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[Treehouse1]

Hi there
Just a quick summary. I had early menopause at 40, took hrt until 50. Had big big problems with progesterone...it crippled me 7 days in every 28. Couldnt take sequential? Hrt at that point as i didnt know whether i was 'through? menopause (ie a year clear), as i was having a ?false bleed? every month with utrogestan.

Now 56 years of age.....6 years after stopping hrt.
its been a nightmare. Hot flushes, (now reduced to about 5 x a day instead of the initial 25-30), wake up still every night still 5 times a night, massive , crippling anxiety (have been treated with all sorts , none of which has worked so come off them all), bone ache, osteopeania, etc etc etc.

Doc has resisted revisiting hrt up to now as maintained would need to stop it at 60 anyway. I havent pushed it as i hated it for 10 years...and thought ?whats the point for 4 more years? plus ?i might feel worse on it anyway, plus ?i might come out the other side soon?

BUT... have just read theres now no limit ad to how long you can take it for, plus the sequential one may suit me better ?(although it might not...previously i had estrodot patches which were fabulous with bio identical utrogestan which was not)...

So basically wondering if anyone had any thoughts, advice or wisdom.

Many Thanks

[sheila99]

For me it's about quality of life and mine is much better with hrt. You could try something with a different progestin and you could use a long cycle so there are fewer bad days.

[Treehouse1]

Thankyou for the replies.
Although i would prefer patches and ?continuous? i am guessing that these contain the dreaded progesterone...which i am also guessing though maybe in a lower dose than the usual regine of 3 weeks etrogen , 1 week progesterone?

The 6 weeks oestrogen only followed by 12 prog sounds an interesting idea, and it seems odd nobody (doc)has mentioned it so far.

I have also had vulvodynia for 9 years now which is another reason why i wanted not to have a regular withdrawal bleed

its a bit 'devil and the deep blue sea?!

In an ideal world, i would like a patch , continuous, with a non-horrible symptom producing progesterone......i dont think there is such a thing though!

Am i right in thinking if i did try hormones again, and then came off them, i would pick up where i've left off symptom wise.? Thanks

[Treehouse1]

Thanks Stella Jane

I actually cant remember all the names i tried now,.,.,the first one came in a pack with estrogen...think it was called ?premarin?, a couple of others, then finally utrogestan....they thought this would be best as its bio-identical, but tbh it was murder.

One thing thats come out of it is at least i've learnt on here that other people hate the stuff! When i was on here 6/7 years ago, i felt a bit of an outsider as nobody seemed to have much problem with it then...It was the mirena coil that was the devils agent back then! So at least i feel less of a freak of nature now!

[Treehouse1]

Have just googled ( but cant find the answer). For continuous hrt, could you have a patch for estrogen (estradot was great) and a rub in the skin (!) Gel for progesterone. I wonder if just a bit of gel every day, rubbed in but not swallowed, would help with my progesterone intolerance. ?

[bear]

Have just googled ( but cant find the answer). For continuous hrt, could you have a patch for estrogen (estradot was great) and a rub in the skin (!) Gel for progesterone. I wonder if just a bit of gel every day, rubbed in but not swallowed, would help with my progesterone intolerance. ?

Hi Treehouse1,

That would be fantastic...if it was available on the NHS. There is no progesterone gel for HRT on the market and the progesterone compounded creams are not available on the NHS (yet, touch wood). I became suicidal on Utrogestan 

BeaR.

[Hurdity]

Hi Treehouse1

 

Sorry to hear about your ongoing menopausal woes and I have nothing to add really to stellajane's excellent suggestions. I am one of those in 60's and still taking hRT and still taking cyclically ( bleed = yuk) but on a longer cycle with OK from my doctor. In my view is the least worst option.

Re gel and HRT. There is in fact a progesterone gel that is available off licence for hRT although it is not a skin gel - it is inserted into the vagina. In fact vaginal progesterone is actually better than other forms of progesterone (eg oral - or the private and unregulated buccal and transdermal creams) - because for any given dose more is delviered directly to the uterus which is wher eit is needed for endometrial protection.  The gel in known as Crinone - but is only available at 8 % - containing 90 mg progesterone. It has been studied for endometrial protection (womb lining) so is known to be safe and effective for certain doses of oestrogen ( usually low to medium are studied). Some meno clinics will prescribe it I gather so you would probably need a referral unless you have a great meno specialist GP at your local practice. With medical supervision you should be able to get an individualised prescription that protected your uterus but that you could cope with...

Otherwise it's the utrogestan...

Good luck!!! Keep us posted!

Hurdity x

[Treehouse1]

Bear and Hurdity...thanks so much for your answers. I had just slightly hijacked someone elses post as i didnt realize you had replied and someone mentioned gel!
So sorry to hear you had bad experience Bear..I truly empathize.
Hurdity....thanks for this info. I shall go armed to my doc with this info and hope i get referred.
Bit worried about the vaginal insertion bit as last intravaginal treatment i had burnt like hell....but , you just never know. This might be the one.....Thankyou

[Kathleen]

Hello Treehouse 1

I am one of those women who came late to the party.  I became post menopausal at 55 and didn't ask for HRT until I was 57. Luckily my GP was happy to oblige. Unfortunately I never really  got the balance right and some of my symptoms have persisted so that now at 63 I am taking a break and have been HRT free for eight months.

In my time I have tried various combinations but if I could try again I might consider Livial/Tibolone and this may be an option for you. I think I'm right in saying that it is not a hormone replacement as such but  helps support the production of existing hormones. I have used it in the past and although not perfect at least it didn't cause any extra problems.

I completely understand your frustration and hopefully you will find a regime that works for you.

Wishing you well.

K.

[Treehouse1]

Good news...bad news....good news
Good news...doc now prepared to look at hrt again
Bad news...says defo can only give it til 60....usually does 2 years only
Good news...referred me to meno clinic