Print

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

[Cassie]

Aah thx for the explanation Meggie, I dont think you suspposed to take a break from the gel, it is to be used on a continuous basis, lucky you, for not needing the dreaded progesterone side of things

[meno lesley]

Hi Cassie

It seems like muscular or tendon pain in my feet and sometimes they lock making it difficult to walk, no swelling though.

Lesley x

[juliekim]

Hi,

Suzyq - So glad you are getting there too!  I do definitely feel sooo much better than not being on bio hrt.  I am actually starting to get some quality sleep again which is fantastic after 2 years of rubbish sleep! The last time I used the Utrogestan was 2 nights ago and I feel fine!  And I am so grateful I can talk to all of you about this as none of my friends are on hrt!

Meno lesley - funnily enought I seem to be getting pain in my feet - well pain in the ball of one foot that did wake me last night and when I get up from sitting or out of bed my feet seem uncomfortable to walk for a while!  Its very strange!  I put it down to the fact I am wearing a mouth splint to realign my jaw and just thought it would be changing my neck, spine etc and effecting my feet!!  But after you commented on your feet being painful, maybe it isn't. What sort of pain are you getting?

Julie x

[Mrs January]

Hi ladies

I understand nothing about gels....can some one help me to understand please...peri use? meno use only? I take Oestrogen 2mgs daily and have a mirena.....I do so wish i could reach a balance as the Oestrogen alone made me feel great...weight gain but ok...Now Mirena of Friday last and I have dipped again ...don't get on with the combined hRT for the same dipping reasons xxx
 

[Meggie]

Hi Mrs January - the way I understand it is that Estrogen gel is used cutaneously - that is, it is spread on the skin.  I use it on my inner arms as advised by the doctor.  It carries much less of a risk than tablets which is the correct choice for me as I have cysts in my breast ......... but I suffer with flushes and tiredness.  After a hysterectomy, (as in my case) should HRT be necessary, I understand there is no need for progesterone as it is not necessary to expel the blood and lining of the womb. Does this help ?

Cassie - I have been on a very low dose of the gel (5 days on and weekend off) because of the cysts in my breast but the flushes and tiredness were still a problem after  5 years at this dose ....... Silly me, I wish I'd told the doctor earlier that I wasn't coping too well.  Not used it at all today - should have done, had a few 'hot ones' !!!

Meggie

[meno lesley]

Hi

Mrs January I use one and a half pumps of estrogel and put it on both arms. This has been the best hrt for me - and I've tried a few. The nice thing about estrogel is you can tweak it to suit. I am post meno so use utrogestan 25 days out of 28.

Hi Julie my pain seems either muscular or tendons and can be anywhere on the foot. Some days are hard to cope with.

Lesley x

[Cassie]

Mrs J, in my opinion, the gel is a much kinder hrt as is the Utrogestan, it should not knock you as badly as the mirena coil, as that is more of a synthetic progesterone. One can adjust the gel dosage to suit your symptoms and you would probably do just fine on 2 doses a day which is equivalent to 1.5mg of oestrogen, a bit less than you are on now, but remember, that the transdermal route is more direct as it does not by pass the liver so you should have the same results as the pills but with less side effects. Good luck

[juliekim]

Hi,

Meno Lesley - you sound as though you are in a lot of pain with your feet.  I did read another post entitled 'Foot Pain' which you have posted on too.  I noticed some of the ladies also had thyroid issues.  I do too so wonder if that is a link.  Has your GP ordered blood tests and given you a good check over?

Julie x

[meno lesley]

Hi Julie

Have been tested for thyroid and was ok. Do wonder though as did say to my doc that my sister has thyroid problem but it fell on deaf ears.

Thank you for replying.

Lesley x

[curlywurly]

Hi

Just wondered if this thread is still open and if anyone can offer any advice please?

I am 46 post meno (no period since Sept 2013) and started HRT on 17 August 2014 - on Utrogestan 100mg 25 out of 28 days.  Oestrogel started on 1 pump, then got awful low mood and anxiety and upped it to 2 pumps (24 September 2014) which helped after about 7 days.  I use Oestrogel at night one pump on upper outer arm and one on inner thigh.

I have again got awful low mood and anxiety with crying a lot this time and have just upped dose (on consultant's advice) to 3 pumps but put the third pump on at 1pm today.  Do you think this will help?  Separating the doses is that advised? 

Was doing 'fairly' ok until Friday last week.  Have to say the Oestrogel  is amazing at stopping hot flushes so far and the Utrogestan seems to help me sleep once I finally nod off.

I am convinced it is hormonal as I have used AD's in the past (and have them close if this doesn't work) as my blood tests showed low Estradiol and very low Testosterone (0.1). 

