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[Hurdity]

Hey Sammiejane - let's not fall out. It was Anaise that started all this off by implying we should not give advice and we should only heed the advice of medical professionals - so we're all trying to be helpful in the best way we can.

In CLKD's words "the written word is static". Anaise's comment was obvious what she was saying and that was responded to....no-one subsequently intended to hurt, belittle or laugh at anyone

Can we please move on now? We're all in this together 

Hurdity x

[Sammiejane]

hi hurdity

i agree let's move on ! i apologise to any i may of upset my emotions are getting the better of me the last few days !

thanks

[Alicess]

Sammiejane, I can totally relate to that: emotional upheaval :-). Yes, let's move on.

[Anaise]

anaise-

can i ask have you tried any other hrt before the gel or were you put straight on that ?

how was your hair before you started the estrogel were you loosing hair ?

how many pumps and how long have u been on it ?

i had review today with menopause who said i need testosterone as it's low but this could worsen my hairloss but may not so i'm praying it helps and balances estrogen !

are u thinking still to stop the hrt ?

My hair was fine before starting HRT, I'm on two pumps and have been on it for 6 months.

This is the first HRT I've tried Sammie and yes my hair is quite important to me so will be coming off it shortly. I will lower the dose gradually though. How r u feeling now Sammie?

[Anaise]

Hey Sammiejane - let's not fall out. It was Anaise that started all this off by implying we should not give advice and we should only heed the advice of medical professionals - so we're all trying to be helpful in the best way we can.

In CLKD's words "the written word is static". Anaise's comment was obvious what she was saying and that was responded to....no-one subsequently intended to hurt, belittle or laugh at anyone

Can we please move on now? We're all in this together 

Hurdity x

I take offence to this comment Huridty. I never started anything off, I just prefer to seek professional advice about HRT. I listen to other womens experiences intently but would never expect guidance with regards to dosages of drugs as we are all very different and react differently to upping dosages willy nilly. I value the advice of experts because that's what they are experts.

Hair loss is a side effect of Estrodrial whether you accept that fact is upto you.  Take it or leave it!

[Sammiejane]

hi anaise

you are right hairloss is a side effect of estradiol ! both dermatology tricologist and gynocologist have all told me the same . and it can be due to the medication itself or imbalance of the ratio of estrogen to progesterone ( i never had hair loss on combined pill as it was both E and P)  or simply raise in hormones like women who are pregnant can shed hair and some loose it after the baby is born . progesterone i've been told by my menopause and prof stuffs clinic does not cause hairloss ! but it dosent have any effect on hair growth either but i believe it needs to be balanced with estrogen.

i went onto estradot patch for 5 weeks as initially i wasn't obsorbing the gel so they thought and hair didn't improve although the patch suited me , i've briefly tried utrogestan as my menopause said i can take but on day 5 was getting flushes so stopped due to shortages of the patch have had to go back on the gel but i'm started testosterone on monday and i hope will help with hairloss and weight i've gained ! they have agreed because although my reading last time was 104 nmol level of estrogen because they cocked up on my bloods i had to have them done again 10 days apart so first was 368 nmol and second 113 nmol so some fluctuation but enough obsorbed ! if my hair doesn't improve will then add progesterone and if no good i'm stopping it ! personally i think women who ovaries are removed should be supplemented with all 3 from the start as our hormones diminished together they should be put back together !

have you had ovaries removed ?

[Sammiejane]

hi ladies

i'm currently on estrogel 2 pumps and it's causing my hair to shed at a rapid rate !

would it be worth me swapping to sandrena gel would this make any difference ? or a patch ? the only thing is which one which one dosent cause hairloss estradot has it listed as rare side effect , everol dosent list it at all , sandrena says it's uncommon and estraderm like the estrogel is post marketing alopecia but frequency unknown ? i've been on estrogel a year and it still shedding i know it's not low estrogen as it would of stopped now and i'm worried adding testosterone will make it worse !

