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[Brownietk]

Hi
I had a hysterectomy ovaries intact 3 years ago. Been suffering with night sweats, forgetting everything and burning and soreness "down below" to the point even sitting down was painful. Been on vagifem for 12 months but my GP gave me Oestrogel 1 or 2 pumps a day as the night sweats etc seem to be getting worse. Only taken 3 days worth but for the past 2 have had the most horrific migraine and feeling quite dizzy too. Have had occasional migraines before but no more than 2 a year. Anyone else experience this and if so how long did it take to settle? Been feeling so rough I really can't face taking it again today.......I'm 44 so been advised HRT is needed and was hoping the gel would work....any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated thank you!

[Dancinggirl]

Hi and welcome to MM Brownietk
Ostrogel is the best thing you can use - you can adjust the dose to your needs.  It is very early days and your body may well react this at first - if your oestrogen levels were very low then it will take time for your body to adjust and things to settle.  I would stick with one pump per day for the first 2 weeks then go put to 2 pumps per day - at your age you will need 2 pumps to help protect your heart and bones for the long term.  Keep using the Vagifem - you may need both for quite some time. I bet within the next week or two you will start to sleep better and generally feel more like you old self. Do persevere as I'm sure the migraines will subside as your body welcomes the oestrogen - it's magic stuff.  DG x

[Brownietk]

Thank you SO much, great advice. Been feeling rubbish for so long I rather naively thought I couldn't feel much worse.....! But will persevere on Oestrogel and see how I go. Was told to stop taking vagifem by GP to see if things had improved, won't be doing that again in a hurry! Thanks again for the advice. X

[Tinkerbell]

I still need Vagifem every night even though I have been using Estradot patches and now Estrogel for the last four months.
So keep your Vagifem going.

[andius]

I tried the estradiol gel and was plagued with headaches. Tried taking before bed, got am headaches, taking in am produced headaches in afternoon, tried splitting dose and headaches all day but less intense.  It just was too much up and down for me.
If it doesn't get better after a few weeks I would check with your doctor to see if you should change to another hrt.

The patches seem to be a little more gradual reaching a peak, then tapering off in a few days and definitely worked better for me.
We are all slightly different in our reactions to hrt it seems.

[Dancinggirl]

One should generally start low - so one pump per day or even half a pump and then gradually increase - headaches are rare on just oestrogen but they should settle.
I got a surge effect with patches - feeling dreadful on the day it was applied and then petering off over the next couple of days so that flushes returned - fluctuations were awful. We are all different and it's about finding what works for you.  DG x

[Tempest]

It most certainly is about finding what works for you! I'm sending you hugs as it is more of a struggle starting HRT when your estrogen levels are very low.

For me, the fluctuations on Estrogel were too much too. I just couldn't get it to stick around consistently, but I have no ovaries and previously had a hysterectomy at 36.

I'm getting headaches at the moment too, but I'm on a different type of HRT that is known to cause them on start up. I also think we are more prone as our bodies have a great deal of adjusting to do from being depleted so long, so things can be a bit of a rollercoaster for us.

Sending you  and don't be afraid to see your GP if you continue to struggle. xxxxx

[Brownietk]

It's so great to hear your experiences, thank you. I tried half a pump last night and managed to work today with a bearable headache and slight sicky feeling so will try to build up gradually and see how that goes. My GP who is also a menopause specialist never mentioned anything like this so its all come as a bit of a shock. When I started the vagifem I never had any problems at all so just sort of assumed I'd take the Oestrogel and be fine....

[Sarahjaynexo]

Just wondering how you are getting on? I'm on oestrogel and getting migraines too

[Kat36]

My body does not like the initial influx of estrogen -I get silent migraines. I started on evorel sequi back in January and it was unpleasant. I had silent migraines so frequently I ripped it off.
I saw a specialist who suggested starting slow. I started on evorel 25 and working up by a quarter of a patch every 4 weeks.  I did get a couple of migraines in the first week I started this time, but once I introduced the Utrogestan (100mg daily)a week later the migraines just went away.  Weird. The utrogestan did make me feel like a zombie at first but I’m not too bad now after 4 weeks worth.  My only advice would be start low and go real slow and avoid any grand fluctuations (a conti regime if you can). 

[Sarahjaynexo]

That makes total sense. I came off sequi on to oestrogen, I don't start the utrogestan until day 14 I think, was hoping to gave the mirena fitted by then.

I've got oestrogel but going to kero the dosage low for a few days and gradually build it up.

Ahh... to be a man x

[Kat36]

Oh I’d give anything to be a bloke these days lol 

Sounds like a good plan Sarahjayne-I know one lady who had her GP tell her to start on 1/8 of a patch as she was struggling with side effects. X