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[peaches50]

Hello all

I'm new here, I'm 47 and have been put on Femoston 1/10 by my GP as I had had no periods for 4 months and also was flat in mood and had lost interest in sex. Since I started taking it though I have put on a lot of weight and am breathless a lot of the time - should I stop and is this attributable to Femoston?

Thanks for reading
peaches

[Hurdity]

Hi peaches50

 

There is mixed opinion about weight gain and HRT - here is some information on this site:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/weightgain.php

and about diet and lifestyle which is linked to weight:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/diet.php

Some women find that the progestogens cause bloating and water retention (like during pmt) and the extra oestrogen often causes the boobs to grow a bit bigger and fuller. Unfortunately weight gain does tend to happen anyway during menopause so more attention has to be paid to diet and exercise in order to stay fit, slim and healthy!

If you are carrying extra weight then exercise could make you more breathless than before - depending on how much you have put on. However any type of breathlessness that has come on recently I would get checked out with the doctor. You haven't said how long you've been taking it - but side effects usually take a while to settle. No need to stop the Femoston unless advised to by the doctor.

At 47 it is best to take oestrogen if you become menopausal - at least until the average age of natural menopause of 51-2 if you can, so it maybe that a different formulation eg transdermal HRT - will not have the same effect?

Hurdity x

[Taz2]

Hi peaches - welcome to the forum.

I believe your GP has put you on the wrong  HRT regime. Femoston appears to be a conti HRT for post-menopausal women. You are not post menopausal until you have had at least a year without periods. You need to have a regular bleed to keep your womb lining thin. This has happened to other women on here too if a GP is not that clued up about  HRT.  This is what it says on the patient leaflet

"The name of your medicine is Femoston. It belongs to a group of medicines called Hormone
Replacement Therapy (HRT). Femoston is suitable for postmenopausal women with at least 6
months since their last natural period."

I think you should go back to your doctor and ask for a change of HRT especially as you feel breathless. Have a good look around this site and gain more knowledge so you can put your point across. It can take a few tries to get the right HRT so don't feel despondent. The next one might make you feel great!

Let us know how you get on.

Taz x 

[peaches50]

Thank you both very much for responding - it took a lot for me to go to the GP in the first place and I didn't expect to come away with HRT. After this I had blood tests which showed my hormones were normal. I think he gave it to me as I had said I had no periods for 4 months.
I have been taking it since the end of April.
I also have problems with water retention and have had for a number of years - this is heightened to frightening levels when I go abroad. 4 years ago in Kos my ankles swelled up so much I could hardly walk and they looked like they were about to burst. I'm concerned this is about to happen again as I get married again on 5th July and am going to Jamaica for my honeymoon on 9th.
In terms of exercise - I do high intensity exercise 4 times a week and am very much fitter than I was 6 months ago when I started. I have changed my diet and only have fresh food and eat a low carb high protein diet (with the occasional lapse as I am not a saint!)
I was getting more toned but since I started this I have ballooned to the extent where my wedding dress has had to be let out, so I think a trip to the GP is in order now

Thanks for reading
peaches

[Taz2]

You sound like you've had quite a time of it! Do you mean your GP took blood tests after you had started HRT? It is important that you are on a sequential one where you will get a monthly bleed. Were you experiencing any hot flushes, vaginal dryness, mood swings etc before starting it?

Taz x

[peaches50]

I suppose I'm one of those people who just 'gets on with things' so probably these things have crept up on me a bit.
Yes the GP did the blood tests after he prescribed the HRT as he said he did the diagnosis based on what I told him. In terms of that there was waking up a lot at night feeling very hot and throwing covers off (though not sweating), flatness of mood and no periods for 4 months.
I also have urinary frequency problems and am going in for a bladder stretch on 12th August.
I hate to mither people but am sick of feeling huge and bloated and needing a wee all the time!
Rant over x

[Dancinggirl]

Hi Peaches50 and welcome to MM
You seem to have been assessed in the wrong way by your GP although it can be good to go by symptoms as the blood tests are notoriously unreliable. However - very strange to do blood tests after prescribing HRT although an oestrogen level could be useful.

CLKD mentioned that Femoston might be the wrong HRT for you but she's forgetting that it comes in sequi and conti forms so I'm guessing (or I hope )you were prescribed the sequencial form of Femoston that would give you a withdrawal bleed as you need to have a withdrawal bleed HRT till you are post meno.  Femoston is tolerated well by many women and, as the others have said, such extreme bloating and weight gain is unusual especially if you are monitoring your diet and taking good exercise. Did he have the thyroid function checked in the blood tests? There could be other reasons for the bloating and weight gain.
Problems with the bladder can be a typical symptom of menopause and the night time 'hots' is also typical. I assume a UTI has been ruled out?
I expect you are in early peri meno stage so your hormones may fluctuate quite a bit still.
Keep us posted.  DG x

[peaches50]

Thank you Dancinggirl, I didn't know the blood tests were unreliable - I just expected they would do them first and then decide if I was peri or not.
If my sequi you mean 2 weeks of white tablets and 2 weeks of grey then yes that is what I have been prescribed.
I don't think he checked my thyroid this time though it has been previously and has always been fine. The reason why I think its the Femoston is that until I started taking it I was noticing real effects with the exercise ( I lost over a stone in total, though I've put that and more back on since going onto the Femoston).
Yes a UTI has been ruled out - I've had my wee tested more often than I've had hot dinners, honestly!
I'll go back to the doctors this week and let you all know and thanks for taking the time to read and respond, its much appreciated

peaches x

[Dancinggirl]

Hi Peaches50
Pleased to hear you are on the right HRT.  Sadly, for many, the menopause can bring weight gain and in fact we have to consciously eat quite a lot less to maintain anywhere near the right weight.
Since I came off HRT 8 months ago (I'm 58 and needed to have a break)I'm still putting on weight and it's all round my tummy and hips!!!!I am very active and have dropped the amount I eat by about a third - all very depressing.
I think one does carry a bit more fluid when on HRT and I wonder if you get your bladder issues sorted perhaps the bloatedness will also settle down.
The only way to really judge where you are in the meno is to come off the HRT and after 4-6 weeks have a blood test done to look at the FSH level again - having said this if the GP did the blood test to look at your oestrogen level after you started HRT then they can judge from the oestrogen level whether you are still producing quite a bit of oestrogen naturally - even if it fluctuates. The problem is that during the peri stage the hormones fluctuate quite a bit and periods come and go - this is why blood tests can be unreliable. I'm sorry if I'm rambling - I hope this has made sense.
I'd have a look at your diet again, exercise alone won't keep the weight off - less fat and sugar is the way to go.  DG x

[Hurdity]

Yes Femoston 1/10 is sequi HRT. http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/perimeno.php The no-bleed one is Femoston conti which comes in normal or low dose  http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/postmeno.php

Hurdity x

[peaches50]

Well I went back to the doctor yesterday - who said the Femoston he put me on was 'only a trial' so no problem to come off it, and that my blood tests showed that my estrogen is 'on the low side' but apart from that no nasties lurking in those results.
He has also given me diuretics to reduce the bloating although with my bladder problems I shall never be off the toilet - lovely for my husband to be!
I am going to see how it goes - I don't think there's anything else I can do at the moment. On the bright side I did get my wedding dress on and hopefully if I lose a couple of inches through the excess water it will be a bit more comfortable - I am getting sick of none of my clothes fitting anymore 

peaches x