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[KatieLiz]

I've been taking Femoston 2mg/10mg sequi for past 7 years but decided to try conti as I'm 58 and presume I'm post menopause.
My Dr suggested Estrogel 2 pumps and Utrogestan which I started taking just under 3 months ago.  I was bleeding every two weeks for about 8 days so decided to reduce the estrogel to 1 pump and haven't had a period since!
However I find the gel messy and annoying (even 1 pump!) especially the thought of using it when I go on holiday soon.  I saw Dr today and said I want to try Femoston Conti assuming she would give me 1mg/5mg but no .....because I reduced my Estrogel to 1 pump for 6 weeks she said she wouldn't prescribe anything more than Femoston 0.5mg/2.5mg!!!
Therefore 3 mths ago I was on 2mg estrogen and now I have to manage with 0.5mg!
I'm just hoping someone has a positive experience with the ultra low dose as my Dr was adamant she wasn't going to prescribe anything higher for me!  Even though she is the HRT expert in the practice.

Katie

[KatieLiz]

Has anyone experienced such a drop in estrogen so quickly?  I haven't started the Femoston Conti yet but feel really concerned about such a drop in estrogen even though I have been using 1 pump of estrogel for the past 6 weeks which has stopped the bleeding.

[jillydoll]

Yes I do.
I'm very sensitive to it, so I up my dose, then when it gets too much, I drop again.
And this is how I handle it.
As soon as my anxiety, or anger, or low moods kick in, I know I need the higher dose.
It kinda works with me about an hour and half / two hours later. Sometimes longer if it's anxiety. I'm on femoston conti.

[Tc]

Katie. I had the same issue. When I switched to patch from 6 pumps gel my doc would only prescribe the 75 patch not 100 which I argued because she was happy for me to take 6 pumps gel!!. She said I might absorb it better and therefore need less. I do have absorption issues

I think some docs err on the side of caution and always want to prescribe the "lowest effective dose". But I believe "effective" is the key word here.

Because I argued it she compromised by saying I could increase the dose after 4 weeks. I booked an appointment for 4 weeks to the day as I was certain I would need to up the dose and I did. Can you ask about the option to increase after a few weeks?  Maybe book yourself an appointment now for 4 weeks time  as I did  in case you need it. I  If you feel o.k on it and dont need to increase you can always cancel the appointment.
Best of luck x

[KatieLiz]

Hi jillydoll
Thanks for replying - when you say you increase do you mean you just take another tablet?  Are you on the 0.5/2.5 or the 1mg/5?
I did think of doubling the dose but then I will only have 6 weeks supply.  Dr was adamant she wouldn't prescribe the 1mg for me and yet when I said I would try the Estrogel and Utrogestan 3  mths ago she said I could go back to the Femoston 2/10 If I wanted to!

Hi Tc
Thanks for replying  - I think that's a brilliant idea making an appt now just in case I feel rubbish in a couple of weeks!
I think I was absorbing the gel too well that's why I only needed 1 pump but because I had felt ok on that dose for 6 weeks Dr wouldn't prescribe the 1mg Femoston!
I feel wound up about it already and I haven't even started the lower dose yet!
I'm going on holiday in 3 weeks so didn't want to be messing about with gel but equally I don't want hot flushes when I'm going to a really hot country.
I think I'll make an appt for a  couple of weeks time while I still feel ok and see how that goes.
It's annoying as I was feeling ok on the 2/10 but thought I should try conti but bled more on the gel than taking the sequi  - hence reducing the gel to 1 pump.
I was worried that the Femoston 1mg wouldn't be enough let alone the 0.5mg which is half the dose!

Thanks for all your advice.
Katie

[jillydoll]

Hi Katieliz
Yes, I started on the ultra low dose, and steadily increased.
I was taking one and a half mg, for a long time,( dr gave me two prescriptions, one for the 0.5 mg, and one for the 1 mg tablets) but because I was so up and down, I just increased to 2 mg, which did the trick, the extra 0.5 mg seem to sort me out better, however, I get side effects if I take the 2 mg for too long, ie, sore boobs, chest pain, worse headaches, ....so I then drop back down to the one and half again for a few days until I know I need to go that little bit higher again. I probably should keep going on the 2 mg, just to see if things settle down, which they can do, but I get too scared, fighting all the time, and because I seem sensitive to even a small increase, I give in and drop down again....it's a pain in the butt, but it's the only way I'm happy to do it....xx

[KatieLiz]

Hi jillydoll

It's really annoying that even when taking HRT it's still difficult to get the dosage right.

I was like you when I was taking sequi Femoston - I would take 2mg then try to drop down to 1mg but a few months later want to go back to 2mg.

I felt I should try conti due to my age and I did feel ok on the gel and tabs but the bleeding was ridiculous every 2 weeks! 

Due to my holiday soon I wanted to try the Femoston Conti as the gel is messy but was shocked she gave me such a low dose.

However I have now started another period today which probably explains my anger and annoyance and feeling so wound up.

I'm definitely making an appt tomorrow for a couple of weeks time as I feel sure I won't be able to cope with such a low dose so soon after being on 2mg.

Katie