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[Kathleen]

Hello ladies.

As promised here is an update of my appointment with Dr Imogen Shaw at her menopause clinic  at The Nuffield hospital in Cambridge yesterday.

I am 61 and haven't had a period for eight years,  I  struggled with menopause symptoms for some time before asking for HRT and  have been trying to find the magic formula for the last five years. Feels like longer lol!

I am currently using two pumps of Oestrogel every day and Utrogestan orally at night. I am still experiencing flushes, anxiety, disturbed sleep and lately very low mood and wanting to cry all the time. Oh the joys.

Dr Shaw thinks my problems are all due to low oestrogen so she has suggested up to four pumps of Oestrogel and Utrogestan vaginally. I also had a blood test to check my oestradoil levels and when the results are known she will email me  to discuss exactly how to proceed.  I asked about trying a long cycle with minimum Utrogestan and regular scans but she isn't a fan of this regime so I don't think she would prescribe it. I must admit her attitude has me a little worried because I thought a long cycle would be on offer if her suggested treatment didn't work.

I hope this post was helpful and I will of course update the forum as soon as I receive the email.

Thank you ladies for your kind attention recently, you've helped me more than I can say and I am very grateful to you all.

Wishing everyone well.

K.

[Dotty]

Kathleen
 
Give it a go.  4 pumps of Oestrogel might be just what you need.  It has worked for me.  Once you have got your oestrogen levels up you may find that oral Utrogestan is fine.  I seem to be in a minority on here, but that regime has is working very well for me.

[jillydoll]

Hi Kathleen.
As dotty says, that's what you might need.
I've upped my dosage on my hrt pills, and already starting to feel better
and it's only been a few days. I too, was suffering low mood, crying at the drop of a hat,
and EVERYTHING seemed too intense.....like everything was a major disaster in my mind!
I had to do something, and suspected I had low oestrogen. As I say, I already feel a bit better.
Give it a go,I'm sure you'll start to feel better quite quickly.
Good luck, keep us posted...

Jd xx

[SueLW]

Hello Kathleen

I'm sorry you are struggling so much.  But have faith and try this new way.

Did she tell you to take the Utrogestan vaginally continuously or with any kind of break?

xx

[Kathleen]

Hello Dotty, jillydoll and SueLW.

Thank you all for your comments.

Yes I will certainly give this a go and hope for the best. The consultant said it was best to increase the number of pumps gradually to avoid things like breast tenderness  and to take the Utrogestan vaginally every day. I'm expecting more details in a few days when she emails my blood test results.  I will of course pass on anything I learn.

Thanks again ladies, your attention is much appreciated.

Take care.

K.

[Annie0710]

Hi Kathleen

Like the ladies say, think positive and give it a go.  I have tried oestrogen pills, patches and now oestrogel.  Whenever I tried to increase on patches it'd leave me shakey and jittery so had to revert to old dose so when I switched to oestrogel I was really cautious and worked up from one pump to 2.5 pumps by half pump increments.  Last week I tried 3 pumps (which on patch would give me above symptoms) and so far I feel better on it.  I have no womb so we kind of estimate through a phase of blood tests that I'm about 2-3 years post meno.  I love gel for the flexibility in dosing x

[Kathleen]

Hello Annie0710.

Thank you for your comments. I often feel jittery and shakey at the same time as feeling flushy so goodness knows what that means lol! I will definitely take the increase slowly. Can I ask how you work out a half dose of the gel?

Many thanks for your help.

K.

[Dotty]

Kathleen

I often felt jittery and shaky too and didn’t know what it was. I don’t get it now my oestrogen is high.

When I was using 3.5 squirts I just gauged how much I needed to press the nozzle to get half a squirt out . I’m sure that some days were bigger than others ! Don’t worry too much about it and don’t worry about using 4 pumps . I went from 2 to 4 in a month without any adverse effects .

[Annie0710]

Hello Annie0710.

Thank you for your comments. I often feel jittery and shakey at the same time as feeling flushy so goodness knows what that means lol! I will definitely take the increase slowly. Can I ask how you work out a half dose of the gel?

Many thanks for your help.

K.

It's not exact 0.5 pump but I'd squirt my 2 pumps on my thigh and leave them then squirt out roughly half of one by seeing the size blob of one.  Nothing exact and probably a terrible description lol x

[Kathleen]

Hello Dotty.

Thank you so much for your very helpful response.

 I am reassured to learn that your jittery and shaky feelings went when your oestrogen was high enough. In many ways this has been my worst symptom and feeds my anxiety.

It seems that I am soon to be on the same regime as you and I hope I have the same success.

Thank you again for taking the time to post, your comments give me much needed hope and I'm very grateful.

Wishing you well.

K.

[Kathleen]

Hello Annie0710.

Thank you for your post.

Actually I think that your description is very helpful and I take your point about it not being an exact science!.

Many thanks for your help, much appreciated.

Take care.

K.

[Mary G]

Kathleen, in order to get the best out of this regime, it seems that you either have to do the same as Dotty and take 4 pumps of gel to combat the side effects of the daily Utrogestan or alternatively, you can get away with less Oestrogel and take Utrogestan cyclically.  Much depends on how well you tolerate Utrogestan. 

[Kathleen]

Hello Mary G.

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

I am worried about the Utrogestan as I have never had the opportunity to find out how well I tolerate it plus I would also like to have the possibility of trying a cyclical regime but my consultant does not approve of this method. I hope therefore that the combination of four pumps of gel and Utrogestan vaginally will solve my problems and not bring horrible side effects.

 I heard Dr Louise Newson on the radio recently saying that she was happy with her HRT because she was now symptom free which is of course  what we all want and preferably without having to fight a battle to get it!

Thanks again Mary G for your interest and I wish you well.

K.

[Dotty]

Hi Kathleen

Remember that there are hundreds of women taking utrogestan quite happily and you will never hear about them because they don't come on these forums. I think I read every post on here about utrogestan and I was terrified before I started taking it as I read so many horror stories. But I can honestly say that I have had no side effects at all. You may well be the same. Try not to worry x

[Kathleen]

Hello Dotty.

Thank you for your comments.

I have got myself into a bit of a state about Utrogestan and HRT in general. I am so pleased to hear of your experience and certainly my consultant had nothing but good things to say about it. I think I'm just nervous about starting a different regime and of course I'm desperate to feel better.

I'm so pleased that it has worked for you and I hope that continues. Thanks for your words of comfort and I will try not to worry!

Wishing you well.

K.