Print

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

[Emma74]

Hi All

49 1/2 peri for at least 4 years, probably longer. Started HRT last year utrogestan and Evorel 50 patches. It has helped but I'm thinking I may need o increase my dose. Nervous about this but that's just me. Current frustrating issues are: brain fog, mixing my letters up when typing (really bad) anxiety (always suffered with this) swollen joints in knees, fingers and feet. I get occular migraines which have increased recently, extreme fatigue which can floor me. still no real interest in life and very little joy in anything unless I'm gardening.

I think I may have just answered my own question by putting it in writing but would be grateful for personal experiences when increasing patch dose. Gratefully I have not had any negative side effects from starting HRT.

Thanks in advance

[Hurdity]

Hi Emma74

Sorry to hear about your ongoing symptoms

Can you say how you take the Utrogestan? If you are peri then I presume cyclically?

Is there any point in the cycle when you can say the symptoms are worse or are they pretty constant throughout?

Could there be other causes for your symptoms eg the brain fog etc? Have you had thyroid checked and general health eg vitamins and minerals? I would make sure everything else is in order and if so, then why not try an increase and see where that takes you? Are your flushes and sweats well controlled by the current dose?

If you do increase then ask for 75 mcg but increase slowly over a few weeks by cutting down say, to 62.5 (a small strip) and see how you feel an then increase to the full 75 mcg. This is what I do ( just 62.5 mcg - but I am comparatively old and many years post-meno).

Hurdity x

[Emma74]

Thanks Hurdity

I am cyclical and still have a period, i take the utrogestan vaginally as I worry about oral medication. Forever I know 10 days before my period my pms goes through the rook but that isn't so obvious now or at least not so routine. I had all my bloods checked last year and my ferritin was low so I take iron supplements but not regularly and haven't had them checked since. I can get quite frantic at times of the month which is scary but not unusual to me. My hot flushes have decreased but it takes me about 3 hours each morning to not feel hot. I can never gauge the real temperature outside as I'm just generally warm and sweaty but not necessarily flushes. 

I'm generally scared about going back to the doctor as I had 1 high BP last year and the doctor told me I would have a stroke or heart attack in the next 10 years! I knew this was due to all the symptom's and extreme anxiety which is why i went to them in the first place.

I know I don't have to increase and maybe when we finally get a bit of sunshine I will start to pick up as this seems to be the longest and greyest winter in my lifetime!

[Hollyboll]

Hi

Sorry to hear you're struggling - and hope you enjoyed the (1 day of!) sunshine over the weekend

If HRT helped already, it's probably worth trying a slightly higher dose - 50 is still lowish.  As Hurdity suggested, I'd go up gradually - try 62.5 for a few weeks before going to 75 if it's not helped or has helped a little.  For me personally I'd rather ask the doctor for 25s and cut those in half than faffing around with cutting off pieces, but maybe I'm just simple!  Despite myself having been pushed to MUCH too high levels (like 300 patches) and was made very ill by those, 75 is not a high dose so I don't see why you wouldn't try it if your BP allows.

One high BP reading can happen for all sorts of reasons and shouldn't preclude HRT - they should recheck it!  Most doctors will (should) do a BP check annually on HRT or when increasing dose, so unfortunately that may be unavoidable - much though I sympathise with not wanting to go back to GP.  If you feel your BP might be higher there because you are stressed there, they should agree to give you an ABPM (ambulatory BP monitor) for to wear for 24 hours eg when chilled in your garden, to get a better reading.  And if they then / still refuse to give you more HRT, I'd push for a referral to a specialist meno clinic as there may be alternatives. 

Unless the guidelines have changed (again) very recently, there's no need to inccrease your utrog dose on patches of under 100.

Hope that helps xx