Print

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

[weathergirl]

I've been on HRT for the past year.  I use a low-dose patch I use progesterone 12 days/month.
'm progesterone intolerant and see there are other ladies here who have this same issue. 
At one point I tried using the progesterone capsules vaginally but wasn't sure they worked!
I am on lower dose HRT and rarely get much of a bleed to speak of.  I tried using the progesterone in the vagina for one cycle and did not get a bleed, just a little spotting. 
I used 200mg.  It was an awful mess also!   How do I know if it went to where it needed?  I always 'felt' the progesterone when I took it orally so I knew it was being absorbed, etc.

Any thoughts? Thank you for reading my post.

[Hurdity]

Hi weathergirl

The evidence from trials shows that on average more progesterone gets to where it is needed when used vaginally at the same dose as orally - it doesn't have to go through the digestive system and the liver first, so goes straight to the uterus. Provided you poke it up far enough it should do the trick. If you don't feel it when using vaginally, then all the better - you are not having negative side effects! I find it no messier than a normal vaginal discharge (but I don't get much of this now I am old!) - but I do wear a panti-liner on the nights when I use it.  Depending on where you are in menopause and the dose of the patch - if you didn't have much of a bleed it is likely due to the fact that the progesterone is doing its job in keeping the lining thin. If you are happy on the low dose of oestrogen ( I presume by this you mean 25 mcg?) then you probably do not need such a high progesterone dose especially when used vaginally and you might be able to reduce this in consultation with your doc?

I am post-menopausal and have 62.5 mcg patch and then 200 mg x 12 days utrogestan vaginally every 6-8 weeks (OK'ed by my GP). This gives me a reasonable bleed - but much less than when I had periods. 15 % of women do not bleed on cyclical HRT regimes ( according to info on this site).

Hurdity x

[weathergirl]

Hurdity, thank you very much.  Good info!  I think the lack of a bleed is due to the very low estro patch.  Not building up much of a lining to shed. 
I'll keep with trying it vaginally and see how that goes.  My dose is 0.0375 patch. 
Is it possible I could PM you?  I recently deleted my former profile and started a new one.   

[weathergirl]

Never mind, I just did a little research and see that I must respond or contribute to 10 posts to be able to PM.  Got it! 

[weathergirl]

I noticed that it sort of irritated the inside of the vagina when using the progesterone.  Is that something that will 'wear off' over time?  I will persist with this in the interest of avoiding the oral route but just was curious.  Thank you!