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[Fimble]

I have been reading posts on this site for a while and thought I'd take the plunge and write something. My episode began at the end of January when I was out with friends. I had only had two glasses of cider but felt quite nauseous and light-headed, the next thing I knew I had fainted! I felt out of sorts the next day so then went to see my GP. Other than my heart rate being quite slow, my blood pressure was fine and I had blood tests, all being normal. I returned to work for three days before I started to feel really unwell again. I went to the walk in centre where I had an ECG which again showed my heart rate to be slow and was told to rest.
I saw another GP and asked whether the way I felt could be hormone related (I will be 51 this summer) to be told no, the dizziness etc was probably cardiac related.
So more than three months down the line, I've had a 72 hour heart trace, heart scan, MRI, have seen an ear specialist only to be told no-one knows what's wrong with me (obviously relieved nothing sinister going on).
I had more than six weeks off work, I only started my new job last December and am fortunate that they have been very understanding and I went back on a phased return.
Almost three weeks ago(after reading posts on this site) I saw a different GP who said it was probably peri-menopause and prescribed Prempak-C.
I haven't had a period for 8 weeks now, before that I had very painful and heavy ones (I have fibroids).
I now feel OK in the mornings, but as the day goes on I feel nauseous, wobbly and my ears feel strange. I take Kalms (I'm not an anxious person but they seem to help) evening primrose & vitamins. I seem to wee lots (is this my time of life or the HRT?) I am also putting weight on.
Apologies for rambling, but I'm hoping that maybe someone will tell me if what I'm experiencing isn't totally abnormal or suggest something that may help.
Thank you. 

[Hurdity]

Hi Fimble

 

Firstly - you must be so relieved that there is no cardiac problem and I presume the docs will be keeping an eye on it?

Some of these symptoms are also typical of peri-menopause and we all experience them differently.

Which dose of Prempak have you been given? This is quite a strong HRT and is one of the old-fashioned types made from horse oestrogens rather than our own estradiol. Some women seem to do very well on it but others not so well. If the side effects don't settle I would definitely try a different type and if tablet HRT appeals to you then Femoston is the one that is best tolerated as it is estradiol (ie bio-identical to our own main estrogen) and dydrogesterone - which is very similar to progesterone - and is associated with fewer unpleasant side effects.

Another thing that can help with some dizziness and faint feelings is controlling your blood sugar - by cutting out sugary foods - sweets, cakes, biscuits, sweet drinks as well as refined carbs - and cutting down on carbs generally - replacing with lean protein, nuts etc.

Unfortunately some bloating/fluid retention can occur with some HRT types - if it is due to oestrogen it usually settles but sometimes with progestogens it seems to stay. Weight gain often happens around the time of peri-menopause anyway as our metabolism slows, so we need to eat less and exercise more just to stay the same weight - how annoying is that! So now is the time to look at other lifestyle factors and diet so that you are in the best position health wise as you enter this next phase of your life

Hope this helps

Hurdity x

[Fimble]

Hi Hurdity
Thank you for the welcome! I have 1.25mg/0.15mg.
I will take your advice on diet as I have a very sweet tooth and no willpower!! The doctor told me that the HRT would take about a month to kick in, it just worries me that this medication has the same side effects as the symptoms I already had. X

[Hurdity]

Hi Fimble - that is one of the higher dose HRT types and probably the strongest you can take without having had a hysterectomy with ovary removal when higher oestrogen doses are sometimes given. I am quite surprised that the doc would start you on this dose when you have only just started skipping periods too. It is usual to start on a lower dose and see if that works for 3 months before trying a higher dose. What were your periods doing in the time leading up to starting the HRT? Were your cycles irregular? Had you skipped many periods?

Personally I would not stay with this one only because the longer you are on it the more difficult it will be to change to another one - because Prempak ( and all the PRE - HRT types) is different from all the others as I said in my last post.

Funnily enough now that I've cut right down on sugar - and almost cut it out, my sweet tooth has greatly diminished so I do not crave sweet things and can even resist home-made cakes!

Hurdity x

[Fimble]

Hi Hurdity
I think I should go back to see my GP as my periods were pretty regular up until a couple of months ago. I don't think the Prempak-C are making me feel any better and I need to pee all the time and have similar symptoms to cystitis. X