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[CrispyChick]

Hi Gilla.

That's bad  . If it's any consolation I'm having a bad time too  .

You say you're two months in, but just started pack 4??? Are u not a bit further than 2 months then, even with no breaks???

No idea why your symptoms are getting bad. Although I believe the whole time it is the balance between estrogen and prog that causes problems, not necessarily the levels. The pill I tried in the summer for the full 3 months gave me night sweats - they didn't bother me too much, but it defo gave me them. But it also made me feel poisoned, which is why I stopped.

I know zoley and qlaira are heralded as good pills for peri, but I've also read the estrogen is not always high enough to suppress properly. Don't know if this is true. It is one of the reasons I'm sticking to conventional pills at 44.

In saying that. I'm not having a good time. That's 4 full weeks on microgynon (no break). I'm not really having any peri symptoms, which is great. But my side affects are hard... Every day shaky and anxious but worst of all really low and grumpy. It's hard going. I just don't feel like me. I'm fed up being narky. But... I'm gonna keep going.

Most other pills I've tried gave me bad nausea, migraines avd a poisoned feeling (which I also got with the estrogen on hrt) so I think this one is better in the estrogen camp for me... Its just the soddin progesterone causing me the grumps. Its well known for it this one. Just hope it will eventually lift...

What are your thoughts on the way forward??? Keep going for a bit longer?

I'm sorry you're feeling do bad. 

[Gilla999]

I know that low and grumpy feeling you're talking about - it's all consuming, but it definitely did subside for me when I took it in my early 20s - I can't remember how long it took unfortunately, but I know I was on it for a couple of years and I definitely didn't feel like that long term! It does sound like that's the Progesterone aspect of it but as you say it's preferable to feeling poisoned!

The maths on my Pill sounded weird to me too - I started taking it on Dec 9th so I must actually be mid way through my 3rd pack, not my 4th. Honestly I don't know where to go now - I'm definitely going to stick with it for 4 months (which would be mid April) as I know it can take that time for your own hormones to be suppressed so I can't make a call until then. And in general I think being on the Pill and not having the swings of hormones is a good thing for me so I would stick with it. But if I'm still getting these crazy night sweats and insomnia t that point I've no idea what I'll do. Trying to remain positive that it will improve 
It's minus 11 outside and I'm still sleeping with just a flat sheet 

[CrispyChick]

Well, every cloud, I'm under 2 duvets and a blanket at night 🤣🤣. No sweats whatsoever. But i wasn't having them anyway, just on that pill. Very odd.

Thanks for the grumpy info. I cavt remember if I've ever been on microgynon before. I do remember being changed due to a scare way back in my 20s and remember a grumpy episode, but can't recall the outcome 🤣🤣. It is all consuming. I'm just praying it will let up... Otherwise these are another wasted 3 months.

I think what you say about being on the pill to stop the hormonal swings is something to hold on to. I told myself before I started this one, I'll never come back off the pill... So I just need to find the right one.

If zoley doesn't work for you... Move straight to a different one, at least some level of hormones will already be in your system and swapping should, be easier.

How are you during the day???

[Gilla999]

Yes I've been hanging on to that too! Though really I am amazed at the lack of side effects with Zoely in terms of mood etc, compared to every other Pill I ever tried. So the only reason I would ever swap is if I really thought Zoely wasn't suppressing my own cycle and it could be the cause of my problems still - but not sure how I'd ever know that for sure.

During the day (if I've slept) I'm totally fine. But if I've only had two hours sleep I'm obviously a shell. Having said all of that, today I am aware that for the last 3 or 4 days I definitely feel very noticeably PMT-ish, in that I feel very very low emotionally. I guess everyone gets different emotional PMT symptoms but for me pre-Pill  it was overwhelmingly sad rather than angry (like the all consuming initial rage of Microgynon!). So perhaps my hormones are still doing their thing after all, who knows. It has only been two months. And as we've said before, this awful situation we're all in at the moment really doesn't help! (I had a friend from Australia contact me yesterday being very sad at having to go into lockdown for a week after they've had 10 cases there..... I could only muster limited sympathy  ).

I really don't think it will be a wasted 3 months for you Crispy. I would be very surprised if you weren't feeling better from a mood perspective after 3-4 months.... everything just feels painfully slow at the moment doesn't it!

[CrispyChick]

Yes, everything is painfully slow  .

I think that great of you are feeling good during the day, normally. You're right - most pills cause some side affects.

The pmt thong dies sound like your own hormones are not yet full suppressed, so probably the reason for all the symptoms after the initial 5 weeks.

Let's keep going. The last time I tried a pill before all this peri nonsense I recall feeling pregnant (nausea and lethargic) and it miraculously going at the 3 month point. It really did take the 3 months.

You've come this far. And, you're no worse off by the sounds of it...

I too will plod on in my grumpy state. Everything has become a ffs moment 😬. But I'll try and plod on... I got to 5 weeks in May with this same pill but gave up because of these symptoms. 🙄

[MadameOvary]

Crispy and Gilla, I'm so sorry to hear you're both having such an awful time.

Having said that my insomnia on Qlaira involves waking up several times but going back to sleep immediately, unlike before when I would lie awake for hours, I had a night earlier this week when I woke up at 3am and didn't get back to sleep. I've been a bit grumpy ever since!

I'm feeling really quite irritable at the moment but not sure if it's qlaira or life.

