Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Hurdity]

Great news Goosieloosie! I've lost track - sorry - is it 200 mg you're using or 100 mg and what's your oestrogen dose? I'm sure the bleed will be fine - hopefully no worse than period and hopefully lighter?

Hurdity x

[Goosieloosie]

Great news Goosieloosie! I've lost track - sorry - is it 200 mg you're using or 100 mg and what's your oestrogen dose? I'm sure the bleed will be fine - hopefully no worse than period and hopefully lighter?

Hurdity x

Hi there, I'm using 200 mg (2 x 100) & a 50 Estradot patch. Should the bleed  be lighter than a period though to ensure it's clearing out the womb lining?? I'm a bit confused as much as I would like a light bleed I would then worry the Utro wasn't doing it's job?

[Hurdity]

If you are post-menopausal then it shouldn't be heavy at all - I use 200 mg vaginally for 12 days with a two month cycle on 50 mcg patch and still not as heavy as normal period but whenever I've had a scan it's always been OK.  If you have a light bleed it means that the lining hadn't got thick enough because you've started on the highest dose of prog and used it vaginally so it will defo have got through I would say. Don't worry!!

Hurdity x

[Keepgoing]

Hi I am on day 8 of estrogel 2 pumps daily I am feeling better but still getting night sweats albeit not as bad can anyone tell me if this will take longer to go or do I need more...I'm 45 and peri for about 3 years xx

[Dancinggirl]

Hi Keepgoing - early days yet - you should start to feel the full benefits after 4-8 weeks I expect. It takes time for the the oestrogen levels to build up. If after 2 months you are still getting bad flushes and night sweats then try increasing the dosage a bit.  Dg x

[Keepgoing]

Thanks dancingirl I was thinking this just thought I would get another opinion as on hrt tabs the sweats were gone by now...al give it longer and see how I go xx

[newbeginnings]

I'm having increasingly bad stomach pains I've had ibs for years, but this has been constant for few months. It feels like I need a bowel movement badly but cant. Its not relieved by having one. I'm so so fed up with getting nowhere with GP. I'm worried its cancer. I'm going to see gp today at 5 again.
I've been on utrogestan one month could it be being worsened by the utrogestan?

[Dancinggirl]

newbeginnnings -
IBS is a difficult one to control - do you suffer diarrhoea or constipation or both? It takes 3-6 months for any HRT regime to settle and make a real difference - are you doing sequential or continuous Utro?
My bowels actually settled down when taking Utro orally - I tried using it vaginally and it really effected my bowels badly and made me constipated and uncomfortable.
I did however get quite nasty period type cramps while on the Utro and this can be a problem on any progesterone.  If you are using Utro continuously (as I tried) then cramping can be an issue. Using any HRT or medication will always be about the benefits versus the side effects and the positives have to outweigh the negatives. 

Because I was getting nasty cramps, erratic bleeds and spotting, I took myself off the Oestrogel plus conti Utro 7 weeks ago to see how I felt. I am now really feeling the withdrawal symptoms e.g. flushes, night sweats and terrible fatigue. I am probably going to try the regime again but use a lower dose of gel and Utro sequentially (12days per month) to see if the bleeds and cramps are less on less oestrogen.  WE are all different and I am now 60 so my uterus probably isn't functioning so well these days. 
I would persevere fro a while longer to see if things settle.  DG x

[anais]

Hello

I am new to HRT. I'm 53 and my last period was 3 years ago. I have just started applying 2 measures of Estrogel, 1x dose morning and 1x dose evening and I take 1x 100mg Utrogestin at night. I started using Vagifem a few weeks ago and I'm presently inserting 1 tab every other night before going on to the 2x weekly maintenance dose.

I was referred to for investigation for post menopausal bleeding last year and I was told I was due to vaginal atrophy. I was also having one bladder infection after another and this was explained as a typical symptom of oestrogen deficiency. I was subsequently referred to Endocrine Gynaecology at KCH because of these symptoms but when the consultant looked at my hospital records on the computer and saw the results of my first DEXA scan from 2 years ago which showed I had major osteopenia and was on the threshold of true osteoporosis, he strongly recommended systemic combined HRT and not just local HRT for VA. He also referred me for another DEXA scan which I had a couple of weeks ago. I won't find out what my T scores are until I see the consultant in a few weeks.

In the immediate term, I would like to see an improvement in my VA symptoms. The Vagifem has made a slight difference but nothing significant. I may well need to give it a couple more weeks but it seems to have reached a sort of plateau now. I've been on the combined regime for only 2 days so it's too soon to see any difference anyway. I don't want to have to have unrealistic expectations either.

[Dancinggirl]

Hi and welcome to MM ajanee
You are clearly getting the right treatment at last - good HRT regime as well. The Vagifem should be used every night for at least the first two weeks and many of us use it 3 times a week after that.  The Vagifem is such a low dose now and it used to 25 mg instead of the current 10mg!!!  The systemic HRT will help your bones and also the bladder and UTI type symptoms - the Vagifem doesn't always penetrate fully in to the bladder.
The systemic combo of Oestrogel with Utro is great and this should really start to do it's magic in the next 2-6 months.  As you have been so oestrogen deficient for so long it may take time for the body to adjust and welcome the hormones so you really feel the benefits - you've got to be patient I'm afraid.

