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[Hurdity]

Hi loveydovey

I use it vaginally and have very few side effects. Just tiredness really - and that is to be expected from anyone using progesterone of any description.  I tolerate it well so definitely worth a try. I haven.t heard of the chest tightness thing and it is not one of the few side effects listed, but as Rivadan says, maybe you are mildly allergic to the peanut oil - or maybe something else caused this feeling other than the utrogestan?

You will expect to feel fatigued and maybe a bit depressed for a few days, but as I said but you should feel no more than "normal" pre-menstural symptoms, not some of the extreme side effects that women have experienced from some of the artifical/synthetic progestins.

Hope you get it sorted!

Hurdity x

[bombus]

Hi Ladies,

Just thought I'd update you on my never ending journey to find a tolerable HRT regime.

Last time I posted I'd thrown in the towel as it were-migraines re Utro being the culprit.

Well, after nearly three weeks of no oestrogen the hot flushes kicked in or The Boiling Flushes as I prefer to call them. You know-the ones where you want to fling open the veranda door and stand naked in the garden even though it's freezing outside. Those sorts of flushes.

I couldn't cope with sleepless nights and constant boiling so decided to start Oestrogel on the 1st of March and do Utrogestan every other night @ 100mg V route.

As expected the day after inserting the 3rd Utro a migraine developed and lasted for three days. Decided to carry on and give it a month's trail, and if more migraines occured thoughout the month then it would be time to start researching hysterctomies or jump off the nearest high cliff.

Since recovering from the initial migraine things have been good. No further migraines and after about 7 days of oestrogel the flushes stopped. So it looks of though a steady continous flow of Utro = no migraines in my case.

The other benefits have been that the Utro gives such a restful sleep. It's like being unconscience for 7 hours-wonderful. But the best thing that has happened is that the morning terrors as I call them have abated.

For about 18 months now I've been waking up in the mornings with high voltage anxiety running through me-the sort of anxiety where one thinks that every possible bad thing that could happen IS going to happen and it's going to happen today! It would lessen as the day went on but still had a general feeling of anxiety most of the time.

Anyway for a couple of weeks now I've been waking up quite calm. The anxiety during the day is much less too. So it looks as though Utrogestan is a very good anti-anxiety med-for me anyway. I did a bit of research and it turns out that Progesterone latches onto the same neuro transmitters that the benzodiazepine family target. Whether that's a good thing or not I'm not sure !

The Utro also seems to have a stimulatant effect on both my bowel and bladder. Good for me as the constipation is now gone. I do have more P's during the day though which is  a bit annoying but a small price to pay for all the other benefits I appear to be experiencing. Don't know if the same benefits would happen if taken orally.

Because of all the postives I'm wondering if my body does actually need some prog running through it. It's early days I know--a build up could occur etc-but for the moment things are good. Never thought I'd make a positive post about Prog.

Bx

[coffee mate]

That's great to hear bombus!

I am using Utro 100mg nights 1 to 25, and I noticed almost immediately how it helps me fall into a lovely peaceful sleep [something I had almost forgotten existed] Also as you say no more middle of the night or morning terrors.
I don't sleep for 7 hours but I do get at least 5-6 continuous sleep, which is like a miracle when I look back on my old sleeping habits.

Long may it continue. 

cm xx

[bombus]

Hi CM ,

It's great to hear that you too are having a good experience with Utro.

I'm thrilled with it's anti anxiety effects! Over the past 18 months my GP has prescribed Beta Blockers--no effect, just gave me really bad indigestion. Anti D's made me worse. Diazepam just knocked me out. GP then sent me off on a CBT/Mindfulness course in the hope that I could somehow gain some control over the anxiety-it didn't work for me but did help some of the members of the group who had various anxiety disorders.

I'm amazed that a small amount of progesterone can have such a profound effect. I must stress though to anyone reading this that I'm talking about the progesterone Utrogestan and not the synthetic progestin's Norethisterone and Levonorgestrel which did in fact in my case make the anxiety very much worse.

Bx

[coffee mate]

Hi bombus.
Yes that is true for me too.

When I was given Femoston which has Norethisterone it gave me the most awful pmt symptoms I'd ever had in my life.
The same happened when I was tried on Elleste duett [not sure which prog they have] but just awful. I was ranting and raving like a banshee!!

