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[Cassie]

Yes you count from the 15th of each day, why would you not have a bleed though, then your lining must be very thin, what dosage oestrogen are you on?

[Tinkerbellj]

Cassie I am . just way ahead of myself as usual. Anxiety overload. Had a period last month without progesterone just one pump of oestrogen.  Have gradually increased it and as of yesterday I am on four pumps cuz I feel so awful. Off work now and everything. 

[saffy123]

Cassie I am . just way ahead of myself as usual. Anxiety overload. Had a period last month without progesterone just one pump of oestrogen.  Have gradually increased it and as of yesterday I am on four pumps cuz I feel so awful. Off work now and everything.

Hi Tinkerbellj, I am also using oestrogen gel and trying to find the right balance, not easy...Anyway from my experience, increasing gradually works best where anxiety is concerned. I only work up half a pump over a few weeks. I think if I had gone from 1 pump to 4 pumps in a month it would have sent me loopy...that's just my experience. So hope you feel better soon xx

[Cassie]

I must agree with Saffy that sounds like a lot of oestrogen, which could be adding to your anxiety....what exactly are your symptoms is it flushing, palpitations the usual or other things worrying you? Usually 2 pumps is sufficient to counteract these troublesome symptoms..... I only feel lousy when I take the Utrogestan part but that is understandable and I kinda suck it up for the 12 days per mth but not pleasant, I agree! Am sure that you will get a bleed esp if you using 4 pumps of gel, gosh do you rub that all in at once, I would run out of body space....I use one and a half pumps spread over almost my whole leg 

[Tinkerbellj]

I have been using the gel for three mi ths and slowly built up to two/three but the feeling hot all the time started again amd I have three more days left of the utrogesterone to take but I cant stop crying so I an just going to not take the last three. I was prescribed 200mg but am only taking 100 and switched to vaginally as orally was brutal. But I am just getting progressively worse. Crying all the time. Isolating myself and I have phoned into work sick and I dont want to go back ever.i upped to four pumps split into morning amd night to try to balance the progesterone but its not working. I am beginning to think I should just go on the pill

[Tinkerbellj]

Oh and I cant sleep at night but could sleep allday. Totally exhausted and pain all over my body

[Mary G]

Tinkerbellj, have you been taking the Utrogestan for 9 days now?  If so, no wonder you feel the way you do, I couldn't even consider taking it for that length of time and as for the 200mg dose, forget it, it is never going to happen.

This Utrogestan dosage problem and subsequent side effects keeps rearing its ugly head doesn't it?  I think the NHS are over prescribing it and how can it possibly be right for people to be prescribed the same dose irrespective of how much oestrogen they are taking?

The NHS guidelines/licensed dosage for Utrogestan needs to be reviewed urgently and they must start advising women to use it vaginally if they can because it is far more effective when used in that way and has fewer side effects. 

My advice to anyone who is struggling with Utrogestan remains the same.  Switch to the Professor Studd regime of 100mg vaginally for 7 days each month and then, after a few months, have a scan to make sure your lining is OK - it is always sensible to try and have a scan anyway.  It may turn out that you need to take slightly more but at least you will know how well it is working and I suspect the vast majority of women will easily get enough lining clearance from the 100mg 7 day regime.  I certainly do and I now stretch my cycle to 5 weeks.

I have yet to hear about a woman who has been on the Professor Studd regime and ended up with endometrial hyperplasia as a direct result of it. 

[Dancinggirl]

Stellajane - I actually think Utrogeston is simply not on many GPs radar - there are so many HRT preparations available it wouldn't be the first option they prescribe. 

MaryG - I do worry that advising women to simply use the 7 days of 100mg Utro is a bit unwise - we are all different and, as I experienced, this low dose for fewer days can cause problematic and erratic bleeding - regular scans are essential if using so little progesterone. There dose need to be a balance of oestrogen to progesterone as well.
Using it vaginally is also tricky - I found it really irritated my bladder and made my whole vaginal area really sore.
I did find the 200mg of Utro for 12 days far too much - in fact I think Utrogestan can bring more side effects than many of the synthetic progesterones.
DG x

[Mary G]

DG, I take your point but I do also always suggest that women have a scan to make sure it the lower dose working OK, that is key.  This regime will not suit everyone but you won't know until your try it.  It is always sensible to have the occasional scan anyway to make sure everything else is OK.  Obviously this only applies to women who are having problems with Utrogestan and can't cope with taking the NHS licensed dose.  DG, I know you can't use it vaginally but it is definitely worth other women having a try to see if they can take it that way because it does work better at lining thinning/clearance if you can tolerate it vaginally. 

Can we hear from women who have had problems with Utrogestan and have found a better synthetic alternative?  That would be helpful.

Professor Studd obviously doesn't worry about prescribing this dose and he doesn't make regular scans a condition of use.  He is the leading expert on HRT and all things hormonal and from what I have seen on here, no other HRT regime seems to be as successful. 

It is a pity we are having to have this discussion and that something better hasn't come along.  In the meantime, I think we must have a flexible approach and try to get away from the "one size fits all" rut we are in now. 

[jedigirl]

I guess this thread shows that it really is trial and error depending on your needs. I have been on 14 days Utrogestan 200mg for months now and haven't  felt so well in ages. My bleeds are light but regular.
100mg made me feel terrible and the bleeding was all over the place, as were my emotions.
Look at your symptoms and your cycle would be my advice.

[Tinkerbellj]

Didnt take the utrogestan last night amd judging by the cramps in my tummy I will def get a bleed.......oh and didnt cry at all today! Going to see if I can get away witj taking the 100mg for 7 days. Took it for 9days this month vaginally.  Bet the doc at meno clinic doesnt agree!!

[Tinkerbellj]

Omg I dont believe it 9days vaginal utrogestan and three days later a period woo hoo my body works. Was sure it wouldn't happen. Def trying the 7 days next month! ! The less the better.

[Trufflecat]

That's good news! The more I hear about using it vaginally the
 more I think I should give it a go.

[Trufflecat]

I have been feeling really low, anxious and paranoid. I have also had a week of mild cramps but no period. I assume that this is my own progesterone causing this since it's four weeks since I took any Utrogestan. I see that some people use four pumps of gel and wonder whether that might be worth trying?

[Niamh]

Has anyone had headaches and nausea from the ostrogel? Ive read on the leaflet in the box they can be side effects. I've been using it since last Oct and use 2 pumps a day. For the last 3 days I've felt dreadful nausea, headaches, exhaustion and just plain grim. I have not had these symptoms since I started using it and they weren't symptoms for me before hrt! Therefore I'm guessing I've got a bug and it's not hormone related?!? It does feel a bit hormonal though but don't really know what to do. I see Studd in 2 weeks for a check up so I guess I'll ask him. Just wondered if anyone had any thoughts if this might be hormonal or not. It's all a bit random I've been feeling brilliant so came out of nowhere apart from the very humid weather we had in the south last week...I use 100mg of utro X 7 days vaginally and I'm due to use again from 1st July so it's not that as that can give me headaches and nausea too X