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[SharonDerby]

Good morning all i hope i'm posting this in the correct place?

My name's Sharon and i'm from Derby (bet ya didnt get that from the member name lol)

Anyway i am in desperate need of some advice.

Been struggling over the past 2 years with various symptoms which are all similar to everyone elses, hot flushes, poor memory, poor concentration, poor sleep patterens (get to sleep fine then wake up at the same time ev night 3 am wide awake but then have no problem getting back to sleep but then wake again 3 hours later same pettern wide awake???) absolutely exhausiting when i have to be up at 7 for work every day.

 I have the added problem of having no thyroid due to a total thyroidectomy in 2010 so everything i was feeling/happening i was putting down to that,prior to the thyroidectomy i had an overactive thyroid so was full of energy, skinny as a rake n never felt cold but after the op obviously i had the opposit, freezing cold all the time gained weight like it was going out of fashion etc etc.

 But the last 6 months got so bad i knew it wasn't the thyroid (all bloods checked and in normal range) so doc just kept putting it down to other stuff ? mainly he'd say are you depressed grrrrrrrrrrr made me so angry as i knew it wasn't depression and i kept telling him no i'm not depressed (thankfully, as i have seen true depression and can't begin to imagine how bad that is for people) , i told him i was feeling like crap all the time, exhausted by distrurbed sleep, frightened by poor memory and concentration, hot flushes etc, i even left my job because i thought it was that making me feel so rubbish thankfuly i have another job now but that's how bad it has been, i asked him if it could be the menopause but he said no as i was only 48 (at the time), anyway eventualy last week he said he wanted to check FSH and of course i wasn't suprised when he said the reults indicated meopause, "No S*** sherlock" i wanted to knock him out i was soo mad if he had listened to me way back i'd have got help sooner.
He has now given me some HRT but it's a whole new world to me, i am scared to death of medication (result of being given too much thyroid meds which led to thyroidectomy which could have been prevented if monitored properly)....whole other story.

He has given me Premique low dose 0.3mg/1.5mg modified release tablets so my questions are around that really.
Is it the right medication for me? i know thats impossible to answer what i mean is is it one that has a good record of achieving results.
Have i read it wrong or did this type of medication get withdrawn? (i have read so much in the last 24 hours it's a blur
I am scared it's going to make my symptoms worse (such a baby but i coudn't face things getting worse)
Should i be asking the doctor any other questions? ( i grew up with no Mum so have never had that advice/chat/support)
Ladies i am desperate to get this right and i will take the HRT to get some sort of life back in me, it would be lovely to wake up feeling like i have been asleep and have some energy, and some emotion back in my life, my partner is fantastic i'd like to get some libido back too .

I hope i have posted this in the right place.

Best wishes all n thanks for reading.
Sharon

[CLKD]

   browse round, join in - do you see a Consultant about the thyroid, maybe an appt. to check the various meds you may require in the future?  Do you have a Practice Nurse who might be more clued up than the GP on meno-problems?  You are very welcome here, there are ladies who have thyroid issues and I am sure they will be 'in' soon!

[SharonDerby]

Hi CL
Thanks for the welcome, it's a fabulous site n i am engrossed reading all the info available.

I do see an endocrinologist re the thyroid problems, as i have had thyroid problems all my life i'm pretty clued up on the dam thing so i hope i can offer advice to anyone needing it, i have an appointment to see him soon.
My levothyroxine is at the right level for me at the mo, altho i know the symptoms can be quite similar i knew it wasn't the thyroid causing me all this trouble.

I'm glad to be on the right track and i'm pretty sure if i don't feel a million times better by t time after taking one dose of HRT then i'll be dissapointed lol.
Seriously i just want to feel more like my old self, which i guess everyone here does.

Again thank you for the welcome, just having this site has lifted my spirits and given me hope........PRICELESS.

Sharon x

[Hurdity]

Hi sharonderby

I don't know much about thyroid but I think the medication you take can be affected by or affect oestrogen as part of HRT - but your doc should know ( or maybe not in your case!). Hopefully also someone else on here on HRT and thyroxine can help too.

No Premique hasn't been withdrawn and it is impossible to say whether it will be all right for you as we all react individually to different HRT. Some women are fine with it and for some it gives side effects so they have to change to another one. It is the cheapest one but also it is for post-meno so did you stop periods over a year ago? If you had to ask your doc if you were menopausal then it sounds like you must still be having periods as any doc will know the symptoms were meno if you had stopped a while ago!

