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[pepperminty]

Hi ladies ,

I have been on Femeston 1/10 for 6 months now and have found that after a shaky start it is working well until 2  days ago. I am on the last 2 tablets of the progesterone phase and have started to ache so badly I could cry with pain.
Today has been particularly painful. I can hardly lift my arms and feel exhausted . My hands feel arthritic.my legs throb and my back is painful.
This  ( aching)was one of the first symptoms to clear up when I first started the Femeston, but it appears to have come back with  a vengeance.
 I am really worried and do not know why this has happened, or whether this is normal and if it will go away again.
 I also feel very emotional. I am scared that the HRT has stopped working overnight. From no aches to crippling pain, in 24 hours is scary.
My period came early this month on day 17 of the pack and is still going all be it lightly today. Please can someone give me some advice as to the cause , or whether they have experienced this problem  and found a solution. I was doing so well and now it has all come crashing down again.

Pepperminty xx

[dazned]

So sorry that has happened to you too,it's so disheartening isn't ! Sorry no real advice to give as I'd like to know myself ! Just wanted to emphasize with you   

[Briony]

Just wanted to send you some sympathy as I know how hideous this sort of pain can be. It was a year or two before they made a connection between my pain and my hormones. Went for all sorts of tests, MRIs, medication but nothing helped. I went from a sports mad 39 year old to a 40 year old who could hardly walk. Had to give up running and really was quite scared. Then got tingling extremities and all sorts of weird things.

To cut a boring story short, got diagnosed with a hormonal imbalance - though not menopausal - and put on HRT. It helped a lot, but like you, I still had symptoms around the time of my period. I think it was fluid retention niggling the nerves. Then swapped to something stronger - a pill - to stop the fluctuations. My back/ legs are not like they were in the old 'super fit' days but are far better now I take hormones. I also took vit d, as mine was low, though the consultant I saw did say that most people are deficient in it so it can be a red herring. I decided it would do me no harm to take it, so did.

I knew hormones/meno could cause 'the aches' but had no idea how bad these aches could be. It should be called the stabs! There were times when I was in tears and imagined it had to be something more sinister. I feel so guilty now - wish I had been more sympathetic when my mum was going through ' the change'.  Never realised how horrid hormones could be.

[pepperminty]

Thanks dazned and Briony,

Briony, thanks for your post as I feel exactly the same.
 I had these aches and pains really badly a year ago and the HRT seemed to make them go really quickly, like you I didn't equate them with hormones and had lots of tests, all of which showed nothing.
 I was so happy that the HRT had got rid of these pains and haven't had any problems up until now. Six months ache free was marvellous. But it has come back overnight with a vengeance.

It may be the progesterone aggravating things? Or it maybe the dosage needs increasing?
 But I had a reaction when I increased the dose recently.
Perhaps I should have persevered as I did initially and it was just a blip?
 Or maybe the reaction was not related to the increase and just a coincidence?

I have an upset stomach this morning too , which is the progesterone , as I do feel more tired on the last few days of the progesterone phase and have looser bowels ( oh the delights of the peri menopause).
 I also feel quite emotional and despondent , which I haven't felt in 3 months now, so the PMT appears to have reared its ugly head again!!

 Do I need a higher oestrogen dose ?

My hands throb and ache so badly. I have just started a new job and this is making it difficult to work. I feel so utterly down and do not know what to do for the best as when you are feeling like this it is difficult to think clearly.

This is why this forum is so helpful as there is always someone who comes along with support or good advice and experience.

Pepperminty xx

[dazned]

Well I not sure if this coincidence but it seems strange to me if it is ! Had awfully painful knees and lower back for about 4 weeks on estrogen only two days after starting utrogeston pain just disappeared ! Low progesteron symptoms show inflammation of joints ,9 days in still no pain. That can't be coincidence surely ?

[Briony]

So much of what you say rings true, right down to the bowel issues and fatigue. My previous doc wouldn't connect things, so I had to see separate consultants for each issue. This caused severe health anxiety, but the more things were apparently 'normal' the more I felt people disbelieved me. Luckily a lovely neurologist I saw said he'd seen random symptoms in people with hormonal issues. He sent me to an endocrinologist at same time I swapped GPs. Have not looked back!

My FSH was within normal limits but my estrogen was at post menopausal levels. He said as a result of my age I would need a higher level of estrogen . I started on Evorel 50 but had severe progesterone withdrawal - loved taking it but felt rough when I stopped and this was when pains would sometimes return. I am convinced my problems are linked to the prog/est balance rather than just the low estrogen. I had no problems at all until a month after a miscarriage - which I am convinced triggered things.

I then moved to Qlaira which is a bio identical HRT style pill averaging 2mg. Things have improved so much on this - especially the pains - but as it's such a low dose for a pill, I still get occasional problems eg spotting (usually day 19 on) and fatigue when the prog dose changes (it's a four phase pill).

For this reason, I am considering switching to a standard pill which will control my system more. I am not sure how old you are, but if in 30s or 40s, maybe you need something stronger?  There are a number of us on here in that situation. See recent posts.

Things definitely take time to work - I reckon three months minimum. Qlaira was great from months 3to 6 but things seem to have now levelled, hence reason I want to try 3mg per day with a more consistent dose of progesterone (like others have suggested, I prob won't take a pill break). We are all different but I hope this at least helps you see you're not alone .

X

[Briony]

Well I not sure if this coincidence but it seems strange to me if it is ! Had awfully painful knees and lower back for about 4 weeks on estrogen only two days after starting utrogeston pain just disappeared ! Low progesteron symptoms show inflammation of joints ,9 days in still no pain. That can't be coincidence surely ?

I sooooo agree. If I could take Utrogestan every day I would be so pleased but doc won't let me as I still have periods. I am therefore going to try back to back bcp so I will get a steadier prog dose. It makes me laugh as when I first started this, I was really nervous about taking the progesterone!

[dahliagirl]

It started taking hrt for aches, but I found Elleste made my aches much worse during the progesterone phase and changed to Femoston

Shortly after I started to take VitD3 (25ug/1000iu) as my levels were low, and it gradually went.

It comes back if I stop taking the D3 for a couple of weeks 

My aches were worst in my neck and shoulders, then hands and feet, hips, ankles knees and elbows and ribs.

[Briony]

This might be of interest too (re supplements/vitamins). I have stolen the link from another thread!

The bigger the bubble, the more (potentially) helpful it could be. Scroll down for the other half of the grid.

http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/play/snake-oil-supplements/

[pepperminty]

Thanks ladies,

I am on day 3 of the start of the new pack oestrogen only bit, and things have improved , I have also been doubling my dose of oestrogen for the last few days and feel better.
I have been using the extra oestrogen tablets I have. I am going to try the 2/10 again at the end of the week and see if I feel ok.
If I don't this would mean that I am allergic or something to some other ingredient in them as the dosage would be the same.
 I am 48 Briony, and I do think that I may need a higher dose of HRT.
 Oh the joys of thinking you have it right for a while and then it all goes to pot again.  That is the delight of peri menopause I suppose. It's so flipping scary when you feel like a 140 year old over night. I am still a little achy and tired , but not half as bad.

Funny I didn't feel too bad on the progesterone phase before and it hit me right at the end of that phase in the packet now. It's a comfort to know others are there to support you as you need it.

Peppermintyxx