Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Hurdity]

Hey cheezel - don't be hard on yourself - you're right it will pass but hard when your hormones are surging. Have a look at this thread from Mandz who was desperate and feeling really down and see how many posts there are. If it helps you just keep posting if you need to offload or need some ideas OK? There is usually someone around to answer!

http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,31031.0.html

Hurdity x

[cheezel]

Tks Hurdity.....gynae and gp want me to have a pelvic scan now cos said norethisterone wouldnt cause my severe uterine cramping and headaches symptoms!!! Scared now!! Just took patch off for 1st time in 5 wks cos cramps so bad even with Ponstan....sick of this....

[Lizab]

The thyroid could certainly be part of it. I am treated for underactive thyroid also. But in fact, before I started hrt, I presented with hot flashes and anxiety, and the doctor suspected I was overmedicated for the thyroid. Long story short, it wasn't the thyroid. It was low estrogen. I am on Vivelle Dot .50 (uk Estradot 50).

I know how you feel about being fed up and stuck at home. I was housebound a few months while sorting this. Several ladies advised me to take it easy, accept that this is my condition for now, be patient and it will improve... I refused. Staying home while life carried on without me was killing me! But fighting it only made me feel worse. Really, as hard as it is, sort of giving in to it and accepting that you need some time to get well will probably help your recovery. Confess your situation to your closest friends or family and allow people to support you for a few weeks. It won't last forever.  You've got your gyne and gp working on it. Keep posting and reading others' posts on here. It helped me so much to know others were going through the same. I would read some posts and cry for all of us because it's heartbreaking what we go through with this hormonal stuff. Really stopped me dead in my tracks. You aren't alone.

[Dancinggirl]

LisaB - excellent post - such sound advice and support. Cheezel  do take note of what LisaB has posted.  DG x

[cheezel]

Still having tough time...trying Cyclogest 400mg pessaries now...anyone use these? My gynae wants me to use them continuously not cyclically??? Im on Evorel 50 too...had good day yest but not great today....

[Dancinggirl]

Oh cheezel - not sure that cyclogest is such a good idea - Utrogestan is the progesterone that most use these days.  Why is your gynae/GP wanting you to use these pessaries every day? I though you were still peri meno??
All seems very confusing to me.  I would have though you would do better on Oestrogel with Utrogestan taken cyclically e.g. 12 days each month??  Many of us find that progesterone taken continuously causes problems - I would ask the specialist about this.  DG x 

[cheezel]

Dancing girl i live in Dublin Ireland and we dont have oestrogel or utrogestan here. I had severe uterine cramps on evorel conti...so she said we could try this as its most natural...im 6 wks on 50mcgs of oestrogen and still feel crappy but way better than without. Now im windering if BCP might be better option for me?? Gynae says if this doesnt work i can go to UK and see what i can get there but i cant really afford that. She wants to put me on coil longterm but as she said continuous prog better?? I dont know anymore...totally despairing here

[Dancinggirl]

Hi cheezel - sorry, I forgot you were in Ireland. Pleased to hear you are feeling better on the patches and after I had done my post to you I then looked up the cyclogest and remembered that, before Utrogestan came out in the UK, some women used Cyclogest as part of HRT - so basically it is worth giving it a go. I still think using it continuously is not a good idea though!!!!  I think you are still technically peri meno???-  so a sequential regime would be better.
If you don't like the cyclogest and it aggravates your bladder etc. then another alternative would be to try Medroxyprogesterone (Provera/Climinor) on a sequential regime, as it is a kinder synthetic progesterone - if you can get this in Ireland? 
Here is the section on MM about this proegesterone:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/to_progestogens.php

If bleeding and cramps are an issue for you then a Mirena coil would be a good option - so I would seriously consider this - it could well settle all the cramps and would eventually result in no bleeding - you can then use as little or as much oestrogen as you need while the Mirena is in place.    Keep us posted.   DG x

[CLKD]

There was a facility here to send Dr Currie a personal e-mail cheezel - might be worth a try?  The fee should be at the top of the page.

Also, if the Gynae and GP are in agreement about the Cyclogest and it eases symptoms for the now, it will give you breathing space ;-).

[cheezel]

Well feel awful today.....girls was wondering how do you know if dose of oestrogen is too high or too low for you?? I constantly feel internal tremors which i read are 1 of the 34 symptoms of menopause. But today i feel increased anxiety...went to shopping centre sth i normally love and wanted out....im 6 wks on hrt now and really despairing as to how you find the correct dose or fit for you. So far i was on Estradot 37.5 but was v sick on that...maybe i didnt give it long enough but had extreme nausea etc...provera was prog and was ok ish on that but was only applying 6mcgs of oestrogen, a quarter of a 25mcg patch...some days i took it off....tried no hrt..was so sick with extreme nausea and diarrhoea....put Evorel Conti 50mcgs on and whilst i saw some improvement im still not what i would call functionable...im out of work 7 wks now...was really hoping Evorel 50mcgs with Cyclogest might work...started this fri...wasnt great after changing patch fri and sat....had tolerable day sun but bad yest and today....just wondering why i dont appear to be settling at all.....getting more n more down....my parents have had to move in as i cant cope with my 3 kids and im shouting at them...no tolerance....tried Lexapro but was sick as a dog on them but i dont think my anxiety is anxiety per say just cos im feeling so sick and not improving..my parents driving my hubbie mad and feel bad their lives are on hold.....might email Dr Currie as maybe my flucuating hormones are causing my situation...my hubbie says i need to try getting back to work n see how i cope but i have a v stressful responsible job and dont think i can handle it feeling like this.....i hate this menopause and honestly cant continue through life like this.....

