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[Napnews]

 Hi . My gp started me on femoston 1/10 3 months ago. I had gone with chest pain and palpitations and two ecgs indicated that altho the beats were fine my heart/ pulse rate was too fast. I dont have many meno symptoms..no flushes and periods still pretty regular so i wasnt going to start hrt. She suggested i take the femoston to see if it helped with the palpitaions which she thought might be hormone related. Because of the length of time it has taken for me to get an appointment at cardiology coupled with the near impossibility of getting an appt with the gp ive now been on the drugs for 3 months and still not had a diagnosis from the cardiologist.
So...sorry that went on a bit..my question is with minimal symtoms should i really be taking hrt and has anyone who has taken femoston had side effects? For the past few weeks ive fely terrible..tired ,weak, abdominal pain and in the last few days hooendous dizzy spells and lightheadedness.
Can i just stop taking them whilst i try to get in to see the gp..which i obviously need to do to get results from cardiologist etc etc
Oh and ps...this is all making me very anxious..im sure you can tell!!!!

[CLKD]

Did your GP not tell you to make the next appt.? give the Surgery a ring and if they don't have an appt., ask for a call back? I wouldn't stop without speaking to the GP/Practice Nurse or a Pharmacist.

Have you seen the cardiologist, sorry if you have already said somewhere  …… what types of 'abdominal pain' - this should always be discussed with a GP, unless it is obviously period pains.  Unexplained pain can be a urine infection etc. which needs discussion.

[Dancinggirl]

Hi and welcome Napnews
The symptoms you were getting before starting HRT could be related to hormones.  You don't say how old you are or at what stage in the you menopause you are?  Were you still getting periods before starting the HRT?
Femoston is well tolerated by many women as it does have hormones that are close to our own.
I have to say the dizziness etc. you are experiencing now sound strange but whether it's to do with the Femoston I couldn't say. You could certainly stop taking the HRT and see how you feel - it's probably the only way to find out.  HRT is not like other drugs where you need to withdraw it in a certain way. Once you have discussed everything with your GP you can then either resume HRT, perhaps trying a different HRT or maybe something specifically for the palpations. I'm afraid palpitations are a typical meno symptom, however I believe they are seldom a cause of concern.  It's good you are having this checked though for peace of mind.
I'm appalled that you can't get a GP appointment!!!!
Keep posting.  Dg x

[peegeetip]

Hi

sorry your feeling so bad.

I agree with what DG and CKLD are saying.

You don't say anything about your palpitations/pulse rate in the 3 months?

Has it improved? or just the same?

As for Femoston its the kindest of the prog bar Utrogestan option. The estrogen part your on is a low dose so I'd doubt if your getting too much.

The symptoms you mention could be a lot of things.

I felt unwell over christmas and it was down to me having a virus that went around our family and friends. Gave me bad headaches and sore stomach too.

Nervousness and panic attacks can also bring these symptoms on too. Especially if your worried about your heart.

Just to be on the safe side, if you are getting more light headed and dizzy spells or you fell they have got worse then it might be a best idea to head to A&E or equivalent walk in to see if they. Better to be safe on this if you feel you cant wait for an appt.

Also, don't suddenly stop taking your HRT as this could add to the symptoms and further confuse things.

Hope you feel better soon.

  

[Napnews]

Hi. Thanks for replying
Im 53 and was having pretty regular periods ..i havent had a period since starting on the femoston.
Apart from the palpitations I ddnt have any other symptoms which is why the gp sent me to the cardiologist. To be honest we both dithered about whether to start hrt and i think she decided to start me on it to see if the palpitations subsided...which they haven't.
I feel like Im getting a bit lost in it all tbn.
My gp only works monday and weds so its a struggle and if i dont get to see her its a locum and ive not yet met a good one ( at that surgery)

[CLKD]

Listening to a GP talking recently, there aren't as many applying to be General Practitioners due  to the difficult working conditions; many GPs are headed towards retirement - so Sureries, being over-whelmed with emergency patients on a daily basis are unable to offer regular appts. for chronic conditions  - will only get worse then …….. I would have thought that if a GP prescribes something on a trial basis they would suggest at the time to make the appt. in 2-3 weeks!  …….

If you can't see your GP before the weekend go to a Pharamsit for advice!

[Napnews]

I work
in the nhs so I understand the pressures!! My gp is excellent just not there often? Ive got an appt to see her 4th march..but that felt like a lifetime away. Ill gird my loins and phone first thing tomorrow and try and get in earlier. We dont have a local walk in centre and im loath to go to a&e cos it doesnt feel urgent.
Thanks ladies..i think i just needed reassurance and a listening ear ( keyboard). Its been one of those everything crashing in at once kind of days
 

[CLKD]

Oh I did the NHS work for 8 years or so  - left in the 1980s and don't' think much has altered! 

Let us know how you get on.  Could you have a phone back from the Surgery?

[DebsMK]

I was on Prempak and started to get palpitations on about the 3rd month.  I suffered 3 weeks of them and finally went to the GP for an ECG which came back fine.  I asked for Femoston and touch wood I am now on month 3 of that and have no palpitations apart from the first week.  I'm not sure what caused the palpitations but am happy they have gone.  Maybe a change of HRT is you decide to keep taking them?

[Hurdity]

Hi Napnews

Sorry to hear about your problems.

I would suggest that dizzy spells and lightheadness count as "emergency" ie should be seen soon at the doctors, rather than "routine" one that can wait for a few weeks - which would be a routine appointment to review your HRT. If the practice only has these two categories - then yours is not routine.( eg "I've got a bad back" ).

Probably too late for today (?) but I would phone and say you need to see a doctor because of dizzy spells and lightneadness. The fact that you have been referred to a cardiologist but haven't been seen doesn't mean the doctors can wash their hands of you.

As has been said many of your symptoms are typical peri-menopause and the fact that you haven't had a period since starting the Femoston confirms you are likely to be peri-menopausal.

Without proper investigation it is impossible to say whether your symptoms are due to peri-menopause, the HRT or something else. The difficulty at this time is either that doctors fail to recognise symptoms as due to menopause, or the other extreme, just put them down to menopause without proper investigation, and serious conditions could get missed.

You also might benefit from keeping a diary of how you feel and when - for example you are on cyclical HRT. Do these symptoms have a cyclical basis? eg do you feel dizzy just after changing from the combi tabs to the oestrogen only ones, because you may be experiencing normal pmt symptoms ( from the HRT) without actually having a period?

Hope this helps! 

Hurdity x

[Essexragdoll]

Hi Napnews,
Just wondered if you have sorted your lightheaded and dizzy feelings. I, like you have been suffering from this, for about 3 months and it has got worse since taking HRT ( Femoston 1/10) now on my 2nd mnth of this.  It is really worrying me so going back to my GP tomorrow.