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[Dancinggirl]

Well ladies - isn't this thread highlighting how different we all are.

For some, Utrogestan is a life saver. 

For some, it gives erratic and problematic bleeding and even nasty cramps.

Some women feel mentally great on Utro while others get vivid dreams and feel anxious.

Some women get real sedation while others feel fine.

Generally, those who can use it vaginally do seem to do better on Utrogestan.

Experimenting with how one uses Utrogestan without medical supervision is clearly very unwise.  A tailored approach is very possible but should only be done with the guidance of a specialist gynae. I agree with Hurdity that it is a shame that there aren't 50mg dose pills available to help with a more personalised approach.

Getting the balance right between the amount of oestrogen used and correct dosage of Utro is important - as Hurdity explained, Utro is not as stable so there is clearly a risk of the womb lining building up unless adequate dose of Utro is used and for a long enough duration to ensure a proper shedding.

Do keep sharing your experiences everyone - this will hopefully help those who are considering asking for Utrogestan or are new to it and having problems.

Dg xxx

[Mary G]

DG, I feel I owe to everyone to say that I take very little Utrogestan, have cheated loads of times, skipped months trying to do a long cycle etc. and my most recent lining measurement straight after a period was 2mm.  That was after sticking to the 100mg dose vaginally for 7 days and not cheating at all.  I am 9 years post menopause, take two pumps of gel everyday, DHEA, testosterone and do not produce much progesterone - it has been 0.20 ng/mL for years now. 

My point is this, if you are severely intolerant to progesterone, don't assume you have to take the licensed dose, find out.  It is very easy to do, you need to locate a clinic that does uterine scans and arrange to have one straight after a period.  That way, you will know for sure whether or not you are taking enough and of course it may turn out that you need to take more but at least you will know.  Yes, you will have to pay for it but it is better than taking the wrong dose of Utrogestan for years on end. 

My gynaecologist told me I definitely don't need to take more Utrogestan than I am now.  I would worry that if I did, it could erode my womb. 

The dose of Utrogestan that I use should not work on paper but it does so it just goes to show that it is not an exact science and if you have difficulties with it, you owe it to yourself to find out if you can take a lower dose and make your life more bearable.  I had to do it, I didn't have the luxury of choice.

[Dandelion]

I like utrogestan. I use it vaginally or orally. The one thing I struggle with is trying not to eat before taking utro orally, but this never works, hunger gives me wind and stomach acid, and I can't sleep if I am hungry.
So, orally, if I get too hungry in the four food free hours, I just eat.
I never like touching myself, even putting tampons in, weird I know, but that's just how it goes for me, so I often forget.
I've never been good with dates and calendars, I've got one on my phone and for a few months, I'd only been using them on day 1-12.
I stayed on the evorel and went back to taking the first day I came on as the first day of my cycle, as my periods got back to normal flow on evorel, and so far, it's been on. I do get my period a few days before I stop my evorel, this last time, but that could be because I forgot it a couple of days, but I have put the right days down for next month.
I think it's an attempt to get your natural and hrt flowing together, but that will never happen, so overall my complaints about utro are not about the tablet, it's about me getting mixed up all the time.
I wish there was just one tablet to put up there, and sometimes I do just put one  up, as I hate raking round there to pus the second one up, as the first goes astray then, but as I am prescribed 200, I use 200 the vast majority of the time.
I liked it when a  lady sent me some of hers that were 200 size capsules.

I never tried evorel with inbuilt norethisterone becauase I didn't want it to give me a chance to make my anxiety worse, as many woman reported problems with mood etc, and I need all the mood lifts I can get.

[Dancinggirl]

MaryG - thank you to clarifying how you use Utro - it is so great to hear you are doing well despite the awful problems you have had with progesterone.  However, I must still stress this should be under supervision and I understand you are seeing an eminent gynae on a regular basis.
Many women do not have the resources to go privately or indeed to pay for regular scans - sadly at the moment the NHS cannot offer this service. It would be very unusual to over thin the womb lining if you are using an average dose of oestrogen, particularly on a sequential basis, and the licensed dose is recommended based to extensive studies that looked at the optimum safe dosage.
I have also been seeing a private gynae who specialises in the treatment of meno symptoms and he is of course fully informed about the work that Studd and others have done.  He told me that recent studies have highlighted the importance of the balance between oestrogen and progesterone in protecting the uterus and preventing problematic bleeding and stressed to me the importance of getting this right.  You have obviously, with guidance from you gynae, have found the correct balance for you but sadly most women cannot get this type of tailored approach.
The amount we absorb from Oestrogel or patches can greatly vary - on just under 2 pumps per day of the Gel my oestrogen level reached 600, whilst others have reported that they will only get 200-300 - so this illustrates how easy it would be for the lining to build up and hence my caution with experimentation.

I'm afraid it is terribly unfair that one should have to pay to get the treatment we need but through MM we can at least share our experiences and encourage the professionals (especially GPs) we see to help us in a more positive way.

BTW - the gynae I am seeing(such and lovely, lovely man) is actually going round giving lectures to GPs and others on better treatment of the meno - the message is getting out there     
DG x

[newbeginnings]

Dancing girl the eostrogen I have is called Sandrena its in a little one dose daily sachet, its equivalent of 1mg estradiol. I haven't heard anyone else on the forum talk about these.i wondered what dose of estradiol is one pump of gel?

[Tangerinedreams]

Hi newbeginnings I am on the gel and utro I just checked my Oestrogel pump pack and it says each pump contains 0.75 milligrams of estradoil so thats slightly less than 1 of your sachets. 

[newbeginnings]

Thanks TD, so I'm on a steady dose of 1mg, but then with the pump it can be varied. Anyway I think its going very well for me.