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[Ribrab]

Hello - I am perimenopausal and have been using Evorel 100 patches with 1 pump of Estrogel with Utrogeston for 12 days of the month for the last 6 weeks. Before that I was on 5 pumps of gel but had to go on to patches due to shortages of gel in my area and I had about 2 months where I was forced to go cold turkey without any HRT at all.

I really like the convenience of the patches compared to applying the 5 pumps of gel that I was using previously. However, lots of my symptoms  (joint pain, low/anxious mood) have come back and I feel like my hormones are fluctuating wildly again (I get  a shooting pain in my breast when my hormones are shifting.) Do I still need to give this new regime more time to settle or does it sound like the patches are not agreeing with me? It’s so frustrating as after a couple of years of trying to find the right dose and regime and being stable for six months I feel like I’m back to square one!

[CLKD]

It can be Trial and Error and how awful to have no HRT for that length of time 

   some find that keeping a mood/food/symptom diary of use.  Which regime to you feel suits you the best?  I believe that some cut patches in half a few times a week ....... hopefully some1 will be along with advice. 

[laszla]

Hi Ribrab,
Your symptoms definitely suggest that you are not absorbing the estradiol in a patch form. I also switched from gel to patches and was thrilled by the convenience but sadly realised after a few weeks that I felt much worse - being postmenopausal I was also able to use a blood test as a reliable indication that my blood levels of estradiol had plummeted on patches.
So I went back to an increased dose of estrogel and my levels have increased (though not yet by nearly enough). It is common for women to absorb different delivery methods at very varying rates.

[Ribrab]

Thank you both. Iaszla - I am suspecting that I too may not be absorbing however my breasts are very sore and I have developed the brown line down my stomach that you get in pregnancy which suggest I’m  getting some hormones (definitely not  pregnant!)

I’ve had a dreadful day today feeling very flat and anxious and I think I will start to cut back on the patch and increase my gel. Fingers crossed I’ll be back to normal soon!

[Freedomplease!]

Hi Ribrab,

I’ve had the exact same issue - the gel worked well for me but had to go onto patches. Started with Evorel 75 (3 pumps a day) but had such heavy bleeding 😕 doc put me on the 50 and it was fine for a month, now pretty continuous. Scan shows womb lining has thickened so I’m now being fast tracked for gynae appointment next week. I swear it’s the change in oestrogen and really hope I can get the gel back.

Also feel like I’m constantly bloated, put on more weight and boobs feel huge (which I don’t want!)

Keep us posted and hope things work out xx