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[EllaM]

Hi everyone, having been peri for the last 5 and a bit years (I'm nearly 51) the biggest problem I have had is with horrendous fluctuations which eventually settle and I am able to get back to a reasonable quality of life and work full time.  I am currently having a horrible blip after a years of less frequent less horrible blips.
I have been on Estradot 75 and 200 utro for 12 days. Some months I cope ok with the utro other times it's a challenge to complete the course!
An estradiol test showed a level of 383 pmol on day 27.
I switched to Estrogel last week as I thought that perhaps I wasn't absorbing the patch well bet I now think that from looking at this site my estrogen level was probably reasonable for my age, time of the month.
To be honest I really have felt worse since starting on the gel so am wondering if others have found that they do better on the patches. I think the steadier release from the patches may suit me better. I also wonder about dosing/absorption from the gel.
Anyone had a similar experience?
I have started my period today so hopefully the low mood will lift but I still have the aching joints, tiredness, dry skin, anxiety etc so know I need to get my estrogen level up.
The support of the ladies on here is so very appreciated especially when you are I'm the midst of a really shitty time x

[Kate50]

How long had you been on estradot ? Wad toy absorbing it ok?  When i went on estrogel it took quite a few weeks to build up and felt worse at first.  The utrogestan has affected it's efficiency as well.

[EllaM]

Hi Kate, I had been on Estradot for over a year and now wish I hadn't tinkered with my hrt as I am sure this latest blip would have settled. I just thought the estrogel may be the miracle cure I was looking for (clutching at straws I know) as none of the HRTs I have tried have really made me feel great.
I have been off sick now for a couple of weeks and just need to get back as soon as possible x

[Kate50]

Sounds like a bit too much progesterone and not enough oestrogen . Could you cut down the utrogestan cos as you say been on that regime a while things may have changed with your own cycle

[andius]

When I tried the estrogen gel, I felt like it hit my system hard at first, then ran out too soon.  I was like an up and down roller coaster every day. If using it at night,  I couldn't sleep and if using in the morning I had headaches all day.  It just didn't work for me.

I tried splitting the dose and using half in the morning and half at night, but that is such a hassle if you lead a busy life (trying to remember, waiting for it to dry, transfer issues with pets and grandchildren, etc.)

The patch is smoother for me.  Yes I feel a mild increase on day 1 and it wanes on the day of patch change, but it is not every single day and it is not as intense as on the gel.  I only have to remember to change it twice a week, no transfer issues, no drying time.

The only thing I don't like about the patch is the ring it leaves on your skin.  I have found that covering it with petroleum jelly about an hour before removing it on patch change day almost completely eliminates this issue.

[Mary G]

I much prefer the gel, I didn't like the patches at all.  Firstly, I didn't get enough oestrogen out of them, secondly, they didn't stick very well and left a horrible black mark and itchy rash and thirdly, I just didn't like going around with a patch stuck to my backside. 

I find the gel dries within a few minutes and I like the flexibility of it.  I use 1 pump every 12 hours and would never go back to patches. 

[EllaM]

Thank you for your replies. Was really poorly yesterday as started my period and just felt like I was dying  I have gad these symptoms before at this time of the month but this time it has been really bad.
I use the utrogestan vaginally and seem to cope better some months than others.
Kate50, you say that it sounds like too much progesterone and I have seen that many of you take a lower dose but I guess this would require me to have regular private womb scans. Is this the case?
Like andius I found that I couldn't sleep using the gel at night and after splitting the dose had symptoms both morning and night!
I'm not bothered about the appearance of the patch or the adhesive ring and Dr Currie has said that my estrogen level was ok with my patch and that if it was a little higher it would do no harm so I have gone back to the stability of the patches.
I know that the reason I am feeling so awful is my own hormones fluctuating in the background but beyond a hysterectomy or a chemical menopause there don't seem to be any other options given my age.
I hoped id be well enough to go back to work tomorrow but the hormones are really acting up. Just feel so bloody miserable and up upset with it all. Just want the world to stop so I can get off x