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[pricey]

Hi everyone,

I have not posted for a while as I have been doing OK. (Relatively!)

I had my annual HRT review with the Dr yesterday (I have been on Elleste Duet 1mg) and she said as my periods are considerably lighter and I have been on it for 2 years she wants  to try me on the Conti as it's pointless having withdrawal bleeds if I don't need to. I have been having some breakthrough flushes and night sweats. I was sceptical because I am not sure my periods have stopped naturally but she says as I am going to be 53 in January and have been on HRT for two years, this is now an acceptable approach. I have welcomed the lighter, regular periods, as I have been plagued with anaemia (sometimes severe) through peri and this has been the most stable I have been. She says if my body is not 'ready', I may just have some breakthrough bleeding for a few months. On the Duet, I feel well generally, although the progestogen end of the pack always seems to trigger more headaches, but then I was always a sufferer of prementsrual headaches and migraines. The Dr suggested that if I no longer had to have a withdrawal bleed, this could help with the headaches. However, I'm a little concerned that having the two hormones throughout the month could actually make me feel the way I currently do during the last week of my present HRT. Do you think it's worth a try? She suggested putting me on a repeat script for the Conti, but I suggested a 3 month trial with the option to change back immediately if things get dire. Anyone else have a similar experience?

Thanks!

[Dancinggirl]

Many women find the conti regimes difficult - simply because using progesterone all the time can bring more side effects.  Having said this, it tends to be the withdrawal from progesterone on Sequi HRT that can give the headaches and PMT symptoms and taking the slightly lower dose all the time could work quite well.  Give it a try and see how it goes - you can always go back to the sequel regime.  DG x

[Quandry]

Hi Pricey

I have had the same experience as you very recently, and although I don't want to put you off trying the move to Conti, I will just share my experience.

I was on Elleste Duet 1 mg for over 2 years (I'm 51 now) and seemed to be OK on it. Like you, the last week of the green tablets made me grumpy and I had painful breasts, but weeks 1-2 were fab and week 3 OK.

I initially switched to Estradot and Utrogestan but quickly found that didn't work for me (bad migraines/fuzzy head) so I switched to Evorel Conti after a month. Initially I was just using half a patch (as I was told that 1mg Elleste tablet = half a patch) but I started getting terrible shoulder and neck pain, so thinking the dose was too low I increased to a full patch.
I perservered for two months but the neck pain persisted and I came to the conclusion that it was related to the on-going progesterone. I've just been back to the GP and asked for my Elleste Duet back, and after 3 days my neck and shoulder pain has disappeared!

But everyone is different, so you may be fine, so it's probably worth giving it a try.

I'm confused as to why the ratio of progestogens is so much higher in the conti regime though. We've been having a bit of a chat about over here if you're interested:
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,37939.0.html