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[GypsyRoseLee]

Forgot to mention, I am going to try very hard to get through the next 3 weeks without any AD help because as you say I won't know what is/isn't helping if my consultant tries me on a new HRT/BCP regime when I see her.

I would be very open to taking an AD alongside hormonal treatment. I would take ANYTHING if it would stabilise my moods and anxiety.

If I do end up on both, and I'm fine (pray to God) then in time to come I could always experiment and phase out the AD to see what happened.

[GypsyRoseLee]

I have just found 14 x 100mg of Utro. Thought I'd thrown it. Now I'm wondering to wear a 75mg patch for a week, to see if it helps me. Then I could add in 100mg per night for the next 2 weeks to see what that does. And then that will take me right up to my consultant appointment.

Or I could wear the patch then just take 200mg x 7 days which would very likely induce a bleed anyway (in my last cycle of HRT I still bled without taking any Utro at all). Which would also take me right up to my consultant appointment.

It would be so useful to be able to present her with some hard evidence of what was/wasn't working for me.

[Briony]

Do you know what's interesting? Even though my stomach issues have continued/worsened since I stopped Gedarel, 24 hours after missing the first dose, I was on the phone to my mil who randomly commented that I sounded full of life and energy. Laughed it off at the time, but perhaps my elevated mood was due to  the lack of desogestrel?

One way to know if the rash was due to the progesterone would be to research the side effects of Cerazette, which is a pop that is entirely desogestrel. Wonder if it mentions skin issues?
Isn't it strange how we are both ok with Utro - and got a dip without it, yet synthetic progesterone seems to do the opposite?

It's handy that you have enough Utro to see you through until you see the consultant. Since you already know how you respond to it cynically, is it worth you trying 7 days with none, then 100 mg daily for the next two weeks? That way you'd have an idea how you respond on a more continuous basis too? Or would that just be too complicated? I'm thinking out loud here - sorry!

Before I started hrt, I started a low dose of Prozac for what I thought was severe PMS. Didn't realise then that I had a hormonal imbalance. Continued it as I started hrt and it really helped. It was far easier to take than the ADs I'd taken for pain relief (Amitriptyline and Duloxetine)  and was also much easier to come off once the hrt kicked in. To be honest, I hardly realised I'd stopped it. GP suggested Prozac as it's indicated for PMDD. Think it's meant to help with flushes too? 



B x

[GypsyRoseLee]

Just a quick update. Decided not to take anymore Gederal and popped a 75mg patch on at tea time last night. By 10pm I was feeling much, much better. Slept like a baby and feel absolutely fine this morning. Woke with no jitters or anxiety. Certainly no feelings of dread and despair. Feel bright eyed etc, etc.

I do have a headache. So progesterone withdrawal?

Please reassure me this simply cannot be a coincidence? Deep down I still am stunned that hormones can have such power over you.

I think we both can't tolerate the progesterone in Marvelon, perhaps because we were already starting from a precarious point? It can't also be a coincidence that your MIL noticed you were brighter too?

I am torn between taking 100mg Utro for two weeks prior to my consultant appointment, or 200mg Utro for one week? Both make sense. I also want to switch to a gel so that I can try increasing my dose while on 200mg Utro as Hurdity mentioned.

[Hurdity]

For me progesterone withdrawal has an instant effect ie the morning after the missed dose I feel it - so yes it can. Prog withdrawal is likened to withdrawing from a drug - ie they are proper withdrawal symptoms. I get a tight band across my head, tension, even fatigue sometimes - but this is less prominent now with vaginal Utrogestan. My pms withdrawal symptoms during peri-menopause (and earlier with different prog) were much more intense and the headache would often depelop into a migraine. After a couple of days the prog levels would be so much lower - and during peri - my oestrogen levels would start to rise and it was like a weight being lifted - I could feel the well-being seeping through me (sounds nonsensical expressed like that - but it was quite dramatic) - the tension would melt away and I would be fine again.

Long way of saying yes hormones can have such power over you!!!

That amount of utro is still less than the licensed dose but as you are ovulating then you will bleed anyway - can't remember if you take it orally?

Hope you continue to feel better

Hurdity x

[GypsyRoseLee]

Thanks Hurdity. I'm always relieved when I see you have replied on a thread of mine. You talk such sense.

I am still shocked that hormones can do this. A bit of grumpiness, or irritability? Sure. But full blown panic and gut churning anxiety? I am still shocked.

I know exactly what you mean about feeling the oestrogen rise seeping through you. That's exactly how it feels to me too. A warm glow of well being and contentment.

I did take Utro orally. I am thinking of upping my patch to 100mg, to stop ovulation and so stop fluctuations which trigger my symptoms. So I wouldn't necessarily have a bleed without taking Utro, would I?

Though in my last cycle of HRT I was using a 50mg patch and didn't take any Utro at all, and I still had a bleed.

[Kathleen]

Hello GypsyRoseLee.

I just wanted to add that I continue to be amazed at the power of our hormones and I have also experienced the feelings of calm and contentment and then the panic and irritability. I think you are doing the right thing by experimenting with your treatment and presenting the results to your consultant. It's always good to have a plan I find!

Hurditiy - I also value your sensible and scientific input and want to thank you for the time that you give to the ladies on this forum.

Take care all.

K.