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[Floo36]

Hi All,

I was on Yasmin successfully until 2016 when i was swapped to Eloine the lower dose.  All fine but did get some mild breakthrough perimenopause symptoms but didn't know it at the time then i was taken off it at 51 because of my age.  I felt pretty good for a few months then I completely stopped sleeping then the flushes, palpitations and very dry vagina etc.  Have tried various HRT's but not there yet.  My fluctuations started severely in Oct 2019 which muddied the water trying to figure out the HRT.  Went back on Eloine in June 2020 and after a few months I started to feel more normal then at the end of September I started to sleep on and off but still had palpitation's etc but thought I was getting there. End of November 2020 all symptoms came back with a vengeance ,  ever increasing dose of Lenzetto and still no let up in symptoms, now added some gel in the hope it starts to even get rid of the flushes at least so I know something is working. I have to say that I'm not getting much from the Lenzetto as its weak so if like me you need more then some other one will be needed. 

Eloine was very good up until things went haywire for me so its worth a go.  I am 53 and near menopause I hope. It is the constant fluctuations in my hormones that have caused me to be so ill and each time I did a blood test it showed high levels so that's why I did 6 in total and finally one showed low estrogen which was a more accurate reflection of what my estrogen levels are and not when it was spiking. 

Everyone reacts differently so don't be put off it is trial and error. 

[CrispyChick]

Thanks guys. I've put special request through and just called up. Receptionist said it will go through to the gp I always see, which is great, she usually gives me which type I want to try next 🙄.

Sorry you're feeling so bad floo, but thanks so much for sharing your experience of eloise.

Good luck starting scampi. I'll probably get mine next week. My nose/head is bad again. Just like it was all summer whilst on the other higher dose pills. I'll give it another week. But it's painful.

Still devastated as microgynon defo helping with other stuff. They do suggest 20mg estrogen pills for peri... So I'll keep trying...

[Scampidoodle]

Thanks Floo. I’ll keep you posted.

What I don’t get is when I’ve had my oestrogen bloods done I’ve had

Day 3: 79pmol
Day 14: 433pmol
Day 23: 102pmol

That’s a 25 days cycle ish so last reading near end of cycle. This all sounds pretty low in my book. I don’t know how much it spikes to in that first half of the cycle though.

I’m 42. But FSH low. Maybe the steady dose of oestrogen with the progesterone to combat the histamine will help me. Fingers crossed. X

[Floo36]

scampidoodle

Your bloods do seem low at times.  It’s difficult because we all need different levels of Estrogen, I need quite high levels. 

It’s whatever level makes you feel better, that’s the tricky part.

[Scampidoodle]

That’s true, no one cares what their levels are as long as they feel good. And weirdly when I had my two lowest levels tested I was having good days really. So no telling.

Let us know how you got on with GP crispy and if you got what you wanted x

[RebJT]

Morning girls

Just a quickie to say hi.  Still crashing off Qlaira, but slept til seven this morning so that's progress.  There's something different about this toxic feeling to the time when I crashed off HRT (twice, estrogel, without and then with antihistamines and mast cell stablisers in place) so I'm wondering if I've also got some sensitivity to progesterone in the mix, I feel properly poisoned and the ramped up adrenalized feeling is really intense.

Heard back from the Newsom clinic, they have docs who get histamine intolerance and perimeno, given it's the same money I think I'm going to get a second opinion, as Im just chasing my tail.

Interested to see how you both get on on this different pill.

I'm having a day outside today, to try and take my mind off the fact I feel like I've got electricity going through my body!  Beautiful spring day here

xx

[CrispyChick]

I'm going for the fresh air route too today.

Feeling a bit more positive. My headache/nose thing still there... But I need to get the evidence that this is the pill then I guess drop to 20mg one.

All that rage diff nothing, but hey, at least the hormones are in my system. I will not be coming off, just swapping.

Hope you get good advice on your second  opinion Reb.

I was looking into histamine intolerance. I'm not keen to go too far down that rabbit Warren, but I did not turmeric can lower histamine. I used to take turmeric and it was great for inflammation. So I'm going to start it again in the hope it helps my sinuses, but also lowers histamine, in case that is a prob.

Honestly, all these supplements and iron etc... I should take out shares in a certain shop 🤣🤣🤣

[CrispyChick]

So i've had a good think whilst I've been out walking. I've been wondering why the nose pressure/headaches just appeared st 8 weeks onwards of my taking microgynon.

I suppose the conclusion I've reached is, that's how long it took for my body to stabalise. I had the ragey moods for the first 8 weeks with defo prog synptoms and now the daily nose pressure and headaches. These are not migraines, which is good. But clearly 30mg of estrogen is now too high for me, even with a prog dominant pill.

I certainly feel the estrogen in other ways too now. My mood is happier, like its suppressed the ragey progesterone.

So. That's it. No more 30mg. I'll hopefully get Eloine this week.

Anyone heard of Microgynon 20??? I recall someone bring prescribed it on this forum, but on googling it looks like it might only be available in Australia. I'd like to have tried it, as it actually has 1/3 less prog as well as estrogen. All the other 20mg ones keep same dose of prog (although maybe that will help if there are any histamine issue).

