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[LadyCC]

Hi all,

Long time member but not posted anything in forever.  I have been reading through the posts with interest and realise that commenters on here can give a far better steer than any GP so here goes...

I am struggling with this more recent chapter of my life (Perimenopause) and Ive just about had enough!  I would really appreciate a steer from people who have been there, done that and got either the T-shirt or battle scars(hopefully not to many of the latter) to prove it!

On the advice of a private hormone specialist I approached my GP to about HRT as I started being in perimenopausal in December 2019.  So I was first prescribed Oestrogel and Utrogestan last year and given what I think is standard 2 pumps and 100 mg.  Months later all my symptoms were still persisting and actually the PMT cramps I found were exacerbated.  My tummy is so delicate and feels so much like I need to have a period but I havent had a bleed since last September.

I then started working with a different Dr who is an Integrated Practitioner specialising in hormones.  She said that she usually starts patients on progesterone first and then introduces the oestrogen but nevertheless since working with her I have spent the whole time tweaking and tweaking to no avail. At one stage early in my signing up with her, we did the full panel of blood tests and my oestradiol levels were 800>.  She asked me to stop using the oestrogen , to take dIM and we would review.  During this time it was the only time I have noticed a shift on the scales.  I was still taking progesterone and other supplements.  My weight loss stalled earlier this year and after a blood test showing my oestradiol levels to be <18 was advised to re-introduce oestrogel.  So that is what I have done ever since as I was advised that low oestrogen levels can stall weight gain too.  I am on 1 pump and 200 mg Utrogestan to offset the symptoms I am having which I have been advised are now down again to oestrogen dominance in relation to progesterone.

My biggest issue is weight gain and at less than 5ft but following a tailored and specific balanced food plan that I am following diligently, I am not experiencing any weight loss.  Now, I know weight loss is difficult at this time but it shouldn't be impossible particularly if you are following a structured programme.

I am also experiencing night sweats, memory loss, foggy brain. More recently I have been feeling low and I cant work out whether its because I have been told to increase the Utrogestan to 2 capsules per night or just everything about this trial and error that is getting me down.

I could just about manage with the symptoms if I were able to manage the weight even if I had to be stricter (though hard to know how much stricter I could be tbh) but its just not happening.

I have read a few commenters on here who say that you sometimes have to persevere to get results - this has been almost a year of various dosages and still no further forward - when is it time to say enough is enough? 

Some people also acknowledge that HRT is not for everyone - what symptoms have others experienced that have made them realise this may or may not be the case for them?

10 years or so ago, when I decided to come off the contraceptive pill I recall my body having a reaction to this withdrawal of artificial hormone balance.  I had a few wilderness years in my late 30s of horrible skin and exacerbated PMT symptoms and inexplicable weight gain.  In my early 40s a doctor put me back on a low doseage of combined pill to combat these symptoms. That helped for some of the symptoms (not the weight) but I eventually came out the other side even with the weight on a tailored food programme.  I got brave and stopped the pill (I knew I only had a year or so left on that before I would have to stop due to my age anyway) and I started using supplements instead.  I felt better than I had in absoultely years.  I wonder for me if natural is best way to go?

Thanks in advance

[CLKD]

Menopause is natural.  However, leading up through peri symptoms of oestrogen loss can be overwhelming.  H 'replacement' T can help some ladies but it really might be Trial and Error.

Do U keep a mood/food/symptom diary?  My Gynae won't do blood tests as they alter all the while and blood needs to be taken at the 'correct' time of the month. 

What's to lose if you stop all HRT?  As long as you have a good exercise regime, eat healthy food stuffs and have lots of 'me' time, you may find that you feel better.  Which symptom would you like to ease?

One can stick to too strict a diet, so the body doesn't lose weight as it isn't getting the right energy burning calories.  We need fats in our diet, it's how we are built.

What you eating on a daily basis?  I tend to like for example cheese, for weeks: then suddenly I go off it    .  [but rarely go off chocolate  ].

There is a thread on the Forum about someone who has decided that HRT isn't for her.  Might be worth you having a look-C?

