Print

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

[Hurdity]

Goosieloosie - it's great that your doc has approved a scan on NHS - this is what should happen with all women taking HRT and especially if it is slightly non-standard. Good luck with it and would be interested to hear how you get on especially on this regime?

Hurdity x

[Goosieloosie]

I'm just reporting back as I had my scan today. My HRT bleed lasted 4 days but was lighter than normal this month and ended on Tuesday and the scan was today Friday. It was all done very quickly and I was told by the lady doing it that my lining is 5mm. She said it goes off age and what stage of menopause you are at? She also said I am to go back to my GP in about a week for the results. Does 5mm sound ok? I am 55  almost 56, 3 years postmenopausal and been on HRT almost 2 years where I have regular bleeds.

[Cassie]

5mm sounds perfectly good, well done.

[Hurdity]

That's great Goosieloosie! Mine was somewhere between 4 and 5 I think when last scanned last year and immediately following a bleed. I think this is the level that docs like to see although some women have a thicker lining than this.

Excellent news - that it means you can continue with the regime that suits you - and good idea to get a scan now and again as time goes on

Hurdity x

[Goosieloosie]

Thank you, that is a relief for me to know that as I had been reading that 5mm was the border line  and was getting myself a bit concerned

[Roadrunner]

Hello Ladies

I'm hoping to become a member of Team Utrogestan/Estrogel!   

I've just turned just 50, and perimenopausal since December 2015. I've been taking Femoston 2/10 since June 2016 and it was working well for me up until March this year. I think I've been having problems with absorption (stressful few months: stress goes straight to my tummy) and my hormones are all over the place. I've been reading as much as I can and think I'd like to try a transdermal option and gel seems preferable to patches. I'm seeing my GP tomorrow, so just hope I can persuade her ... she has a local Guidance and Treatment Pathway she has to adhere to.   

So for those of you who have done the transition from Femoston 2/10 to Utrogestan/Estrogel how was that experience for you? Is there a long "settling in" period and did you start off at 2 pumps of gel?

Any top tips are welcomed.

RR

[Trufflecat]

I have been on the utrogestan/oestrogel combo for about 18 months. Utrogestan for 7 days vaginally plus 2, that rose to 4 pumps a day for moodiness.(GP was ok with this). All good and a scan a few months ago showed a thin lining. I dropped down to 3 pumps a few months ago, as I thought 4 was a lot and I seem ok on 3. Thing is, I haven't had a bleed since lowering the dose to 3 pumps. When I initially started on this drug combo there were several months when I didn't have a bleed and the GP was happy and said it was because the uterine lining wasn't building up enough to shed.

My question is, is it ok not to have a bleed? Three pumps is still a lit. I am 54 and had not stopped my periods when I started on hrt.

Thanks

[Hurdity]

Usually it is abnormal bleeding that is considered more of a problem then lack of bleeding - but what you don't want to happen is for the lining to increase without shedding so that it then might shed when it has got a lot thicker than it should - if you see what I mean? That being the case I would monitor it and then if you continue not to bleed then ask your doc for another scan - if it was only a few months ago then maybe all will be well. If you are not having natural periods though it does seem odd not to bleed on the HRT regime. Perhaps the amount of oestrogen you are using is suppressing your cycle - but a bleed would still be expected, I would have thought, with only a short duration of progesterone - seven days progesterone is less than the licensed dose.  If your doc is happy though - then should be OK?  Sorry that's probably not much help!

Hurdity x

[Trufflecat]

Thanks Hurdity, it is helpful just to mull it over!

[Peony]

Just an update as i've been on the utro/oestrogel combo for about 3 months or so now. The good news is I have felt great since adding in the utro. Energised, motivated, positive.  I didn't take a break after 25 days last time as I was on holiday and wanted to avoid a bleed. My breasts did become very tense, swollen with tender/painful nipples but I took a 3 day break as soon as I got home and that disappeared.
i do get slight smudges throughout the cycle but not enough to cause a problem. Am now on day 9 of the next cycle and had a bleed day 9 last time. Nothing apart from smudges so far since the break. I didn't bleed for years when I had a Mirena so perhaps am going the same way. I do feel a bit bloated at the moment, bit like PMT so will see what happens . So far the utro 100mg vaginally at night for 25/28 and 3 oestrogel pumps, 2 am and 1 pm seems to be good for me but don't yet feel I am in a routine with the bleeding as yet may take another couple of cycles I guess.