Does low Oestrogen cause low mood/anxiety does anyone know?

I also wish I could get hold of some Testosterone gel as after reading a lot of stuff it is obvious it helps with this.  Especially as my levels are virtually non existent.

My consultant has offered the implant but I am wary after reading info. on it and would rather to be able to control my dosage according to symptoms.

I hope this post makes sense as I am really in the middle of a very anxious time.

Sorry for waffling on, hope someone can shed some light.

CW
 

[Suzyq]

Sometimes I think our own hormones mess us about and that gives us an anxious week or so? I may be wrong! For me, I get more anxiety and panic attacks when my estrogen is too high. Others may find the complete opposite.

With regard to splitting your estrogel dose - I did this (I started out on estrogel) but in the end I just couldn't get a consistent dose going. As soon as I switched to estradot I was so much better - more even ...

Obvious thing is to make sure you're applying properly! I just didn't seem to absorb it well and my tests continued to show low estrogen whilst on the gel. Sorry I couldn't help more

[curlywurly]

Hi Suzyq

Yes you are right it's got to be hormonal, especially when there is no other reason to feel like this!

The gel disappears in seconds on me, my skin must be gagging for it!

Maybe I should get my blood tested to see if the levels are getting anywhere - never thought of that!  Not the sharpest knife in the drawer at the moment.

You have helped by replying thanks so much it means a lot. 

Take care
CW
 

[Hurdity]

Hi curlywurly

Yes low oestrogen does cause low mood - some women have called it "the feel good hormone". Most women feel at their best during the mid point of their menstrual cycle when oestrogen is at its highest. Low oestrogen is also thought to contribute to post-natal blues and depression as well as low mood just before and at the beginning of menstural cycle.

It is sometimes difficult to get to right when administering externally (as SuzyQ points out) and also I can imagine if you took the amount needed to give levels at what is known as the "pre-ovulatory peak" = very high levels, all the time - we would feel quite odd (maybe that's what you are experiencing when levels are very high SuzyQ?), which is why HRT aims to give levels as an average over the whole cycle.

As SuzyQ says sometimes also applying gel correctly can muck things up a bit - I know the area of absorption is critical. It needs to be spread in such a way that the oestrogen is absorbed before it dries. If it dries too quickly then some of the oestrogen won't be absorbed. I have never used gel so this is just what I've read.

Like SuziQ I use Estradot and have always used this - and I find my levels are always stable.

I would find it too much of a faff to have to put it on every day - let alone three times! Also personally I would not put it on the upper body at all - none of the patches nor the other gel (Sandrena) recommend this - all say the lower half of the body.

Also maybe you weren't quite post-meno - there are some women who will continue to have a bit of a cycle more than 12 months after they've had a period - but this is the cut-off time for investigations. If this was the case for you, you might still experience hormonal fluctuations and associated mood swings. The other thing is your own oestrogen levels will continue to fall for 2 years following the last (ie final) period ie menopause - so you may well be sensitive to this fall as well and require an increased dose.

Hurdity x

[Dancinggirl]

Just want to comment about Oestrogel
I used it through my peri and post meno - I had premature meno from my mid 30s.  I started on one pump per day and upped it to 1.5 pumps per day at the age of 47 when I was clearly post meno.
I always put it on my inner thighs - it would dry within about 5-10 mins and then I got dressed.  You are not supposed to get the area wet for at least 2 hours after application and the skin must be clean and no moisturiser should be used - so no bathing or swimming - so I assume those 2 hours are the absorption phase.  I never divided the doses but I think if you use 3 or more pumps per day it is advised to use some in the morning and some in the evening. 
I am about to go back on HRT so will be starting the Oestrogel soon and I will be trying the Utrogestan for the first time.  I'm using Utrogestan on a long cycle first to see how I respond to this kind of progesterone and if it suits me I may move to continuous use.
I personally think the plus of Oestogel is the ability to adjust the dosage.  Even the ability to use a half dose can make a difference.
Do be aware that when you get to the end of the canister the oestrogen tends to be a bit less so I always started a new one as I got to the end of the old one and used one pump from each canister to ensure of an even dose.
DG x

[mmbecks]

Just thought I'd comment on oestrogel too. I started on 4 pumps about 5 weeks ago (2 in the morning and 2 at night) - but after a couple of weeks the symptoms of insomnia, heat, palpitations came back and so (with the approval of my consultant I increased it to 5 and now 6 pumps!)  He said there was no harm in increasing the dose but to keep a detailed diary and see how I react etc. So now I use 3 pumps in the morning and 3 at night - but its only been a couple of days so not sure whether it will work! Anybody else out there on such a high dose?  Also does the body plateau and only able to absorb so much I wonder?