I'm scared about starting again. But I've lived through 8 weeks of dire rage and low moods... I can do this...

Gilla... How you finding yasmin now???  X

[Gilla999]

There are a few 20mcg EE pills Crispy. I think there is Femodette and Millinette (with Gestodene as the Prog), Mercilon and Gederal (with Desogestrel) and then Eloine (with Drospirenone). They're the ones I'm aware of. Loestrin I think was the only 20mcg eith one of the older Progs and that was taking off the market in 2019.

I'm doing fine - had really bad night sweats last night but it didn't affect my sleep, fingers crossed. My boobs are absolutely gigantic but other than that no side effects (except the digestion which is still a problem  - I'm having a colonoscopy on Monday). Still much too early to tell if it will help me - I had 5 great weeks on Zoely before the first crash so we'll have to see. I know how disheartening it is but you were 100% right that switching Pill is soooo much easier than starting afresh, so keep that in mind xxx

[Scampidoodle]

I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you Gilla. Thanks for the info on the 20mg pills too that’s really useful.

I don’t know if anyone knows or maybe Floo- on Eloine gynae says I can do 3/4 months back to back then take a 4 day break for a small bleed. I’m concerned what happens on the 4 day break, would your mood not just fall off a cliff stopping the hormones? Considering I’m doing this to prevent all fluctuations for the sake of my sanity. I just don’t get it x

[Gilla999]

I'm the same Scampi. I haven't had a break since I started taking Zoely in early December and don't want to for the same reasons. But I'm not sure how long you're allowed to go without taking one....

I've been doing some more thinking about my situation and I'm starting to formulate a theory. There is a really close connection that's not yet fully understood between Estrogen and Serotonin. And the connection seems to impact someone women more than others in various ways. A drop in Estrogen also cause Serotonin to drop (which is what causes the emotional PMS). Serotonin plays a key part in the regulation of sleep and the sleep-wake cycle, and I'm wondering if what I experience is not as a result of the estrogen drop itself, but as a consequence of the serotonin dropping and whether I am somehow sensitive to its fluctuations. What's made me consider this is that the last two nights I've had night sweats (the night before last was really bad) yet I didn't have any problem in falling straight back to sleep. I don't understand how one night I can wake and have no problems at all, and then another night (for a period of a week or so) I feel completely different and am unable to go back to sleep. The only difference this time has been that I raised my Sertraline dose slightly after the last episode (about two weeks ago). I also increased it slightly in early December after the last episode, and then had 5 great weeks of no problems. The funny this I haven't felt particularly different/better with my mood (the increases were very small) - ie. it's not that I'm worrying about it less that it doesn't happen (I am still worrying about it!). It just seems to have some kind of positive impact on my sleep-wake cycle. But unfortunately it never seems to last - after about 5 weeks any positive changes I've ever felt from SSRIs always go back to normal.

Anyway I might be wrong, I just think it's interesting that estrogen drops also cause serotonin to drop and that serotonin plays a key part in regulating your sleep-wake cycle.

[CrispyChick]

How much time to we dedicate to thinkingvthis through ladies?!? It's a nightmare!!

You might be right Gilla. As others hsve pointed out the histamine link, there are bound to be loads of links.

Scampi, I'm wondering if the 4 day break is because Eloine and Yasmin use the 4th gen prog which has a lesser safety profile???

In my experience of all these different pills, taking a break has been a big hinderance. That said, I'll happily take 4 days 4 times a year if I'm fine the rest of the time. Given I never have any good days... That seems a good deal.

Thanks for the info Gilla. I actually started this COC trial 14 months ago on gederal 20mg...it brought all my original symptoms back and was awful... But, I had been on thd mini pill before, so it was maybe just the surge. I quickly switched to 30mg.

I think eloine is the only one I'm interested in. I took 30mg millinette and felt awful...

I was just thinking if there was a 30mg microgynon it might be been a good place for me to start since I've got used to levongesteral. Must just be in Australia I'm guessing.

Sczmpi, have you started yet? X

[Gilla999]

I agree on the break Crispy - if I was feeling fine the rest of the time I could cope with 4 days 4 times a year - you know what it is and that it will pass.

Yes I remember you saying you didn't have a good experience with Gederal. Eloine is definitely worth a try!

Reb I forgot to answer you - the Rhythm hormone test is by Genova Diagnostics. It's not a blood test it's saliva tests you do at home. Professionals will say that saliva tests aren't as reliable as blood tests but when I did the test 3 years ago to find out what was going on with my crazy swollen painful boobs (which I now know was the classic estrogen dominance of early Peri) it showed up exactly right at the right time (ie. the increase in estrogen correlated with my symptoms and the hormones were generally what you'd expect to see in a normal cycle) so it's reliable enough for me to feel it's at least an indication of what's going on.

They really need to hurry up and develop that Star Trek scanner!!!

[Scampidoodle]

I’ve not started the Eloine yet guys. Just waiting for a reply back from gynae re the breaks and some other stuff. And waiting for my period. Do you still have to wait until first day of period to start the pill? I haven’t been ok it since I was 30!

[Floo36]

Hi Scampi

You don’t need to have a break on the Eloine and can take it continuously, that’s what I did as advised by the Menopause Specialist.