Hi Kris
Look up the thread ‘ The Burning Club' on this sight - it will hopefully be of help. Sorry to hear you are a member of the Burning club. This burning is quite common when meno hits and you need local oestrogen e.g. Vagifem. What you have is urogenital atrophy and this needs additional local oestrogen. Some women need local and the systemic HRT together to really tackle this problem, so I wouldn't be in a hurry to stop the the patch.
Serenity is only a very tiny amount of hormones and won't help at all with anything - don't waste your money.
The Patches you are using will be helping but it may take some months to really take effect - if you add in some local oestrogen as well then this will speed things along. The patches will help the bladder so it is worth continuing with them. What is important is to restore and maintain a good flora balance in the vaginal area to prevent infections and irritation. Sylk and other vaginal moisturisers can help maintain the flora balance.
In the mean time get yourself somethings like Sylk, a vaginal moisturiser, to use daily after showering. Don't use anything scented for washing - vegetable soap is best with specialist wash for vaginal area. Never wash your hair in the shower as shampoo can get to the ‘lady bits' and make it burn. Drink lots of water and avoid caffein, alcohol and acidic drinks like fruit juice.
An increase in migraines is common with the menopause - HRT can sometimes help but you may need to try a different HRt type.
Hope this helps.
DG x