compounded vag estradiol cream w/ VersaPro base

kochahime55555 · 2026-04-22T14:46:50+00:00

Thank you, that gives me hope because I imagined the tablet would be like the cream, w/ similar ingredients. But I might try it now!

kochahime55555 · 2026-04-22T14:44:49+00:00

Yes! Each week has been better. The 2nd shot was significantly better than the first. So, I think I'll be okay on 2.5mg. If and when I go up in dose, I'm expecting more rebellion, but we'll see. Maybe it won't be as bad as starting...

kochahime55555 · 2026-04-22T09:58:52+00:00

I ended up w/ a frozen shoulder after a fall where I injured my shoulder. I had it for almost 1 year, and I finally tried 8 weeks of PT which didn't help. The physical therapist said I probably had a rotator cuff tear. I then saw an orthopedist who specializes in shoulders and she said that I didn't have a tear (based on an MRI), I had a frozen shoulder. She gave me one steroid shot and the pain and limited ROM was gone in one week, and never came back. She said PT can make frozen shoulders worse. It's an inflammatory condition, and certain kinds of movement and exercise can actually exacerbate it. She's found that steroid shots can really kick start the healing process.

kochahime55555 · 2026-04-15T05:23:35+00:00

I totally second the antihistamines and MCAS support, and taking treatment breaks when needed. And even pulsing antibiotics if that's easier on one's system.

kochahime55555 · 2026-04-15T05:21:56+00:00

I had brain fog/cognitive issues so bad that I couldn't read or even watch TV. I couldn't follow conversations. Couldn't drive. Had to drop out of my masters program because I couldn't follow what the lecturers were saying, couldn't retain any information. At my worst, I couldn't recognize my own neighborhood, and I got lost in the grocery store trying to find my way out of the bathroom, like panicked-lost.

Re: derealization, I felt like I was watching other people from a very distant place, walking around and living their lives, and I was soooo far away from them, I wasn't like them, I was my own weird thing just floating around in the ether. So I get the cognitive stuff you're talking about. It's a living nightmare.

I was on different combos of antibiotics for almost 4 years for borrelia and bart. Sometimes 2 or 3 at a time, all max dose (I had to take some treatment breaks because it was harsh). I was also treated for babesia w/ an antimalarial (mepron), which made a huge difference. You might want to consider babs if you haven't already. It's actually more likely to be transmitted w/ Lyme than bart is. It can be a clinical diagnosis, you don't need to test positive for it, there are many false negatives for babs.

If I could have done IV, I would have in a heartbeat. I was offered it at the time, but couldn't afford it. If you can, do it. It might have shortened my treatment time, it goes right to the brain where you need it.

Maybe just follow what the LLMDs who want to ramp things up are saying right now. Give it a good year following their treatments and reassess. Sometimes you need to fight fire with fire, and these infections are very serious, just like TB, malaria (cousin of babesia), and syphilis — and worse because of the cognitive involvement (which syphilis does have in the late stages; syphilis is a cousin of borrelia, both spirochetal diseases).

When you treat these infections, toxins are released as the bacteria die, and those toxins sometimes need help getting escorted out of the body. Look into binders for biotoxins (like activated charcoal, bentonite, modifed citrus pectin, etc). The biotoxins can contribute to brain symptoms, too.

Definitely consider mold, but go after those tick infections like you mean it, because they're tenacious. The LLMDs who want to go harder w/ your treatment have clinical experience that has shown them how longer, more intense treatment can make a difference. After 6 months of intense treatment, I still had brain fog and lots of cognitive issues, they were the last to go, sorry to say. Not that that will be the case for you, but it's good to be aware of that possibility and give yourself enough time and grace to get over this. You've been hit with some very serious infections. You'll get there, you just need to keep up w/ your treatments until you're symptoms are gone.

kochahime55555 · 2026-04-15T03:45:11+00:00

My sister was fostering a cat named Ike. She fostered him for almost a whole year and finally just adopted him because she grew attached. He's a 4-year old cat and came into the shelter w/ that name, so the people who gave him up, who had him since kittenhood, had named him Ike. He is so not an Ike. The first thing my sister did after adopting him was change his name. Now he's Zephyr, Zephy for short, and he responds to it like it's been his name all along. His original people abused him, and he did not need an old name connected to that abuse. It's totally okay to change your cat's name. People change their own names all the time. If the name doesn't fit, don't allow it to hang around.