[sheila99]

Given you still have flushes and other symptoms you're deficient in oestrogen so should increase it. Are you taking 200mg utrogeston every night or on a cycle? If every night I'm not surprised you feel rough. Are you in the UK? I'd suggest you see a gp and if they aren't knowledgeable ask for a referral to a menopause clinic, or see a specialist bms doctor. I can't think why she would tell you to stop oestrogen, meno is because we stop producing it ourselves and the symptoms are because we're deficient in it. Progesterone is a necessary evil to keep your womb lining thin. I don't think it's helpful to treat weight as a meno symptom. I think it's more connected to age as our metabolism slows down so it's harder to keep weight off. I never had a problem with weight but now I have to be careful what I eat. It's also harder to exercise when you feel rotten but it's important to do what you can along with a healthy balanced diet. If it was me I would increase oestrogen and decrease utrogeston, you should be on 100mg continuously or 200mg cyclically. Have you tried it vaginally? You would normally use it cyclically if you're peri. You need to be careful what supplements you take too, too much is often as bad as too little.

[Floo36]

Blood tests can show very very high levels in peri menopause, I know as I’m going through the same.  The highs are spikes in Estrogen, it doesn’t mean that your levels are always that high especially as you are having severe symptoms of low Estrogen.  The fluctuations can also cause havoc. 

[LadyCC]

Hi All

And thank you for your replies

@Floo36 - yes, I am gathering there can be much in the way of fluctuations and yes - I have seen the peak and dip in a few short weeks as outlined in my post.

Sheila99 - I am taking 200mg of Utrogestan I thought to offset the oestrogen dominance.  I have asked to speak to my practitioner as she was not clear for how long I should be on that doseage.  I am in the UK.  I have had specialist guidance re supplements so not worried about that.  I started on 2 pumps of oestrogen but my symptoms got incredibly bad and the practitioner told me to pause it to bring it down and then resume it gradually which is where I am at having increased from half to one pump.  I think vaginally might be an option re Utrogestan - she suggested previously but said see how I get on first.   I follow the metabolic balance so again I know this programme is specific and whilst i dont think weight is a meno symptom as such there is definately a correlation with change and imbalance of hormones and weight which balancing hormones would help.

CLKD - Funnily enough I have now decided to keep a diary - I was up until last year when symptoms first started but it went off the boil.  And yes, I have heard of tests being done on specific days too.  No more tests for me for a few more weeks.

Appreciate your comments and help all

[Becr]

If it helps similar to you I tried a over a year and a half of various regimes of HRT and just got fatter and fatter. I am 5ft 2 and always managed to stay a healthy weight but the HRT made me both ravenous and sluggish. I have been off HRT 3 months and feel so much better. It took about 2 months of hot flushes and being irritable to feel better. The weight is coming off easily now but I don't drink alcohol (it really makes me low) and I have cut out sugar. Other than that I eat loads but find that without the sweet stuff my appetite regulates itself.

I can empathise with how caught you can feel with not really knowing if HRT is best or waiting to see if time off HRT will help because invariably you have to risk further weight gain. It can feel like a merry go round. I always felt better in the progesterone phase and when I had periods better in the week before my period. More energy etc. So I wonder if low hormones suit me?

Take care x

[LadyCC]

If it helps similar to you I tried a over a year and a half of various regimes of HRT and just got fatter and fatter. I am 5ft 2 and always managed to stay a healthy weight but the HRT made me both ravenous and sluggish. I have been off HRT 3 months and feel so much better. It took about 2 months of hot flushes and being irritable to feel better. The weight is coming off easily now but I don't drink alcohol (it really makes me low) and I have cut out sugar. Other than that I eat loads but find that without the sweet stuff my appetite regulates itself.

I can empathise with how caught you can feel with not really knowing if HRT is best or waiting to see if time off HRT will help because invariably you have to risk further weight gain. It can feel like a merry go round. I always felt better in the progesterone phase and when I had periods better in the week before my period. More energy etc. So I wonder if low hormones suit me?

Take care x

Hi Becr

Apologies - are you saying you are no longer on HRT?  How are you managing your symptoms? Interesting you say about progesterone, whenever I insert the Utrogestan, any cramping I had been experiencing seems to be alleviated

[Letmein]

HRT really didn't work for me at all during the peri stage. I have up after 4 months and felt the best ever at this point.

Getting into full meno was a blessing with most of my symptoms disappearing. No anxiety, flushes manageable, no mood swings.

Sadly, I remain overtaken by what feels like constant adrenalin rushes, which I can tolerate during the day but totally messes up with my sleep. After years of insomnia having tried everything, I'm left with only one option and that is to try hrt again and hoping that now that the issue is lack of oestrogen rather than fluctuations, it will work better.

I'd come off it if I were you and see how it goes.