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Author Topic: Feeling zonked on HRT - is this common?  (Read 10415 times)

Babyplum

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Feeling zonked on HRT - is this common?
« on: August 08, 2017, 02:49:08 PM »

Hi everyone,

First of all, I'm a relatively new member to the forum. In fact, this is my first post so I hope I'm doing it properly!!

So, I have a question. I'm a late-comer to HRT. I'm 57 and got through the worst of hot flushes and night sweats by eating well and taking supplements. But my sleep suffered ongoing, my sex-drive died a death, and worst of all I felt permanently brainless since menopause started, if not before. My ability to work has suffered greatly (I lost focus and was too exhausted to do as much as I used to do) and given I'm self-employed, this has been really difficult. I shared all this with my lovely gynae recently, and she suggested it wasn't too late to try HRT. I'd read all the stuff about cancer risks, which was why till now I'd avoided it.But, honestly, I got to a point where I thought that I had nothing to lose by giving HRT a go. If my general quality of life improved, the risks would be worth it. The gynae prescribed 1-2 metered doses of Oestrogel, and 100mg of Utrogestan.

The first few days, I felt even more tired, but this passed. Weeks two and three, my hot flushes came back worse than they had been of late, but nothing too serious. It's week four now, the flushes appear to be abating again, but I'm back to feeling more tired. On the plus side, I'm sleeping better, I appear to be able to think more clearly again and I do feel as if I've got some of my old confidence back. But this tiredness is a bother.

Any thoughts? I've been using only 1 dose of Oestrogel to date. I've read that Utrogestan (progesterone) can have sleepiness as a side effect. Do I perhaps need to take 2 doses of the Oestrogel to balance it?

What has been your own experience with this, if any? Does this tiredness pass?

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Salad

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Re: Feeling zonked on HRT - is this common?
« Reply #1 on: August 08, 2017, 09:17:04 PM »

You've done your post perfectly Babyplum  :welcomemm:

I find I get extreme daytime tiredness as a low oestrogen symptom and then have insomnia  ::)
One pump of Oestrogel is a low dose so maybe trying two is a good idea to see how you get on.
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Annie0710

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Re: Feeling zonked on HRT - is this common?
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2017, 07:38:39 AM »

I'm not a user of progesterone but I read so often taking it orally can have that effect.  Hopefully someone will come along and offer advice .  That same capsule can be used vaginally and it might alleviate some of your troublesome symptoms. 
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Wrensong

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Re: Feeling zonked on HRT - is this common?
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2017, 01:40:24 PM »

Hi Babyplum, welcome to the forum.  You asked for others' experiences - I've just started my 3rd trial of Utrogestan, which as you say, is known for its sedative properties.  I find the capsules make me drowsy within an hour, which is a bonus for me because I have long-term problems sleeping for several reasons.  However, throughout menopause I've also had the worst fatigue of my life, with unbelievably poor stamina, very unlike the formerly good energy levels I took for granted.

Is your tiredness unnatural drowsiness, a feeling of physical exhaustion or both?  The distinction I'm thinking of here is that by midday my body feels worn out & weak as though it's reached its physical limits - I ache from the waist down as if I've done several days' manual labour & have to sit or lie down in order to recover enough to manage the afternoon upright!  This is what I think of as physical exhaustion - it's disproportionate to effort expended & a right nuisance!

When not on Utrogestan, if I'm comfortable and not stressed, I quickly become naturally drowsy & fall asleep within minutes of sitting down, at any time of day, as most people do when getting insufficient sleep. 

However, on the Utro I can feel its sedative effects within the hour & the drowsiness it causes feels unnatural - drug induced. 

I've also found that during any time in my life when I've been lucky enough to sleep a bit better, my body has started to relax and I've actually felt more tired during the day.  So, as you say you are sleeping better, I wonder whether you could be having a similar reaction.

Trying to get an idea of whether your tiredness is definitely being made worse by the Utrogestan.  If you do feel drowsier especially "drugged", I would suspect the Utrogestan.  If it's more physical - worn out, aching muscles, weakness etc, then I'd hope this would improve after a while on the right HRT regime & it should be well worth hanging on in there for at least the recommended 3 months if you can find a way to cope meanwhile.

I think some women find Utrogestan simply too sedating, but remember from my longest trial (5 weeks) the effect diminished as time went on.  I had to stop it for reasons other than fatigue and am just 3 days into this latest trial with a different dose of Oestradiol. 

Using the Utrogestan capsules vaginally, as Annie says, is said to reduce systemic effects and gives good protection of the uterine lining.  It can be more irritating to the local area when used this way though.

If your gynae prescribed either 1 or 2 pumps of oestrogel, then as others have suggested, you could increase to 2 and see how you feel.  I think this might well counteract the sedating effect of the Utrogestan.  I hope you feel better soon.

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Babyplum

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Re: Feeling zonked on HRT - is this common?
« Reply #4 on: August 09, 2017, 02:09:45 PM »

Gosh, thanks everyone for all these wonderful replies!

Salad, my hunch is you're right about the oestrogen and I'm going to try two squirts a day and see if that helps.

Annie0710, I wasn't aware you could use utrogestan vaginally. I'll explore that too.

Wrensong, while I hate to think of someone else suffering this crushing post/menopausal tiredness, it's comforting to know I'm not alone, if you know what I mean! The tiredness is both a feeling of unnatural drowsiness and of feeling physical exhaustion. I do sometimes feel drugged, while at others as if I've done a hard gym session. First step, I think, is to up the oestrogen dose and just see what happens. I'm pretty committed to giving the treatment a go for the three months they say it takes to really settle down and work, so there's nothing to lose by experimenting.
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Hurdity

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Re: Feeling zonked on HRT - is this common?
« Reply #5 on: August 09, 2017, 02:14:15 PM »

Hi Babyplum

 :welcomemm: from me too.

I also find Utrogestan sedating even though I use it vaginally - I dread to think how it would affect me orally. Also there is no way I would want to take it all the time - even vaginally - because of this and the associated foggy head! Many women who take utrogestan do so on a cycle ( unless they are bothered by lack of sleep and welcome its sedating effects as Wrensong has mentioned) like me - even though I am in my 60's.  Some women also find flushes worsening when on the progesterone phase of their cycle - as somehow interfering with the beneficial effects of oestrogen.

I would go with the others' suggestion of increasing to two pumps and trying that for a few weeks. You may get some unpredictable spotting or bleeding though as you increase the oestrogen. The other possibility is to keep the oestrogen lower say one and a half pumps) and going for cyclical progesterone - that way you would experience the benefits of oestrogen without the progestogenic side effects.

Some docs prescribe the continuous progesterone strictly according to the license ie Days 1 -25 with 3 days off, in which a small bleed is possible should there be any build up of lining.

Hurdity x

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Babyplum

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Re: Feeling zonked on HRT - is this common?
« Reply #6 on: August 09, 2017, 02:35:08 PM »

Thank you Hurdity. That is all so interesting to know!

Do you mind if I ask, do you use the standard utrogestan 100 capsules vaginally, or do you use the pessary form (I've been googling. Looks like there's a 200mg vaginal pessary formula?!). Also, do you have any local issues when you use it that way, whatever format you're using?
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