Otherwise ie if you are still having periods and last one less than a year ago, it is the wrong one and you need one for peri-menopause which will give you a regular bleed. They are all listed on the left in the Green Menu.

http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/perimeno.php
 

The Prempak/Premique HRT would not be my personal choice because none of it is bio-identical - ie it is equine oestrogens and synthetic progestogen - but many women thrive on it so you may well do too.

If you want any more help do please ask as lots of us on here have tried the various different HRT available - and yes it does work for most women - when you find the right one!!

Read up as much as you can about it and then go along to the doc with your choice and the reasons for it.

Good luck and do ask anything else you want to know - and we will try to answer!

Hurdity x

[SharonDerby]

Hi Hurdity ty for the reply.

My periods have been erratic for a year my last full period was last november so no it hasn't been a year so maybe i should ask for a hrt that gives me that mothly bleed, i must admit that i only got any releif monthly from symptoms once my period came.

I'm not suprised i got the cheapest option it seams docs are unwilling to let anyone have anything that costs more.

How long should i try it for?, i have only taken 2 doses so far so i'm not expecting to feel any changes but how long do i give it?
If i swap then can i start the new one straight away or do i have to give it time to get the old one out of my system? sorry for all the q's.
Is there a good HRT you could suggest one that gives a monthly bleed so that i am armed with enough info to sound knowlegable when i ask.

I am grateful for all the advice support and reasurrance from you all.

Sharon x

[Hurdity]

Hi sharonderby

All the ones that give a monthly bleed are the ones on the green menu at the link in my last post. You definitely should be on one that gives a bleed - for peri-menopause.

When you say you took two doses - do you mean two tablets? That won't make much difference if you stop or change very soon.

I would get back to the doc asap and ask for a different one - or in fact ring them ( will be difficult now until after Easter) to say you think you've been given the wrong type.

It depends on whether you want a pill or a patch/gel.

If you like the idea of a pill and just one type to take then maybe try Femoston 1/10 to start with and see how you get on. The progestogen in this one is most similar to the progesterone in our own bodies and is the closest one available in pill form. Many of the pills contain norethisterone which causes problems in some women ( headaches pmt, irritability etc).  Doc might suggest Prempak which is the cyclical version of Premique - but as I said below I would resist this option.

If you would rather have a patch or gel and possibly separate progesterone then ask on here again - but many women find Femoston to be fine.

As to when to start - well if you haven't had a period recently then you can;t time it with your cycle so you would probably be able to start stright away. Depending on how far into meno you are sometimes your own cycle breaks through, but if your periods were getting very far apart it is likely the new HRT will just start a new cycle.

You should find the physical effects of HRT to happen fairly quickly - within a few days/weeks but some of the emtional stuff does take a while longer - I have read up to a year for some women.

Hope this helps

Hurdity x

[Elena]

Hi Sharon

thyroxine is a so and so for not being compatible with other meds and substances.

When you say your thyroidectomy was caused by too many thyroid meds I assume you mean for your underactive thyroid?

I have underactive but I'm not a typical underactive as I never piled on the weight.  Possibly because I've always been on anti-depressants which probably suppress my hunger pangs.  Certainly whenever I try to cut down on them I notice how hungry I get!

I dont take oral HRT so cant advise on that but wanted to say Welcome to the Forum

[Suzi Q]

Sharron from Derby OH god love you made me laugh
No shit sherlock I wanted to hit him hehehehehehe
thats meeeeeeeeeeee
Im sorry cant answer re HRT I never took it but your symptoms sound about right
Big Breath and go for it theres loads of ladies on here that can help
NOW when you get a funny fanny (atrophy) little old me well Id give a GP a run for their money big hugs xxxxx

[scriv]

Hi SharonDerby

Have only just come across this thread and just wondered how you are doing? I can fully sympathise with you as I am also a thyroid lady!
I was diagnosed as hypothyroid at the age of 40, at the same type as a very early natural menopause. It has always been my understanding that thyroid issues and hormonal events are linked and that often hypothyroid ladies have an early menopause.
Since 40, I have been using some form of HRT. I am now 60 and live to tell the tale. It hasn't been easy over the years to find the HRT which suits, but I don't think it is easy for anyone. Tablets tended not to suit me, but a patch did. I now just use vaginal pessaries.
It could well be that HRT and levothyroxine interact. I know they say that, but it has never been my experience. As you are only too well aware I am sure, getting the levothyroxine dose right is not easy either. I assume you have regular checks on that given that you have no thyroid.
As to feeling depressed, when either my oestrogen levels or my thyroxine dose are too low, then I often feel depressed too.
I also think it is very important to have a doctor who you feel understands you.