Update: Almost at the end of my second month of Evorel Sequi patches as a first-time HRT user and this time the bleed has started on the same day as the last Evorel Conti patch of the month. It looks more 'normal' this time.
Everyone's experiences and situation will be different, but here's what I've noticed so far re: how the patches are affecting my perimenopause symptoms.
Positives
- hot sweats day and night have completely disappeared
- weak bladder/pelvic floor/stress incontinence issues have almost completely disappeared - which has got rid of a lot of stress and embarrassment
- sleep is improving, have even had a few nights with a solid 6 hours. That's still not the greatest amount of sleep, but it's about 2/3 times better than it was
- skin crawling feeling has gone
- sore boobs have improved and can actually wear a bra again
Neutrals
- headaches
- weirdly sensitive sense of smell (on the plus side, at least I know I don't have Covid!)
Symptoms I still really really want to improve
- anxiety
- extreme mood swings
- concentration / ability to focus
- sleep
- memory
New symptoms
- occasional migraines
- painful heels/feet (not sure if this is relevant or not enough exercise due to lockdown tbh)
I had my HRT 3-month review as phone call with a nurse based at a GP surgery last night, so thought I'd post an update.
Things are still more or less at this point symptoms-wise ^^^^ and since being on Sequi, I've noticed that the awful mood swings really kick in after the start of the combined oestrogen/progestogen patch.
The nurse gave me a few options and I decided to try changing just the progestogen element to see if that helps with the mood swings and concentration.
So I'm now going to try Evorel 50 oestrogen patches, with Utrogestagen tablets for the last two weeks of the month.
After the call, she ran it past a GP, who approved the prescription and I've just had a text to say I should be able to pick it up from the pharmacy in a day or so.
She also recommended Yes vaginal moisturiser, which it sounds like I'll need to buy online or over the counter. I've been in denial about the need for this, if I am honest. Every time I see the words "vaginal atrophy" on this forum or anywhere else, I feel like I want to zap the words from my brain before my poor vagina realises and dies of shock, haha. It's real, unfortunately, I just wish it had another name.
I was really impressed with the nurse, she was far more knowledgeable than any of the GPs I've seen, really took her time, going through original symptoms, changes and new symptoms.
The only spanner in the works is the new migraines I've been getting, but stupidly, I didn't make a note of when these have been happening, so I couldn't tell her what they might have been a response to. I need to remember to write everything down for future reference, even if it's only on this thread!
On the whole I'm feeling positive that the original prescription helped with quite a lot of symptoms, and I'm really hoping this new prescription will improve the really big issues. Fingers crossed!