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[Diane Lovett]

Hi, this is the first time i've ever posted on any forum and feel quite proud that i've got past my complete lack of concentration to do so  On reflection i've been peri menopausal for about 3 years and been ignored by doctors saying i'm too young (now 48)
I have had a whole range of sypmtoms over that time aching joints and lack of energy being the worst . The past year the sweats day and night have been awful ! Have tried everything natural , i eat well and exercise  to no avail .

Finally pleaded for hrt hoping it would help . First came prempac c ,stopped the sweats but felt awful in so many other ways so asked for another got elleste felt even worse so am now about to start on evorel patches .
The doctors are clueless and i have found out all i know from reading rather than with the doctors help . I hope the patches don't make me feel as bad as everything else i have tried  because i am at my wits end and need some sleep 
 Any advice would be greatly appreciated x

[dazned]

Hi 

You've got past the first hurdle getting the gp to prescribe hrt ! 

The rest unfortunately is very much trial and error Im afraid. Usually you need to trial each type for 2/3 months before trying something else or your body will never have time to adjust properly.
Do have a look around at the posts and you will also see that what works for one wont always work for another,its a very individual thing.
Just dont expect miracles it cant help with everything but the flushes and aches usually are the first things to improve,the moods etc are harder symptoms for hrt to tackle. Good luck let us know how you get on ,hopefully you will settle soon but it wont happen overnight. 

[Dancinggirl]

Hi and welcome katkin - It is trial and error till you find the right HRT that suits you.  You don't say whether you are still getting periods???  If you are still peri meno ( still getting periods however erratic) then this is a difficult stage as the hormones do fluctuate giving erratic symptoms which can be difficult to control. The patches are medium dose so might be a bit strong if you are still peri meno but they often suit many women very well.  The HRT that many women do well on is Femoston 1/10 as the progesterone in it is a kinder one so brings fewer side effects. There are lots of options - do look under TREATMENTS above to see what's available. I eventually had the Mirena fitted with separate oestrogen as a gel which worked well for some time.  I recently tried the gel with Utrogestan ( bio identical progesterone) but this gave me problematic bleeding - we are all different so do persevere as there will be something that suits you.  Dg x

[Diane Lovett]

Thanks ladies ,this menopause malarki is a right royal pain in the ass ! I have had a couple of periods within the last year but not even proper ones.I told the doctor this so assumed she knew what she was on about giving  me evorel .My problem is with whatever i take i hate side effects and i give up too easily . However those elleste made me feel nauseous and i felt jittery and my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest ,even the sweats are preferable to feeling like that 
 Its bloody annoying tho when your doctor has no clue , a male doctor i saw said the side effects i was feeling couldn't be the hrt but couldn't say what they were ! I ask you !!
I asked for the patches as i read that the delivery method made it easier on the stomach etc but maybe its just the progesterone thats the problem , will see what i'm like on the patches at least . Thanks for the advice x

[dazned]

I know only to well the feeling of needing to be better overnight  !

But it doesn't happen that way unfortunately and changing hrt too soon really doesn't help. You must give it a fair chance to adapt to your system ,and I know that isnt easy believe me,been there got the wardrobe ! 

Take it one day at a time .

[Hurdity]

Hi Katkins

  from me too!

You've had great advice already from the others.

If you've only had a couple of periods in the past year before you started HRT, then patches should be a good dose. I started on these (ie 50 mcg patches) when I was at your stage - late peri - with only occasional periods and have been on this dose ever since - well more or less.

As you said it could be the progestogen that causes the problems. I presume you have been given Evorel sequi - which will give a withdrawal bleed every four week? Yes as dazned says do give them 3 months - and let your body acclimatise to having oestrogen again.  If you really don't tolerate the progestogen then as Dancinggirl says you will be better off with separate oestrgoen and progesterone and if you want to be mainly transdermal either the Mirena, or else what I use which is patch oestrogen and separate progesterone which is prescribed orally but which some of use use vaginally.

Good luck and let us know how things go

Hurdity x

[Diane Lovett]

Hi Hurdity, no i've been given the conti and from what i've read i would've thought i should've been given sequi .Wondering now if i should go back and question it.
However i also wonder if i will feel better on the conti so really want to try it !

Thanks for all that have taken the time to reply ,its lovely to know there are ladies out there to offer such good advice xx

[Hurdity]

Actually I really would go back and ask for the sequi type - because you want to see how your body reacts to the oestrogen alone and how it changes when you add in (and then withdraw) the progestogen. If after 3 months you feel better for most of the time (apart from a bit of pms at some point) then all should be well and you might like to try continuous patches. Personally though I would not want to have a synthetic progestogen all the time - although many women are fine on it!

Hurdity x