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[applejack]

I've just had progesterone, testosterone and oestrogen levels checked due to my menopause symptoms coming back after 18 months of being on an even keel.  The worst thing is the insomnia which is killing me.

My P and T was fine.  Oestrogen was 75.  I've read around on here and realise that it's just a snapshot of that particular moment in time but even so, that seems pretty damned low to me.

I was on estradot 50, then it was upped to 75, then it was upped to 100.  Last night, every time I woke, I was really hot, so that sounds like menopause symptoms to me.

Menopause doc has recommended upping it to 150 which sounds really high, so I'm a bit anxious about taking that step.

Anyone else had a reading that low before, and did you end up having to up your patches/gels/spray quite a bit?

[sheila99]

As an nhs patient my levels have never been taken but that does seem abnormally low. That, along with the return of symptoms, would indicate you need to increase oestrogen though perhaps you could go first to 125 instead of 150. It's possible you would absorb more if you changed to a different type.

[Mary G]

I take it that is pmol?   If you are post menopause and using HRT then hormone blood tests very definitely are worthwhile.  How else will you known how well you are absorbing HRT?

Even allowing for fluctuations, your oestrogen reading is very low and is highly unlikely to get to where it needs to be at any time of the day. 

It sounds like your symptoms have returned and that could be because your own oestrogen levels have bottomed out.

I am very post menopause and aim for an oestrogen blood level of about 300 pmol and the level is invariably there or thereabouts.   Hormones levels do not fluctuate that much on a consistent dose of HRT once you are post menopause.  For example, you are not going to have a reading of 75 in the morning and then shoot up to 500 in the afternoon if you are post menopause.

Have you considered adding a pump of Oestrogel or Lenzetto spray to top up?   I would be inclined to top up with a different product to see if you absorb it better.

[applejack]

Ah, thank you, that does answer another question I had but had forgotten to ask - which is, how much do levels fluctuate post menopause on hrt.  Not much, by the sounds of it!

How do you check that your blood level is around 300 - do you keep requesting blood tests? Like Sheila I've not had my bloods checked on the nhs and had to go private.  I don't think I can afford to keep checking them so wondered if there's another way?

Thank you both so much - it's not great to hear that the reading is bad, but at least I know what I'm dealing with. If there's any way I can keep a check on the reading, I'd love to hear it.

[SueLW]

As Mary G said above, you aren't absorbing this patch much, if at all, so it's pretty useless just adding more of the same.  Try something else.  I'd be tempted to try something completely different.  A different brand of patch, or gel, or my favourite - Lenzetto spray. 

I was doing what you are doing. Constantly upping the patch but feeling rough yet having low blood results.  I'm on Lenzetto now and it's much better.  I'm actively reducing the dose because I had got too high.

You need bloods of 250pmol/L or higher for bone growth.

[SueLW]

Thank you both so much - it's not great to hear that the reading is bad, but at least I know what I'm dealing with. If there's any way I can keep a check on the reading, I'd love to hear it.

Ask your GP to check it for you.  If they won't, ask the menopause specialist to arrange it (you will have to pay).  I do almost all my thyroid and menopause checks privately.  Don't use a finger prick home test kit for oestrogen though.  They seem to be very unreliable.  You need a proper blood draw for it.

[applejack]

Thanks everyone, such helpful advice and info.

Sue, I see the meno specialist in two weeks so I'll ask about sprays and gels etc. Tbh I think you're probably right in that this isn't working, but since she's recommended it for now, I'll give it a whirl so at least when I next talk to her I can say I tried, and it failed, so we can move on. I was scared of going to 150 mcg patches but hearing all your sharp intakes of breath at that reading, I'm less scared now. She's really good and knows what she's talking about (well, she's a registered BMS specialist so one would hope so!).

I was really dithering this morning. This forum can be a godsend.

[Mary G]

applejack, oestrogen levels do not fluctuate much once you are a few years post menopause.

I'm not with the NHS but I know they don't routinely offer hormone blood tests in the same way they don't routinely offer a full set of thyroid tests or transvaginal uterine scans.   You could ask and you might get lucky as some women on here have in the past but you might have to consider paying for it privately.   If you are only worried about your oestrogen levels it might be cheaper to just have that tested.

[applejack]

Yeah, I'm just looking at the bill for the blood tests right now (they did quite a few) and I notice that the oestrogen one is the cheapest.  I say cheap, it's all relative - to me, it isn't cheap!  But for the sake of getting this sorted out I can put a little by each week and check it again in a month or so. Unless I just start to feel better anyway, in which case job done.

[Pippa52]

Hi Applejack

My oestrogen level was 98 - the first time even after over 20 years on HRT it has been checked and that was because I consulted a Menopause consultant.  I think I have been running on near empty for years to be honest.  She has changed me from Oestrogel onto Lenzetto and even in 19 days the difference has been phenomenal and for the first time in years I am beginning to feel like my old self.  I get reviewed with another blood test in October to see what my levels are.  The only reason I found all this out is that the Oestrogel I was on all those years the  manufacturer slightly changed the formula which made me feel really unwell and it was a few weeks before I realised why I was feeling so unwell.  I then tried to cut down on HRT with the view to stopping it and got the most horrendous symptoms and thus got referred to the Consultant which I can truly say has been life changing.  The Consultant told me that she personally does not prescribe Oestrogel as she feel Lenzetto is a much superior product and have to say I totally agree with her.  She wrote to my GP asking him to do the blood tests and there was no problem on getting it done on the NHS.  Dose wise I was prescribed one spray for one week then upping it to 2 sprays.  For me 2 sprays was way too much so I am now down to 1spray plus 1/3rd of a spray which works really well for me - it is probably around the equivalent of just under 3 pumps of Oestrogel.

[applejack]

98? Good heavens. We're in the same ballpark then. I'm going to discuss lenzetto with the specialist for sure now, she says she wants me to have as much control over the process as possible.

I'm glad it's worked for you, really hope your blood tests show an improvement in October. Good job the manufacturer changed the formula, even though it initially made you feel worse. At least it ended well for you.

Going to research lenzetto now - never used sprays or gels before, no idea how they work so here goes.

[Pippa52]

Applejack

Different things suit different people of course but I have nothing but praise for Lenzetto.  It seems to work well for a lot of people but going from my own experience I really have found it brilliant and so so easy to use. I hope so much if you decide to go down the route of trying it that it works well for you too... do let me know xxx

[Floo36]

Don’t be afraid of giving your body back the Estrogen that you have lost.  It’s not a dangerous drug it is our own hormones.  The dose does not always reflect what you are taking in from it. 

[Nas]

Good luck apple,
Another very post menopausal one here, with a shocking reading of 88 a month ago! Now I think that has been down to patch coming on and off due to bleeding. This has since settled, so trying to stay constant with change days etc and hope to get another blood test in a couple of months time. I had no flushes at level 88 and didn’t feel too awful in honesty. However, for bone protection etc , it’s disastrous!

It’s very much trial and error I think. You could increase to 125 and feel amazing, but then again, it could be that you need 150. You do hear of women wearing several patches of different strengths ( not my idea of fun!  )

Sounds like you have a veryswitched on specialist and there are of course other great products to experiment with going forward.

Floo is bang on the money. We mustn’t fear feeding our bodies with  hormones. They are after all, what allow us to function!