I really think that if the Utro hadn't had worked well for me, that I would have given up and gone cold turkey. Anything would have been better than that!
cm xx

[Rivadan]

Great to hear another success story for Utrogestan. Having started this ever-growing thread it seems I'm one of only the few who can't stand the stuff!

[Hurdity]

"I will be forever grateful to Candy for putting me wise to the possibility of this regime in the first place."

Hear hear - I hadn't heard of it as I used Cyclogest and would still either be suffering migrines, or having given up - raging hot flushes and lethargy!
Hurdity x

[Rivadan]

I'm beginning to wonder whether its because I DONT suffer from anxiety and ALWAYS sleep well that Utrogestan doesn't suit me!

We need more Candys to work this out!

[Hurdity]

I don't suffer from anxiety either...

Having sufficient oestrogen at the right dose helps me sleep - in that the flushes and sweats have stopped - but of course there are also other reasons for not sleeping well. Utrogestan just makes me sleep even deeper

Rivadan you may be one of the few unlucky women who are more progesterone intolerant than most (even to your own body's progesterone?) so will have suffered the whole of the second half of your menstrual cycle rather than the few days just before the period (which is due to the sudden drop in prog)? If you have to take prog though and the symptoms are no worse than you experienced in the past, then Utrogestan is better for you than any of the synthetic progestins as at least it will allow its other biological functions in the body to take place, whereas synthetics do not do this I understand. I probably sound like a broken record!

Rivadan have you tried using it vaginally as far less is absorbed systemically?

Howvere if you find a synthetic prog that has fewer side effects I can see you would want to take this - but I think this would be unusual?

Bombus and coffeemate - so glad it's working for you.

Actually I do think if you can tolerate it then a little is good for you (besides protecting the uterus) - just because of what I said above - that there are other biological functions of prog.

If only the right dosage can be worked out that is the minimum needed to protect the uterus - sadly I think very large doses are given because (I think I've said before) we are all different and also there is unsufficient research.

Hurdity x

[Rivadan]

I'm in a tricky situation because although I felt great on Norethisterone the hair shedding wasn't desirable on my already hair-starved head! However I most definitely felt 100% better on it than I do on Utrogestan.

I've tried Utrogestan all ways now - orally, vaginally, every other day, monthly and bi-monthly. Orally it makes me excessively dopey and dry mouthed, vaginally it gives me cramps like period pains - doesn't matter which strength, and whatever way I'm always bleeding by day 7.

I think I did probably have PMS for half the month - I was always very bloated and irritable and made some terrible decisions during that time.

I think maybe if Utrogestan was made in very low strengths like the synthetics then it may be worth me persisting but as it is, its back to the drawing board now.

[Rivadan]

Well you could try it Susan - nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say - and you can always switch back again can't you? Why not exploit a side effect to your advantage.

[Hurdity]

Susan - agree it's good to wait if you have a lot on. The main diffference is unless you use utrogestan vaginally this means taking the meds by mouth -which you are not doing at the mo' with the patches.

So you may well notice this - the utro will have to go through your digestive system and liver so might take a while to settle. I seem to remember you saying the tabs upset your digestion anyway? Not sure if utro does this though?

Hurdity x

[Rivadan]

I have to say Susan, it doesn't make me at all sleepy if I take it vaginally but nearly sedates me if I take it orally. Its certainly a strange one and something you would have to try for yourself!

[Cassie]

Just a bit of feedback as I am on day 12 of my 14 days of Uterogestan that I take only every 3 months. Well for one or other reason, this has been quite a rough ride in that I have experienced the following side effects:- terrible lower abdominal cramping, like bad period pains, I have had this before so its not a new side effect and disappeared after a few days, however, whereas Uterogestan always used to make me sleep well, I have been basically an insominiac since I started with this cycle of 14 tablets (using vaginally). I am sleeping but restlessly and having dreams, waking up every few hours whereas, I usually thank goodness, sleep like a baby!! Flatulence is another side effect, the farting is bad lol! And to top it all, I have been a witch from hell with my poor OH and children, so am rather looking forward, as is my poor long suffering family, to the end of this little cycle, whereafter I should get a bleed and hopefully peace will be restored to the happy home for another 3 months hehe! So interesting the way we all react in different ways, however, I would far rather be on Utero than any of the synthetics and that is just not negotiable, moods or not!! Happy Easter all!

[Cassie]

Oh and forgot to add to that, constipation seems worse since starting it!