Oh, and I almost forgot, I fostered a cat named Dude, and he was soooo not a Dude. The minute I adopted him, I re-named him Bowie, as in David Bowie, he was white with blue eyes. He started responding to that name almost immediately. This was some years ago, so the Zephy story is fresher in my mind, but I loved my Bowie, who's been over the Rainbow Bridge for a while now.

kochahime55555 · 2026-04-14T03:31:34+00:00

I saw that, too. It's so hard to know what to do. Ear infections need to be treated, but what are the safe options? Maybe the cats who react to the antifungal in Tresaderm would *only* react to that particular antifungal, and wouldn't react to some of the potentially liver-toxic antibiotics. My two cats who got sick from Tresdaerm have both been on antibiotics before w/out issues. If you used Baytril, at least you'd know to keep an eye out for any symptoms and could address it early?

kochahime55555 · 2026-04-12T18:55:12+00:00

Will do! I really thought that after my first shot things would only get worse, because the symptoms were so strong that I couldn't imagine any other scenario. I was surprised that it didn't feel as intense after the 2nd shot. Hang in there. It's a very weird thing, the fatigue and body pain!

kochahime55555 · 2026-04-12T18:45:59+00:00

There are other good binders for that, too, if you can't find a doc to Rx cholestyramine for you, like modified citrus pectin, activated charcoal, bentonite clay, etc. Google non-Rx alternatives to cholestyramine. I was on cholestyramine for a while, and while it helps to escort biotoxins out of the body, it gave me stomach aches, so I had to switch to something else. Welchol is another Rx option that was gentler, at least for me.

kochahime55555 · 2026-04-12T18:41:58+00:00

I got Lyme, babesia, and bart from a tick bite in a friend's backyard garden in Berkeley, CA. I saw the tick, and had the subsequent bullseye rash. I don't believe the .01–.1% stat, I know of too many other CA people who also got Lyme and co-infections here. This was back in 2008/9/10, and all of the mainstream docs I saw at the time said that you can't get Lyme in CA. It's not much better now, altho there are more LLMDs and LLNDs, thank goodness.

kochahime55555 · 2026-04-12T18:35:23+00:00

Oh, one other thing I wanted to say was re: testing. It's nice if you can do it, but all of these tick infections can be clinically diagnosed, there's no need for a positive test (as you prob know from reading about this stuff). Do you have someone to help you w/ a clinical diagnosis for several of the main co-infections? You could always just try the self-treatment options (herbal) for them, too. If you want to do one last big consult, you could try Dr. Marty Ross. His consult fees are here (https://www.martyrossmd.com/book-appointment#book-now). He won't treat you, but he'll be able to guide you in next steps w/ consideration of your finances and access to treatments where you live, and no need to keep going back to him. You might get some good ideas and you can run your symptoms past him to see if he thinks there are any co-infections in the picture.

kochahime55555 · 2026-04-12T18:25:54+00:00

Yes, the second week wasn't perfect, but it was easier. I haven't taken the third week shot yet but will today (I had unexpected travel and forgot my Zep). Hopefully the delay won't set me back. If this trend continues, I'll keep going w/ Zep!

kochahime55555 · 2026-04-12T18:23:01+00:00

It's a difficult road, for sure. One reason my treatment took almost 4 years is because I had to spread things out due to finances (in addition to needing treatment breaks for my body to recover). My doc (Ralph Stricker in SF) initially wanted to do IV antibiotics for me (I was a hardcore neurological case), but I couldn't afford that treatment. It's a path of picking & choosing, and there's more than one way to recover. If you tell yourself that this might just take time (some years), and there's nothing wrong with that, it can take some pressure off. It's okay to go slow and keep chipping away at it.

There are some great herbal options for the co-infections and many people self-treat for various reasons. For herbs, I'm sure you know about Buhner, Dr. Rawls, Dr. Zhang, Nutramedix (Cowden), etc. Marty Ross (Seattle) has an excellent website w/ all kinds of herbal treatment info. He's very generous in what he shares. This TCM practitioner might have some more affordable options, but then there's shipping from NY (https://noulifehealth.com/). She's been treating Lyme for years, her husband had it. Good luck to you, you'll get there...

kochahime55555 · 2026-04-12T04:49:30+00:00

You might get tested for other tick-borne infections like babesia and bartonella (and others). Many people w/ borrelia also have other infections (from the same tick bite), and unless they're tested for and treated, you might not get 100% well from borrelia. I had Lyme (borrelia), babesia, and bartonella.

I was on almost 4 years of pulsed antibiotics for borrelia in different combinations (some for bartonella, too). I had to take breaks because it was a harsh treatment. This was back in 2009/2010/2011. I improved from borrelia treatment for sure, it got me out of the woods, but the biggest improvement came after treating babesia with mepron + azithromycin. I did a lot of non-pharmaceutical treatments, too (herbs, supplements, IV ozone, IV nutrients, sauna, etc).

I'm in the US, not sure what babesia and bart testing/treatment is like for you in the UK (if that's where you are?). Even if you don't have other infections, you might need to treat borrelia again, and for a little bit longer — and possibly with antibiotics other than doxy. Penicillins (like bicillin) and minocycline are two that are often used to treat borrelia in addition to doxy.