I was only prescribed a 3 month supply and I'm on the 3rd pack now (so you must be too Gilla because you only started zoely a few days before I started qlaira I think) so I need to get a repeat prescription.

Gilla is topping up with estrogen an option? I don't know if that's something you can do on the pill but wondered if it might help with the night sweats?

[MadameOvary]

Another terrible night's sleep 

[CrispyChick]

Oh no!!! It's awful when u have a bad symptom 

I'm aggitated, flat and narky again today 🙄

What time of say do you take your pill??? I'm taking mine after tea, and I think it makes me a little sleepy... Just a thought. X

[MadameOvary]

That's interesting Crispy. I take mine in the morning. I was thinking I wanted maximum benefit of my mood being more even during the day and guessed the effects of the pill would wear off over 24 hours. Maybe I should try taking it before bed.

[CrispyChick]

I decided to take at night as the first few days I had terrible wooziness and nausea. I decided I might sleep through the worst side affects.

In saying that, last week I tried to move it forward as I thought maybe my body was craving the next dose and that's why I'm so aggitated and low... But it didn't seem to make a difference and I was all over the place, so I'm just sticking with evening. I take it about 6.30pm.

I'd say it might be worth a try.

You'd have to move it gradually over a few days...

[MadameOvary]

It's definitely worth thinking about. Fingers crossed I get a bit more sleep tonight.

[Gilla999]

MadameOvary it is the worst isn't it    I really hope last night was a little better for you. Thankfully the last 3 days I've been fine, so please take heart that you will be too! (I always think to myself that I'm a few days ahead of you in this journey!) What's so bizarre is (for me) the total difference between the bad nights and the normal nights. On the bad nights I wake up - PING! - wide awake anywhere between 12am and 3am absolutely drenched in sweat with wet sheets and know instantly I won't get back to sleep - it's just a totally different feeling to normal. On the 'normal' nights like last night I do often wake during the night at 3am or whatever to go to the loo, but it's a kind of drugged stumble there and back where you fall straight back to sleep. I was also FREEZING last night with no night sweats and wondering what on earth I was doing sleeping with only a flat sheet next to an open window in February  . This is why I really believe that there is something physical going on for me when it happens, because of the difference. It's hard to know if hormones really are the culprit because now I'm not on a cycle it appears to happen at random, but I come back in my head to the point that it's too early for our own hormone cycles to be fully suppressed yet. Everything I have read says 3-4 months so I guess a call can't be made until after that point. If it's still happening at month 4 then I'll need to think again (but will definitely stay on the Pill regardless)

This is my long winded way of saying take heart - there are definitely still our own hormonal things going on under the surface that we can't see that could be causing or contributing to what's going on xx

[MadameOvary]

I'm so glad you're doing better Gilla. Last night was better for me too. I still woke up at 6am  but I think I slept through most of the night which is a huge relief.

I don't get night sweats when I wake up - my default is freezing cold! - but on the bad nights I often feel really thirsty in the night as well as needing the loo lots. It doesn't seem to bear any relation to what I've drunk during the day/evening. I think it's hormonal.

Have you got layers of bedding? I've seen that recommended. So sheets and blankets so you can layer up/strip off depending on how you're feeling.

[Gilla999]

I have the excessive thirst and need for the loo also! And have noticed it's worse on the nights where I don't sleep. I agree that it's hormonal.

Yes I'm definitely going to sort out layers for my bed. So glad you had a better night xx

[RebJT]

Hi Girls

Jumping on the Qlaira train, today is day one and first pill down the hatch.  I won't rehash my entire sorry tale here, suffice to say I keep going horribly anaemic due to heavy bleeding (have another thread going on this) and gynae wants to me try Qlaira or have the jaydess coil, but I cannot find a good review of Jaydess anywhere on the web or here, but I can find plenty for Qlaira.  I'm 48, having estrogen spikes which is causing histamine issues, and heavy bleeds (although I feel bloomin' fantastic on estrogel when we tried suppressive doses of that!!).  Just had an iron infusion which has massively helped horrible symptoms, including histamine, so I'm pleased about that.

I seem to react to progesterone (well I think I do, it's hard to say as what with whacky iron symptoms, and also histamine intolerance) so I'm nervous about 22 days of it on this pill but from what I've read, women who are prog sensitive can do OK with Qlaira.  However, I've just had a scan privately and my endometrium is too thick for where I am in my cycle (10.5mm at day 17, although have gritted my teeth with utrogestan this month and period has fortunately started today on day 28) so I've got to do something about all this, I clearly need progesterone.  I've also had a few irregular (short) and horribly heavy cycles which points to a lack of prog, or at least out of whack prog relative to E.  In 2019 I had a polypectomy and D&C to try and help, it didn't help.

Anyway, I'm in the queue for a chat with the GP about Jaydess, but it's not a priority at the moment because of Covid (women are never a priority are we?) so I thought I'd start the Qlaira script I've got in the meantime.  I prefer the idea of being in control with the pill as the thought of an IUD makes me nervous, particularly with the muppets at my practice, should I need an IUD removed (can't imagine that'd be any kind of 'priority' even if I were circling the drain).

I have read that some women top up the E in Qlaira with extra gel, once they've hit their stride, so that appeals to me also, but who knows, I might be back here tearing my hair out in a few days, feeling like I'm plugged into the mains (which seems to happen whenever exogenous progesterone enters my system!!), although trying to think positive, I really, really, really hope it suits me as the last few months have been bloody hellish!

Up the sisterhood,

Reb
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