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[Sammiejane]

morning ladies

i've had my blood test done and due to cock up at GP surgery that forgot to test SHBG so i had to have two lots of blood tests done 10 days apart

first bloods showed

estrogen 368 pmol/L
testosterone 0.7 nmol/ L

second bloods 10 days later

SHBG 123.8
estrogen 113 pmol/L
testosterone 0.9 nmol/L

i'm currently on estrogel 2 pumps

my menopause said it's normal for levels to fluctuated and wasn't concerned but here is my problem i've been perscribed testosterone to take and if i had never had both blood test done and only had the one say at 368 then testosterone would of been perscribed as optimal levels but if i had only had the blood test done in the week at 113 then menopause would of said u are still not obsorbing the gel and cannot perscribe testosterone yet till levels are higher as previously my levels had been 195 in march then 104 june and this was what they said then .

so upping the dose to 3 pumps effect amy bowel and makes me constipated but i feel very up and down on 2 pumps and wondering whether it's reflected in my levels the way i feel plus the hair loss !

would u recommend swapping to patch to get more consistent levels !

stop the gel take time out see what's what and start again not on the gel !

i'm concerned about adding in testosterone with my levels so up and down i know they will fluctuated a little like the testosterone has but this is doubled one minute then drops right down !

any advice please

obviously as well if i hadn't had both blood test i wouldn't of known this and would of continued up and down

[Dotty]

Hi most menopause specialists don't go by blood test results. They go by symptoms . There is no optimum level as levels are different in different ladies. You might feel fine on a reading of 300 but another lady might need a level of 500 to feel well.

You seem very unhappy and uncertain with HRT, so it might be worth stopping everything for a few months to get a baseline of your symptoms. You'll then know what is being caused by HRT side effects and what is being caused by oestrogen deficiency . X

[Sammiejane]

hi dotty

thanks for reply

i just didn't know whether the fluctuation was quite a lot and to be honest have not felt any different in my self between 300 odd level and the 113

[Sgtvhilts]

My Oestrogen blood was 1197 and i felt like Shiiiiiit!!!!. Horrendous symptoms . I'm not sure how related they are.  So i messed about with my Oestrogen dose and upped it to 100mcgs and all symptoms gone- I must need about 2000 to function!!
I think i am finally at the stage where i am not bothered what my blood results say as they really don't seem to corrolate to my symptoms.
In saying that though it might have been 1197 on the day i had the bllod taken but a week later it could have been 150- who knows, focus on symptom control and not the blood i woudl say.

[sheila99]

I agree, symptom control is the important thing. My levels have never been tested. Most nhs patients never have their levels checked as NHS advice is to go on symptoms.

[Sammiejane]

sgtvhilts

sorry i know i said i wasn't going to post any more but quick question do u take estrogen only and which one ?

[Sgtvhilts]

Hi
Indeed i do.  I take a lot of Oestrogen.  In 2 forms.  Femeston 1mg orally, then slap on whichever patch the pharmacy has in stock about 100mcgs usually.  They give me evorel and estradot patches and find both okay.  No idea what sort is in Femeston, but they all derive from Esriadol hemihydrate. Probably equates to about 3mgs
I take the femeston mainly for progesterone as that one is the only one that doesn't send me nuts........
I invented my own regieme, after trying several that are deemed to be 'good' - in the full knowledge and totally accept that it is my look out if it goes horribly wrong. I am a persistent sort of bird, so GP went with it- probably to get me out the door, but heyho- symptom freeeeeeeeeeeee.
I am on a sequi regime- have to take both.
PS Never apologise for posting-that is the point of this place.

[Sammiejane]

sgtvhilts

i've just been reading up on the femoston i see you can take as a continue regime to 1mg/5mg

sounds like a good option to be honest dosent seem to have as many side effects as a lot of patches !

[Sgtvhilts]

Yep, try anything. I am on the sequi so continuous oestrogen and 14 days of prog.  I think the 1/5 is
1 mg of oestrogen daily and 5 mgs of progesterone daily. So not for me at this point as probably still peri. They like me to have bleeds as due to the amount of oestrogen i'm On might cause a too thick lining.
Femeston comes in sequi and conti- give it whirl at least you've tried.
The dose of Oestrogen in it is not enough for me hence why I add with patches.
As for the testosterone- give it a try, then you will know
The only thing I would say is only try one change at a time, then you will know what has either cured you or made you feel duff.

[Jaz]

Hi
My oestrogen level was 798 (on 75x2 Evorel =150  only, as had hysterectomy).
 I have been symptom free for well over 3 years but symptoms have recently returned with low mood, anxiety and sleep disturbance.

I thought maybe my oestrogen was now too high and was considering reducing and kind of relieved to hear someone else's is higher than mine. 

My specialist gynaecologist has suggested I try testosterone gel. My testosterone level was 0.7 and SHBG was 48 Hm/L.

I am desperate to try something, has anyone found low mood, anxiety and night time waking sometimes with palpitations has been helped by testosterone.

I was feeling so well, can't believe I feel like this again. By the way my libido has decreased when it was sky high although I'm putting this down to low mood & motivation. 
I know it can take a few months to work, wondering how I am going to manage.

Appreciate any thoughts
Jaz

[Sammiejane]

hi jaz

quick question do u still have ovaries ?

have you experienced hair shedding on that high estrogen ?

[Jaz]

I still have ovaries but was told they would eventually stop functioning within 5 years of my hysterectomy which was back in 2007 and my first symptoms appeared around that time.

I have had a lot of hair shedding, I had to buy a new vacuum cleaner designed for pets as it clogged it up 
 However I think I started losing hair before I started on HRT but it is a lot, fortunately I don't have any bald patches.

[Sammiejane]

hi jaz

do u get hairs in the brush each time ?

i shed about 4-15 hairs when i brush and when i wash n brush blow dry it ranges from about 70-120 which before hrt i would loose a few when washing about  same but then nothing when i brushed ? and grew really quick so what i was loosing wasn't noticed still really thick infact thicker now i've been on the estrogen it's triggered shedding it won't stop i think i might have to stop hrt to see if it stops it or if was shedding anyway ? only way i will know for sure and then possibly start again if it worsen then i know it's not the medication ! having a big impact on me as i'm only 40 and never expected to be loosing my hair ! bad enough the weight gain 2 bra sizes and dress size later without hairloss too x