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[Lily101]

Hi,
Firstly, thanks to everybody who contributes. This site was a god send back in 2017 when peri menopause struck! I realised my symptons were minor in comparison to some people so was and continue to be grateful for that.

Actually, I had the symptons a year earlier but didn't register them. My main symptons were massive brain fog, tiredness, hot sweats in bed, insomonia and being very angry. Brain fog and memory issues were the biggest issue for me. I didn't seem to notice the hot flushes and wasn't so bothered about bed sweats.

 My initial  tactic was to try reducing stress in my life, do yoga, meditate but I got no where with that so when onto HRT within 3 months of knowing peri menopause was the issue. I've been on HRT since Nov 2017 (I was 48).  As an aside, I got my periods when I was 19 so expected I wouldn't be peri until early 50s.

I started on Evorel sequi patches and went off them after 3 mths as they didn't work. I initially had a great rush of energy, but it dies down within  a few weeks I think. I was particularly exhausted when I went on the proestrogen patch. So, I was moved to femoston  5/1 I think and there was a big improvement. At some point (maybe 3 months in) I went onto 2/10 as the dose wasn't strong enough. I think that's when period pains which I never had experienced started or maybe 3 months after. I get the terrible cramps, sick, etc for 1 to 2 days which can be stalled if I take ibouprofen in time. I'm not over happy about taking ibuoprofen so went to my GP about alternatives. I asked about the coil and she said she wouldn't recommend as I have never had children so it would be incredibly painful to insert.
She gave me  femoston-conti 1/5mg which I am due to take in 8 days. I have just started to read about it and my 2 observations are:

1. 1/5mg sounds like a lower dose than 2/10 of the non conti femoston. Is it a lower dose? If it is I think I will stick with 2/10 and continue to take ibuprofen unless there are better recommendations.
2. you are only meant to take conti if you are post menopause. How do I know if I am post menopause? I still had my periods when I went on Hrt over 2 years ago so was peri at that point. Is it dangerous to take conti if you are peri?

Also, the last few weeks I've been tired and achy. I was blaming it on the weather, but am now thinking it might be because I am low in oestrogen. From reading some of the posts here  it seems after a time the hrt doesn't work so well. Is that the case? Does the body get used to it and need more oestrogen? Can a gel be used with femoston 2/10 to increase the dosage?

Which HRT option (patch, gel, coil, tablet) seems to be the most popular? I understand that it depends on the person, but am curious as to which seems to be the most popular.
Finally are there NHS specialist menopause clinics which would be better qualified than the local GP?

Thanks, Margaret

[Hurdity]

Hi Lily101

 

Sorry to hear about your pngoing symptoms

Yes unfortunately once you start HRT you don't know where you are in menopause or when you reach the final date! It's not going to do you any harm to take continuous combined hRT if you are not menopausal - just means that you will get some breakthrough bleeding at various times after you ovulate just like in a normal period - HRT is not sufficient to suppress the cycle.

You are right that Femoston 1/5 is a lower dose ( 1 mg vs 2) and unfortunately there is no higher dose of femoston conti which is very annoying to many women - so you can stay on the 2/10 like you suggest - although the period pains sound severe.

Could you get a second opinion about the Mirena coil re not having had children or start a separate thread with that in the heading like "Anyone had Mirena coil and not had children" to see if others recommend it?

What happens over time is not that the oestrogen doesn't work so well - but that your own levels drop as you get further towards menopause when periods are few and far between ( although sometimes there are high level spikes!) and following menopause they drop for the next approx two years quite dramatically and then stabilise - so some women find they need a higher dose.

Have you also had blood tests to determine other causes for your tiredness an acheyness - eg thyroid function, iron, vitamins etc? Aree there improvements you can make in your diet?

re specialist - look at the tabs and click on that one which will take you to the British menopause Society page of specialists and you can see the closest one to you - and ask for a referral from your doc if s/he is unable to advise.

Hope this helps and let us know the outcome

Hurdity x

[Lily101]

Thanks Hurdity and for the clear explanation on oestrogen dropping. I think I will stick with the 2/10 and use the pain killer (about 8 to 10  x 200mg over 2 days) for a while. From reading the blogs here I think my symptons are minor in comparison to others and I think having been very lucky with my health to date I may also have a low pain threshold.

My diet is good, but I haven't been drinking so much water lately so think that's an issue. I  drank a load yesterday and feel less achy today. Maybe placebo effect or real! I'm going to aim to drink 1 to 2 L per day.
I will post about the coil separately.

Margaret