Hi there - been busy for a few days - aren't we all!!
Just to say - especially to ellie - that the dosage of oestrogen in the gel cannot necessarily be equated with the dosage in a pill because of the very different mode of delivery. Also individual women will vary in the amount they absorb from the different methods, and also there is variation between women in how much they obtain from excatly the same treatment.
You can look up the average serum estradiol levels from the different methods on the web under the SPC for each product. The way the data are expressed is not always comparable though.
I would say that 4 pumps is a high starting dose - although at 47 I would want to have this! I imagine that will give you higher serum estradiol levels than 2 mg of Femoston taken orally. If you still have a cycle though and are not far into menopause you may well get quite a heavy bleed from this much extra all the time. However no harm in trying and see.
The other thing is there seems to be a bit of a one size fits all approach to Utrogestan dosage - ie no variation given for different oestrogen doses, so I wonder about that sometimes. If you use it vaginally though, for the recommended time that it gives for oral use (which is 12 days - see the information in the menu
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/to_progestogens.php ) then you are very likely to get a higher dose of progesterone, which will generally allow a higher oestrogen dose to be taken.
My bleed arrives two days after stopping but I am well post-meno being 60!
Devonhil - it's OK - I've had 4 children as well and just as Cassie says - shove it up last thing at night - and it stays up there until morning - it seems sufficient is absorbed that way. They are smaller than many cod-liver oil capsules! Do you actually live in Devon? (you may not want to say!)
Not sure what happens to dosage when you have sex though ie will get a bit diluted if you put it in afterwards - so could precipitate an earlier bleed. Never has with me though.
Cassie - they make me very tired and especially in the mornings but also disturb my sleep - mainly due to the effect on the bladder - pressure- so my tossing and turning is as I keep waking because of this and eventually need to get up for night time wee, then can't get back to sleep!
Hurdity x