111 lbs and having Hashimotos's Thyroiditis. These compounded hormones are vital to my well being.

I have used compounded hormones at different times in my life. The first time was a compounded progesterone that I used during pregnancy. I had suffered multiple miscarriages but with the use of compounded progesterone, I was able to go to full term and give birth to a healthy baby girl. I later used a pellet to help me deal with a low libido. Most recently, I am using BHRT creams and have been astonished by how positively it has impacted my energy, blood glucose levels, and sleep quality - I sleep without interruption for eight hours every night. My skin tone improved along with my overall mental capacity and focus. I would not live without them.

I suffer from three different severe issues that fall in the "uro-genital" area of menopause symptoms. This is an area of menopause that is awkward to discuss, but extremely important to understand. The entire pelvic region is very estrogen-needy, and all kinds of severe issues can occur when estrogen levels fall. Women can become incontinent as the bladder weakens due to low estrogen. The vagina and vulva can atrophy and shrink up, causing severe pain, irritation, inability to tolerate sex, etc. Some women experience such severe atrophy that they get tiny cuts in their skin from everyday activities like wearing underwear. If you are a man reading this, how would you feel if you watched your penis slowly shrink can shrivel up and become painful on any type of contact. Throughout my struggles with uro-genital menopause issues, I tried various FDA-approved approved options. However, there is a major flaw in most FDA-approved options to treat uro-genital symptoms: they often contain unnecessary inactive ingredients that cause severe irritation of these very sensitive areas of the body. After trying multiple FDA-approved options that caused severe irritation, my doctor finally suggested that we try a custom-compounded cream that might cause less irritation. Thankfully, the versa-base cream was indeed the magic solution for me- no irritation! However, I am now very concerned about whether or not this option may be taken away from me. I have seen that the FDA may consider an exception for allergies, but how does one know if I will fit into your definition of an allergy? The specifics of such a caveat will affect hundreds of thousands of women like myself. Without my custom-compounded cream, my uro-gential symptoms were on track for incontinence, inability to have sex (thus also impacting my husband) and potentially needing to retire early due to severe pain from the atrophy as my skin gets so thin that it tears upon contact. Thankfully, I am now stable, but I am extremely concerned that I will no longer be able to access my low-dose cream in the custom base I need. I hope you will consider my story. I also hope you will consider that there are other FDA-approved HRT options that fail women for one reason or another. I know many women who have turned to compounded bioidentical hormone therapy (CBHRT) because FDA-approved options did not work for them or caused various reactions and side effects. It is not accurate to assume that women can be well-served by the current FDA-approved options alone. Also keep in mind that women are further limited by whatever choices their insurance company might cover. CBHRT serves millions of women for various reasons, and placing restrictions on access to CBHRT would be devastating to the quality of life for millions of women.

My quality of life has greatly improved since starting bioidentical hormone therapy. Before, I had debilitating and frequent hot flashes which interrupted my sleep and interfered with daily activities, vaginal dryness, and loss of libido. All of those symptoms have greatly improved and I feel like myself again. I also have a history of heart disease in my family and am aware of studies indicating HRT reduces heart disease risk in post menopausal women.

cBHRT has completely changed my life for the better! Previously I had to take Premarin, which is made from mare urine! Would you want to ingest urine to try to balance your hormones? I don't think so! Also, I got terrible side effects from this. With cBHRT my quality of life is GREAT, and I know I am taking something that is created to mirror the hormones that my body is no longer secreting. PLEASE do not restrict compounding pharmacies from creating these miracle compounds.

cBHT keeps me functioning. Without it, I would not be able to have a meaningful life. I first started on it about 10 years ago. I had my uterus removed at the age of 32 in 1988 (due to prolapse), so I hadn't had a menstrual cycle in a long time. About 13 years ago, I started having the hot flashes and the usual menopausal symptoms. Those weren't too bad, except for one. I had for many years the occasional ocular migraine. I would have it for a period of 30 minutes or so. It came along with vision impairment and disorientation, and then it would go away. I had also had a history of "sinus" headaches and motion sickness, which I now know was also migraine, but I had treated them with OTC medications for those diseases. When the menopausal symptoms started up, though, I got a blinding headache that would NOT GO AWAY. It was so bad I couldn't get out of bed. It lasted for three weeks. I couldn't function at all, and I had to function because I was the sole breadwinner for my household. At that time, I had a disabled daughter and a partly disabled husband at home. It took several months of trial and error, dietary experimentation, and testing several different drugs for the acute phase, but I finally got settled on a protocol that keeps me fully functional and living a fulfilled life. If I mess with any of it, I've got trouble. If I mess with the cBHT part of it, I've got REAL trouble and that happens within a day or two. cBHT is bioidentical, so I don't have to worry about the long-term effects of a strange chemical in my system. Which, since I am also very sensitive to chemicals and artifical substances, including flavors, dyes, and other man-made strangenesses that send me into fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, is something that concerns me a lot. The power of a compounding pharmacist to help me is something for which I am deeply grateful. I am also deeply grateful that I have had now five succeeding physicians who were willing to put their trust in her to provide me with this substance that has provided me with such relief. The physicians have departed to other pursuits and I, myself, have moved to a separate town. But the pharmacist is my constant link to the medicine that I need.

This compound is necessary for me to feel comfortable in general and keep an active sex life.

I feel like a different person. I am way more vibrant than before.

Life changing. I suffered with debilitating migraine headaches my whole adult life. I no longer get them and am able to enjoy my life. It has made my life so much better in many ways.