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[Lizab]

I finally requested an increase from .0375 to .05 in my patch. I changed the patch Tues. night and went to bed. I did not sleep well, nothing new, so when I felt tired and in a bit of a stupor on Weds almost drugged feeling, I blamed it on lack of sleep. It still may have been lack of sleep, but I felt really weird Weds night, went to bed, slept ok, but my regular morning hot flash Thurs morning was much more intense. I was very uncomfortable and sweaty, more so than usual. Also, I feel like I'm slightly swollen with a little water retention. I see that listed as a side effect but didn't have it on first using the lower dose. Anyway, I scared myself silly over it and changed back to my lower dose on Thurs. morning. I may try again in a few days, but I had been feeling fairly well on the .0375. I was waking several times in the night, not getting any good sleep, and of course fatigued in the day and irritable and feeling overall stressed. I did have hot flashes but they were mostly upon waking and occasionally in the day. After about 12 hours of the dose increase I felt almost like I felt before I even started hrt.

So, experienced ladies, would you try again and stick it out a few days? Or was that an obvious case of too much estrogen for me?

[Lizab]

The gel is not a good option for me with small children.

I may give it another go in a few days. I just scared myself. I'm already feeling better again only a couple hours after going back to the lower patch, and I think the higher dose wouldn't have cleared my system so quickly. It's also possible that I'm in an upswing with my own estrogen.  I've had some signs down below in the last few days.

Is a sleepy, drunk/stoned feeling a common side effect that goes away?

[Dancinggirl]

I agree with Stellajane.
Oestrogen is usually stimulating - it's the progesterone that can make one feel sleepy. If you are still peri meno, then one must always factor in the fluctuations of your own hormones in the background.  I doubt what you are experiencing, with the slightly high dose, would have been oestrogen related - more to do with sleep deprivation.  I think one should expect some adjustment if changing HRT doses but the increase from .375 to .5 is so small it shouldn't really make that much of a difference in terms of side effects but could reduce meno symptoms especially if your own hormones are declining more as you get deeper into meno.
Oestrogel is fine to use if you have small children - if you apply it to inner thighs either first thing in the morning or last thing at night, allow it to dry and cover the area, there should be no transference.
Do try not to stress - I think you are analysing things too closely. DG x

[Lizab]

Thanks, dg. I know I analyze too much. Logically, it wasn't a huge increase, it wasn't my first exposure to the patch, I was probably just having a down day. But it had been quite awhile since I'd felt that bizarre, so I panicked. My very first attempt at the patch back in November, I did feel weird on it, then developed a headache. I removed the patch after 24 hours and the headache continued as a 4-day migraine. A couple weeks later I had a period, first one in many months. I tried the patch again several weeks later and had no side effects. So, perhaps my own hormones are keyed up at the moment and this wasn't the ideal time for me to up the dosage. I forgot to mention I was also nauseated at times on Weds. I'm due  for another course of progesterone this weekend. Maybe I should try again during or after my period.

[Hurdity]

I agree with the others - you need to give any increased oestrogen dose several weeks to take effect and ride out any initial temporary side effects you might experience - and as expressed already - if you are peri-menopausal your own cycle will play a huge part in how you feel so you cannot attribute anything to an exact event or change you might have done!

I hope you manage to sort this out that so that you feel better overall for most of the time

Hurdity x

[Lizab]

Ok ladies! I'm on my 3rd day of the higher dosage and feeling really good, not just tolerable and surviving, but really alive! I did change to the larger patch the first night of my 10 days of utro, and I usually feel better on the utro, but dopey. The utro isn't leaving me drowsy half the day this time round, I guess from the extra estrogen? Whatever the case, I do hope this good feeling continues in the estrogen only days. I know with the way my moods have been swinging that it could be a coincidence, but I haven't felt this well, physically and mentally, in a very long time.

[Hurdity]

Great news Lizab and long may it last

Hurdity x 

[Lizab]

Well that was short lived! Ha! I'm a mess again today. I've been worse, but I keep having moments where something kind of grabs my heart and I feel a little anxious or teary. I guess I still have some settling to do. For some reason I have confidence that this is going to work if given a few more days to settle in. Here's hoping!

[Pollie]

Lizab - i don't mean to sound brutal but i think you may need to sit back and ride the roller coaster for a good 3 months before deciding if its 'working' or not.

Many things can affect how we 'feel' each day and whilst its easy to say its hormones, sometimes its not helpful.

Even when HRT is 'just right' there will still be good days and odd days because thats life, and this is a different stage of life to get used to....

Also if your own hormones are bubbling away in the background its impossible to guess what is causing what !!

Stick with it for a few months, keep your dose constant, and be nice to yourself for a while 

pollie

[Dancinggirl]

LisaB - I totally agree with Pollie -  it can take 3-6 months fro things to settle. DG x

[Lizab]

Oh Pollie and DG, I know that and am not despairing! I was really laughing at the situation because I had felt so fantastic the day before. I'm still hoping my feel good day was a peep into my future, but I'm prepared to ride this out awhile. Don't we all wish there was some solution that fixes everything almost instantly?

[GypsyRoseLee]

Hi Liza

Back before I started HRT, but after I was perimenopausal I noticed that when I ovulated I would feel incredibly chilled out, almost stoned. It has also happened several times since starting HRT.

So I would hesitantly say it is due to high oestrogen levels?