[Dancinggirl]

cheezel - I think one of the main problems you are facing is the chopping and changing.  NO HRT will work straight away and each regime needs to be given at least 2 months before changing anything.  The peri stage is tricky as the oestrogen levels will be fluctuating.  Progesterone is often a big issue and it's about finding the right one for you.
If the Provera wasn't too bad then I would have stuck with this with a 50mcg oestrogen patch - using the Provera on a sequential basis, so just 10-12 days each month, to see how that goes once you are using a proper amount of oestrogen - you will get a withdrawal bleed each month but it's often taking progesterone all the time that gives the problems.  I know you have been given the Cyclogest and maybe you need to give this a good 4 weeks to see how that goes first.
Sadly it is about trial and error.  The nausea may be more to do with your anxiety than anything else - can your doctor give you something to calm the nausea? Have you tried some Mindful Meditation as well - I find I really have to keep practising this to help me cope.
It sounds to me as though you need to 'stop the world and get off for a while' to let you gather your breathe? DG x

[cheezel]

Tks Dancing girl for replying...really cant tolerate anymore....bawling here im so nauseous...havent felt nausea like this in ages....btw that the headache and my aching womb im thinking of just going cold turkey although i was as sick pre hrt so dont know what to do...cant see any light today at the end of the tunnel.....sorry for the negativity but im so ill i want it all to just stop....i had such a great life before all this and feel at 42 im way too young for my life to be over......again sorry for being so negative

[Dancinggirl]

cheezel    I am sure the solution will be found for you.  The nausea is truly miserable I'm sure - so difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel but I suspect the Mirena may be your best bet with either oestrogen as patch which will give you total trandermal and reduce any trouble with the stomach.  Keep us posted.  Dg xx

[Hurdity]

Hi again cheezel

So sorry to hear you are still feeling rough.

First to say Dancinggirl is right about the Cyclogest pessaries - I used these for the first  4 years of HRT (because utrogestan was not available - and my GP had been prescribing it for years) and the same dose as you - although I was prescribed it cyclically - at 400 mg daily for 11 days per 4 weeks.  I wouldn't want to take it continuously though as it is quite strong and used to make me foggy headed and sometimes give me migraines - but I also got these on withdrawal ie when I stopped the pessaries and went back to oestrogen only. I felt fine once it had cleared my system though. That dose is too high for continuous use - and especially for a low dose of oestrogen. It would only be given continuously at this dose to maintain a pregnancy.

Secondly I'd just re-iterate what Dancinggirl has said about peri-menopause and remaining on a cycle - and I also said it in my earlier posts below. If you are peri-menoausal then it would be better to be on cyclical HRT although I can understand your gynae wanting to try to eliminate fluctuations in your prog levels if you suffer when you start taking it and when you come off it. However if the problem is the progesterone itself then you want to keep it to a minimum. As I said my GP prescribed it for 11 days per 28 for a 50 mcg patch in late peri-menopause and it was fine for me. I found that I did not get a monthly bleed when I eventually became fully post-menopausal - at around 56/57 - on 11 days x 400 mg Cyclogest with a 50 mcg patch - so that prog is quite strong!

In your case I would take as little as possible orally as you seem to suffer from nausea. Although you do need a higher dose of oestrogen due to your age - and if you are going through an early menopause, in your position building up slowly is key - but as Dancinggirl has said you need to give each treatment a chance to work and especially with the oestrogen and the nausea - if you can ride this out it should ease.

Maybe as your gynae and Dancinggirl suggests - a Mirena coil and separate oestrogen might be the  answer - provided you can tolerate the small amount of progestogen that gets into the system.

Also just to add - are you taking thyroid meds - I know during menopause Thyroid levels can play up so maybe you are going a bit hyper - which could account for some of your symptoms? Are your levels being measured?

So - in the first instance - with doc's permission I would try to change to a cycle and then build up the oestrogen gradually.

Hope this helps!

Hurdity x 

[cheezel]

Thank you Hurdity and Dancinggirl......i agree about the cycle but to be honest dont know whether im peri or menopausal..i havent had a bleed in 5mths both on and off hrt......the nausea from the initial oestrogen has died....when i say im really sick its more as if i feel my system is being poisoned if that makes sense?? I feel dreadful all over and like i can literally feel the hormones racing through my system. Thats why i was thinking the 50mcgs is too high a dose for me. Ive very meds sensitive in any case....im nearly 8wks on this 50mcgs dose but symptoms appear to be worsening??? I cant function i feel so unwell....started getting headaches yest too so dont know if its the progesterone....when i started hrt in feb my gp put me on estradot 37.5...i was sick as a dog and found i could really only tolerate about 9mcgs without extreme nausea and diarrhoea...strangely i was a bit better when on it with progesterone but had severe withdrawal from the provera but at this stage id almost take that. Ive asked my gynae does she think its prog intolerance via email but she never answered that directly just told me to stay on the hrt for 12 wks....i feel like ripping the bloody patch off at this stage....only changed it yest...im wondering as the level of hormones are building is it too much for me?? As i said i feel as if im trembling internally which i know is drug related and not anxiety or depression so im wondering if the starting on 50mcgs was just too high for me?? Its so hard to figure it out when there are so many elements at play. My thyroid is actually fine....endo rang and all my hormone levels fine acc to her..no Addisons etc.....so sick of being unwell...5 mths of this now and still in a hormone heap!! You guys seem to know more than my gynae which is v frustrating....as she is seen as one of the best in ireland and has links to UK and Dr Nick Panay and only recently she launched Femoston 1/10mgs here