[Hurdity]

Thanks for the update Peony and glad it's working for you - especially the vaginal use of Utrogestan on a continuous basis - since there are not many of us who do this due to bladder irritation and also not wanting to take progesterone continuously.

Do you mean you get up in the middle of the night to apply the estrogel  and do you mean 3 pumps in total? If you are taking quite a high dose of gel then you may well get a small bleed eventually when you stop the utro although it is mainly designed as a no-bleed continuous combined HRT  with the break just in case there is any thickening. Some women do find they get random spotting on the conti dose but perhaps less so with vaginal use as the dose would be more consistent.

Hope you continue to feel well

Hurdity x

[Sera]

Hi, sorry I havent posted for a while but just spent quite a while reading foru threads, which I am very glad for. I have been taking a Sandrena Gel 1mg daily plus Utrogeston Days 15-26 ( prescribed 200mg orally) for nearly five months.  I have however for the last three months used Utrogeston vaginally at 100mg for 12 days. each month I have a bleed after stopping the utrogeston, an average bleed ( I used to have very heavy periods, so not debilitating like they where) I was much happier with this regime than my previous Evoril Sequi 50 mg which caused me signifcant side effects. My problem is severly irritated Bladder, which has gotten worse, and this month caused a lot of discomfort, and lack of sleep due to toilet trips. I am at a crossroads as I dont think I can use the Utrogeston due to side effects, taking it orally caused terrible brain fog, and confusion, anxiety, but using it vaginally, although intially it seemd to be ok has become intolerable, as my bladder is so irritated. Any suggestions, as I think I may need to consider another form of HRT. I am 49 and started HRT spring 2016 - I am late peri. I am also booked in for an ulrtrosound as have had a tender sometimes area above my pubic bone, which flares up. I have made a GP app to look at the HRT, as I am taking Sadrena daily but need to switch to another form of progesteron to complete this cycle or try a differnent type of HRT. I had really hoped this would work for me as I have had problems with synthetic progesteron in the past ( mirena)  so wonder if there are any alternative regimes I could try? I am considering Provera and Sandrena Gel, and or switching to Oestrogel. Overall I would say that the Sandrena/Utro combo worked well, and I had less PMT type symtons, and less mood swings, its a pity my bladder is having such a problem. Any suggestions very welcome thankyou

[Hurdity]

Sorry to hear you are having problems with the utrogestan. Sadly it doesn't work for everyone exactly for the reasons you mention. I do find it irritates my bladder somewhat but as I only use it every 6-8 weeks (long cycle - with GP approval) I can bear this.

I can't see that you would benefit from changing to estrogel - the only advantage being it is in a pump pack so presumably you can regulate the amount easier (I've never used oestrogen gel)?  However Sandrena is more concentrated than estrogel so you use less of it to get the same effect so would say this is an advantage. You can always fold over the sachet if you use more or less gel and save for the next day(which is what those of us who have testosterone gel also do).

Provera or the Mirena are the only two alternatives so it's a matter of preference. Any reason not to try another Mirena if it suited you in the past?

Let us know what you decide and how you get on

Hurdity x

[Katia]

Sera, I find provera is the easiest of the two.  It doesn't make me groggy like the utro.  I do wish there was more choice of individual progestegens like dropserinone or norgestimate which are in some combo but not available as stand alones.   

[Sera]

Thanks Hurdity and Katia  I dont know what I would do with out this forum so again a big Thankyou. I am going to see ths GP try the Provera and see how I get on, hopefully it wil work out. Thanks also for the input Hurdity about Sandrena, as you say I get on well with it, so will stick with and probably not a great idea to tinker with my Oestrogen while I try out Provera. As for the mirena, sorry I didnt word that so well, I did have it for heavy periods but I  was quite affected PMS style by hormone in it- although it helped a bit with the periods. Off course it was after they took out the mirena that my GP did my bloods and informed me that I had started the menapause and could have HRT. so its hard to be totally objective to how it affected me, as had began feeling awful, very down when I saw GP, but I am not a big fan, although I know it works really well for many. I will let you know how I get on. Yes Katia its a shame we don't have more of a choice on stand alone progestegens. Thanks