Have you had experience with the Wiley Protocol?

I have been researching bio-identical hormones (including WP) for some time and stumbled across this discussion after my bio-energetic doc recommended the Wiley Protocol. This discussion is the perfect example of why this type of research is so difficult. You can't tell who actually has a valid story to share. Character asassinations of Wiley, et al, and inflammatory comments and crazy stories do not lend anything valuable to anyone. Those are the very comments that I generally discard because they are so lacking in credibility, by their nature. I'm a stay-at-home mom who homeschools my children, has had small businesses from my home over the years, am a retired La Leche League Leader, and have been a literacy tutor and library volunteer, among other things. And yet, friends all over the country call me to ask any holistic health/nutrition related questions they have, because I have a reputation for good research and generally knowing what I'm talking about in that area. I can just see how someone who didn't agree with something I say could use that background to discredit me and say I have no "education". Frankly, I value the opinions of others who have the same type of "education" I do, which involves over 25 years of concerted study and personal experience on the subject, more than someone with a 4-year college degree from textbooks which are, at best, a full decade behind the best current information. I think many of the people who badmouth Wiley on that basis would be unwilling to have themselves characterized by similar criteria.

Every doctor and patient who chooses to use WP has to do their own research and make their own decision. Wiley does not do the diagnosing.

I see a flaw in the idea that there is a particular hormone level that is right for everyone. And I can see how the tweaking process would be more difficult for people whose bodies need a more individualized dosage.

The main reason I am considering WP is because my doctor has worked with me for a year, to my great benefit, and he is so diligent in his research and thinking process. He's always working to improve his protocols. He hasn't been wrong yet, and I'm a VERY tough customer. I guess I also feel better knowing that he has the benefit of using bio-energetic testing to determine exactly what my body needs. When I first went to him and he prescribed me 2 grains of thyroid right off the bat, my friend was horrified that he didn't start out slower. But he had been able to determine EXACTLY how much my body wanted -- and he was RIGHT. I never had a single negative side-affect/outcome. He has had his wife on WP for a year and she is doing really well. He continues to tweak here and there, just like I know he will with me.

What I would love to do is speak with someone who started WP before menopause. I'm only 44 and perimenopausal at best. But my hormones have been out of whack my whole life and he feels that this would be the final thing to help me finally feel GREAT. It's totally a quality of life issue, and after spending the first half of my life feeling like garbage, I think I'm up for feeling great for the rest of it. Most stories I've read are women who were already in menopause. I'd like to know if it's harder or easier to adjust if your body is still making hormones and you're just working to perfect the balance.

I've been taking bio-i progesterone for a year, with great success. I still have a few things that my doc feels would resolve if I had a little estrogen to balance, create the "peak" and prepare the receptors for the progesterone to work better.

But can I find information like that? NO! Because all the information sites are filled up with people fighting and slinging mud and you can't separate the muck from the truth. Why does it have to be ugly?? I see a lot of people getting angry that other people don't just take their word for their position. Just because a Wiley Watch representative says something doesn't make it true. Just because the Wiley website says something doesn't make it total fact we don't have to look into further, either.

Thank you to the few ladies who have been very gracious and forthcoming with their personal experiences. Hopefully a few more will come along and comment and not be scared away by the ugly tone. Wouldn't it be great if this could be the one place where women could support each other to get ALL the facts, from ALL sides and make the best informed decision possible, without fear of being swayed by false information and scary smear campaigns? Let's do THAT.

-Moyne