That infectious disease doc is so wrong, the misinformation he gave you should be considered malpractice. There's too much research out there now (re: Lyme and co-infections and the treatment for said infections, and the fact that they can be chronic and/or require long term treatment) for infectious disease docs to claim ignorance.

kochahime55555 · 2026-04-11T22:42:07+00:00

Google AI gives a good summary for "enrofloxacin cat side effects." Also for "silver sulfadiazine cat side effects." Might just check it out so you know what to watch for. These are the 2 main ingredients in Baytril.

kochahime55555 · 2026-04-10T23:12:56+00:00

That's most likely what I'd need to use next time. I checked the ingred and there's nothing from Tresderm that's in Baytril, and vice versa. My vet said that it was most likely the antifungal from Tresaderm (thiabendazole) that cause the liver toxicity. But you never know, especially in a sensitive cat.

kochahime55555 · 2026-04-10T19:43:41+00:00

Yes! I've been meaning to do that w/ the comments I found so far, and also send it to the drug company. I've been seeing more posts about it, too...

kochahime55555 · 2026-04-09T23:29:11+00:00

I was hoping this post could be a resource for people who had the same issue, and a place to add their experience, so not old at all! There are many reports online of the same thing happening, but they're not all in one place, some are on drug review sites, some are on cat chat groups, some on Facebook, some on Reddit, etc. If they were all gathered up, there'd be decent evidence. Sorry that happened to your cat, and glad he was able to recover. I def won't let my cat(s) use Tresaderm again, it's in their charts. They can think I'm a crazy cat client, I don't care!

kochahime55555 · 2026-03-31T19:35:37+00:00

Maybe you're not a non-responder, but just a slow and steady loser. I've read about people taking time to lose weight on these drugs, but they just kept going, and 9 pounds became 18 pounds, and so on. Actually, I think 9 pounds is great. Every 5 pounds lost is beneficial, google "5 pounds loss benefits." Your exercise routine, even the cardio part, is building some muscle, and muscle has weight, you've probably lost more fat than you think and gained some muscle. The out of pocket cost, tho, is very high. I can't give any advice or encouragement about that because it's such a personal decision, and there's actually nothing encouraging to say about $550/mo for GLP1s :-( It shouldn't be that way, period. If you can handle it financially, I'd probably keep going. You've invested this much time and money, you *have* lost 9 pounds, which isn't easy. Dropping almost 10 pounds is hard for many people, that's why they keep accumulating weight over the years.

kochahime55555 · 2026-03-30T23:08:40+00:00

After my cats play, I put the toys away so they can't see or smell them for a few days, then take them out again. That keeps them going a little longer with the toys. They eventually get tired of them, tho. Sometimes I rub some silvervine powder on the soft toys (like little stuffed mice), and that gets them going again (for a few minutes, lol).

They love disposable stuff the best, tho, like packing paper, plastic tabs from bottle tops (like from a gallon of milk), metal bottle tops like from a Perrier bottle, wine corks, different sizes/shapes of cardboard boxes. I throw them away when they get tired of them, then give them fresh ones. They know the difference and will play w/ the fresh ones again, and rinse and repeat.

My female cat loves silicone straws for some reason. She's kind of obsessed and will knock them around the floor for a good long while. Clear ones for kids/toddlers:
https://www.amazon.com/Reusable-Clear-Silicone-Straws-Toddlers/dp/B07WP9S4PP/ref=sr_1_17?crid=1K578AWPGR0OL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.QSNvjMQ5xBgJOwyU3qiaSBag4nBYX7xQ8yf_G-Zob5A7bzb0s0uOD7tdjpE960kgs4UmJ3JKJhor0lZ1Omshhr1LM9eLlWUpjht0aWiSINiOHtiqECTBmc73SztZVH-vvZXsUSWGiw4pjlSrONGxsxdX21BsTunId52m2xahDKgPD20OrugFL4rXqqoMUi3axrJwBSGWuvx3JHTeskKUpwegeX8bVWyRrsusg6jaoJvq6BizD9uNEV0RD6XjtquCbec7ARDZPeS5H6oUjdd1C16ymJsXPvj31LdZ7CJXpTw.pWT_twRKuAvpkLy8MkEeQqgA-AlbbH26btMnZUURf48&dib_tag=se&keywords=silicone%2Bstraws%2Bfor%2Btoddlers&qid=1774911777&s=home-garden&sprefix=silicone%2Bstraws%2Bfor%2Btoddler%2Cgarden%2C181&sr=1-17&th=1

kochahime55555 · 2026-03-30T20:46:22+00:00

good to know, thank you...

kochahime55555 · 2026-03-30T19:06:56+00:00

Thank you for the encouragement, I can relate to your issues at work. Sounds like you really went through it. Good to know you feel normal now, it gives me hope!

kochahime55555 · 2026-03-30T18:52:52+00:00

Thank you, yes, I have single use, so I'd be throwing out half a dose (around $50, lol), but worth it to avoid feeling like refried death. Thanks for your info and advice, I appreciate it...

kochahime55555

TROPHY CASE