With the gel and Utro combo you may get some early side effects e.g. bleeding or spotting, period cramps, sore breasts, strange tingling around your lady parts - my gynae describes this as the body "waking up" - these things should settle within 6 months.
I also use vaginal moisturisers that help to keep the vaginal area healthy and this reduces the risk of bacteria taking hold that can cause UTIs.  I use Multi Gyn Actigel - a squirt on the end of my finger pushed up inside and around the outside after I've had my shower each night - it stings a bit to start with but is then very soothing.  There are a variety of products to try  - it's trial and error finding the stuff that suits you.

It's really good that they are addressing your bone density problems - they may advice additional treatments. You may have been told these things but I thought I should recommend you take Vitamin D3, magnesium, Omega 3 supplements and eat a chunk of hard cheese, some milk on your cereal plus a yogurt each day so you get enough calcium. Do lots of brisk walking as well. 
Do keep posting and let us know how you get on.  DG x

[Goosieloosie]

Well I finished my 12 day course of Utro used vaginally 3 days ago & today my bleed began but oh my goodness I have felt dreadful yesterday & today, today far worse than I have felt for weeks, my mood has really plummeted  . Yesterday I had a headache all day that would not shift & ended up turning into a migraine & I felt dreadfully sick aswell. Today I have another headache that will not shift & feels like my head is in a vice & I have done nothing but cry at the slightest things today  . I feel so low & miserable today. I expected to feel like this on the Utrogestan last week (pmt) but I was absolutely fine. Is this progesterone withdrawal?? Will it get better as the week goes on as I felt great on the Oestrogen only, I hope I get back to that again ?? I hate feeling like this 

[Trufflecat]

That must surely be progesterone withdrawal. Poor you.

[Hurdity]

Yes it sounds like it Goosieloosie - sorry to hear that. It used to affect me like that when I was on Cyclogest. This is classic pmt - if you are not progesterone intolerant then you shouldn't feel pmt while taking it - just as most of us during the 3rd week of our cycle usually feel nothing more than maybe a bit of bloating or breast pain sometimes. It is the few days before the period which is the main pmt bit of a normal period (for most women anyway - except the prog intolerant ones) - and this is the progesterone withdrawal phase when headaches/migraines are common, along with irritability, tension etc. Some women feel bad (during their cycle) when oestrogen drops as well - moodwise - but with HRT oestrogen is the same all the way through - although I think you are still peri-menopausal so your own hormones may be playing a part?

Also with me I found that if I had wine  - and later any alcohol during the prog withdrawal part ie the days after stopping, that would be sure to bring on a migraine. Later I used to get one at any time during the progesterone phase and then especially if I had alcohol during the prog part and if I had wine late at night.

What is your bleed like - is it heavy or normal  - like your usual periods when fertile?

You may need to modify the dose so that you can take less - see how your bleed goes first. As you are using it vaginally you should be able to get away with 100 mg but good ( though doesn't seem like it) to start with the licensed dose to see how you react first.

Hope you feel better soon 

Hurdity x

[Goosieloosie]

Thanks for your reply Hurdity, No I am not perimenopausal, my last natural period was 19 months ago so I doubt I have any of my own hormones lurking lol!
My headache is still there as I type despite having taken regular paracetamol all day. I also haven't slept very well last 2 nights, fell asleep around 1 am and wide awake at 6 am  .
I only began bleeding this morning so it may get heavier, at the moment it is lightish. It's such a shame as I felt great on the 200mg of Utro & even better on the Oestrogen only!
What sort of bleed should I expect before I decide to cut the Utrogestan dose down to 100mg?

[anais]

Thanks for your reply, DG.

I can't believe that GPs are so unhelpful when it comes to the menopause. I couldn't have a smear test 2 years ago because of the pain so the nurse wanted me to sign a disclaimer to opt out of the NHS screening programme which I refused. She said it was meno related. You'd think she would have mentioned local HRT.

After my first DEXA scan I was only offered Adcal D3 but the National Osteoporosis Society nurse told me it was unnecessary because I had plenty of calcium in my diet already. I was logging my diet on My Fitness Pal at the time. My GP's attitude was "well she's only a nurse so what does she know anyway?" I asked Dr Hamoda at KCH about this and he said that he would have said the same as the nurse, that supplements are only useful for people who don't have much Calcium in the diet, otherwise there is no advantage.

I had what seemed to be a lactose intolerance some years ago. Milk and anything with milk made me bowel incontinent and it all stopped when I switched to fortified soya products, always with added calcium and D3. I wanted to increase my calcium intake in my 30s to look after my bones. I didn't expect osteoporosis by this age though. I'll be seeing a gastroenterologist next month so I will find out if I have a genuine lactose intolerance or whether it's something else. I'm not sure that fortified foods are as good as natural sources.

I have quite a complicated medical history. I have ME/CFS which has been quite severe and I've been housebound in recent years so exercise is not an option and don't get as much sunlight either. I also have haemochromatosis, a hereditary iron overload disorder, which is another risk factor for osteoporosis. My sister also has haemochromatosis and she has osteopenia, so I obviously have a genetic predisposition to low bone density.

My GP never suggested HRT for my bone health. Dr Hamoda said it was the treatment of choice at my age, he mentioned "the window of opportunity" to start HRT and get the benefits. I'm quite pleased to have actually been able to see someone with this level of expertise. I'm actually appalled at the lack of information and treatment offered for women going through the menopause and beyond. I'm glad I found out quite early about my bones too. Just how many women are unaware that they could have low bone density? It's not until they have a fracture that they find out. DEXA scans on the NHS are like gold dust unless you have any obvious reason to have one.