[Sammiejane]

hi anaise

do you take estrogen only ?

have you had hysterectomy ?

i'm not sure what to do part of me is saying stop it because my hairloss is worse and i think it's just unopposed estrogen that's causing it i don't think it would make a difference changing to patch or another gel because starting it has triggered my hair to thin and have been on a year with it getting worse not better despite having more estrogen ! dermatology want me to stop it but menopause want me to try testosterone and i don't know what to do i'm so scared to do either and am having a right panic today !

please anyone in a similar situation please advise even to calm me from this panic and fear !

had anyone had hair shedding on estrogen only no progesterone and added testosterone and it helped they hair stopped shedding and they started having thicker hair again ?

[Anaise]

Hi Sammiejane,

do you take estrogen only ?
have you had hysterectom

Yes and yes, my hair loss has increased on Estrogel, lost almost 50% of it now. You could try tetesterone to see if it balance the Estrogen a little. I'm going to come off HRT, don't feel great on it at all.

Keep me posted on how you get on?

[Sammiejane]

hi anise

i can totally relate and part of me knows it's hrt that triggered my hairloss because it was fine before didn't shed don't get me wrong the hair was dryer but grew thick and kind dead quick only place a lost a little was temples really but not noticeable and didn't bother me since going on hrt it screwed me up it's like i've become aware of every little thing , not to mention that i had lost weight as well following hysterectomy and now have gained over a stone , and like u i don't feel great and i've asked about swapping hrt to patch but my menopause and dermatology have both said will make no difference in hair loss as all contain estradiol , i don't know if this is true because it might be in particular estrogel i've been on a patch only 5 weeks then went out of stock but hair didn't improve may of been to early to tell but i'll try the testosterone and see how it goes i'm not holding out much hope , infact it has taking a good year for me to even feel 50 percent on hrt but it comes with side effects , prior to starting hrt i was lucky had 4 yrs symtom free just couple hot flushes didn't bother me , and then got dampness below which i wish i had just tried vaginal estrogen first before systemic because now i've gained weight boobs bigger and hurt hairloss moody aniexty depression irritability so in some ways i'm worse then before . why don't we do this i'll try testosterone and keep u updated and if your thinking of stopping the estrogel your should notice your hair decrease or stop shedding withing 3-4 months and keep me posted how it going you can always restart again i think that's what i'll be doing if testosterone dosent work just to reset my body and see exactly what symtoms i do have and then start again but not with estrogel ! some women hrt just dosent suit x can i ask your age as i'm only 40 so very young for menopause but my quality of life is important to and if something dosent improve then it's not worth it in my opinion

[Dotty]

I think you've explained that very well Birdy. A lot of things get blamed on HRT and HRT side effects when they are not due to HRT. X

[Sammiejane]

i agree to a certain point birdy however surgical menopause is totally different to natural menopause , you loose all 3 hormones together there isn't any peri menopause so fluctuations in hormones and the problem is only estrogen is supplemented i know women who are given E P and T all together same time and have no hairloss issues others are told to get a good level of estrogen and this is the problem i believe is that lots of estrogen and none of the other hormones is what creates an imbalance and this is why i am now shedding hair i didn't shed hair for over 4 yrs prior

[Sammiejane]

hi anaise

how are feeling !

have you stop the estrogel ?

i'm going to change to a patch and come off the gel it's making me ill to much up and down with it ! not to mention hairloss a patch may or may not help this but need to try all options before i throw in the towel as with being only 40 but i'm exhausted fed up and to be honest would rather a couple of hot flashes then fill this rubbish !
let me know if u stop and if your shedding stops xx

[Sammiejane]

hi birdy

i meant a balance in respect of being given all hormones hysterectomie women are not usually offered this and this is the problem ! u need a balance in the hormones themselves to relieve symtoms i agree but when a women is only given one hormone when loosing three this spikes a imbalance

[Alicess]

Sammiejane, from my understanding progesterone protects the lining of the womb, it downregulates estrogen receptors and induces estrogen- inactivating enzymes. It can only act in the presents of estrogen. If there is such a thing as estrogen dominance then I think it's more likely that testosterone would be it's counterpart.  According to Dr. Lee and his estrogen dominance theory progesterone decreases more then estrogen in menopause, hence we need more progesterone...  A very thin conclusion as there is less need for progesterone if there is less estrogen. I don't want to dismiss the benefits some women experience with progesterone as it has its own properties but most women are struggling with its side- effects.

I agree with Birdy, you need to find the right HRT for you but I do find it very frustrating that it has to be such a long search with trial and error.It shouldn't have to be like that.