Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Nas]

Hey meno warriors!
Feeling like death here too.
Sleep is non existent.
Anxiety is on the up.
Irritability off the scale.

Totally done with this crap 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️😴😴

[joziel]

Lillith - can you summarise where you are with things? What do you think is causing your insomnia? It's hard to keep everyone's story and dosages separate, I get everything mixed up...   For sure I think you can add in progesterone cream. It shouldn't interfere and if anything should only help, being progesterone. It can't replace the HRT progesterone but if you want to use it as well, I can't see that as a big problem unless you vary the dosage a lot and it causes bleeding...

You can definitely trial going on a continuous HRT. I'm peri, 44yo and on continuous. The only bad thing that will happen is you will get breakthrough bleeding if you're not ready for continuous yet. But that's not 'dangerous', if you're peri, it's just inconvenient. Women on the POP get breakthrough bleeding sometimes and no one freaks out about that.

Kathleen, if your jitters and tearfulness remain no matter what you do with your estrogen, the logical conclusion is they're nothing to do with your estrogen levels and might be due to other things. Everything that happens to us at this time of life isn't related to hormones. All depression/anxiety can't be fixed with hormones. Sometimes there's a need for other meds as well as HRT. But you should only be on the minimum estrogen you need (at a good level) for your peri symptoms and not a really high dose if it's not helping you.

Nas, I'm really sorry. Are you taking magnesium bisglycinate at night? That is supposed to help with sleep although it never helped me much when I was struggling a few weeks ago, but I still take it. Perhaps it takes a while to build up(!). Progesterone is also supposed to help with sleep, anxiety and calming - and you can take that as well as the coil if you find it helps - but I seem to remember you're progesterone intolerant, so that might not help. Maybe you could experiment with some progesterone, but not a whole capsule? Like, perhaps something like half a capsule might help with the sleep but not cause the progesterone side effects... That's what Lara Briden recommends. She suggests poking the capsule with a pin and squeezing some out. If you've got the coil for uterine protection you can experiment safely with that side of things...

I'm sleeping okay at the moment (phew). I feel like I'm catching up, as I'm out like a light for a good 7 hours. But every now and again when I change position or when I first wake, I am throbbing a little.

[Pippa52]

Hey meno warriors!
Feeling like death here too.
Sleep is non existent.
Anxiety is on the up.
Irritability off the scale.

Totally done with this crap 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️😴😴

Nas - so very sorry to hear this.  I feel your pain I really do and send you love and empathy.  Everything is always magnified with lack of sleep too. I hate the anxiety parts.  So hope you start to feel better soon xxx

[Nas]

Thanks ladies,
Don't feel too bad now..it is first thing in the morning which seems to be worst.
I don't know what it is, but I seem to be constantly evaluating life at present. Thinking of things I should have done/shouldn't have done etc and it's not a very productive way of using ones brain really!

I am on the 75 patch, but yesterday, I added a sachet of gel. By the afternoon, I was feeling quite energised and mood was good.
I have done the same today (1 sachet to the patch)

I know when the hormones are on the blink because I get awful driving anxiety. That is, when I can barely drive my car properly. Yesterday that was bubbling. I was dreading today, as I knew I had to collect my daugther and her friend and drive them both to the train station. All the roads are bendy and fast and I hate them with a passion. However, somehow,I drove with relative ease. Really I can't go back to that level of anxiety again. So, new regime for now, is patch plus gel (until stash of gel runs out and then will have to seek specialists input again).

I will experiment with the progesterone joziel, thanks.. maybe it will calm the system down during the night?
I am glad you are sleeping; if you are getting a decent sleep, everything else (I think) is a bit more manageable?

Kathleeen, I think joziel is right, We attribute so much to hormones, but how much is actually down to life itself? It can be hard to separate the two. As you say, you feel the same on 1mg, as you did on 3 mg of gel, so it can't be a hormonal imbalance causing these symptoms? When you say you are tearful, do you mean that you cry at sad news reports, or situations? Or, do you tear up for no apparant reason? I know when I watched a news report last week, about the lad who was brutally killed by his mothers partner, I was inconsolable and then very angry. Couldn't sleep and was so angry wtih social services etc. Maybe as we age, our emotions become heightened and we become quite sensitive?

Pippa, best of luck with the lenzetto. I personally found it to be a very weak product, BUT if you can get the dose right for you, you may just start to feel better again? Were you on the gel prior to lenzetto?

lillith, what regime are you on now? Is it 125 patches? Are you peri or post? I have some of the serenity oestrogen and progesterone cream which my mum bought me last year. I have never used it, but I always think that as this time of life, when faced with these challenges, that anything is worth a go. You never know, it may be what you need right now. Serenity talk about  oestrogen dominance and the need to ditch it altogether and use progesterone only. I am not sure of their rationale and still think that if we are anyway deficient in the three major hormones, then we are going to feel out of sorts.

I hope we all have an okay day today.
One day, it would be great to not have to think about hormones, weeing, insomnia, anxiety etc etc.

I am sooo jealous of my 17 year old daughter, who sleeps and sleeps with no anxiety!

 

[Pippa52]

''Pippa, best of luck with the lenzetto. I personally found it to be a very weak product, BUT if you can get the dose right for you, you may just start to feel better again? Were you on the gel prior to lenzetto?''

HI Nas,  I was on Oestrogel for over 20 years originally but then had to change to Lenzetto last year then when that became unavailable was changed on to Evorel which gave me migraines from hell so was then changed to Estradot and re-acted really badly to the adhesive so now back on Lenzetto again.  No wonder my poor system is all over the place  .  I can't face changing yet again and will try getting the Lenzetto dose right.  I seem to only need a fairly low dose of oestrogen now (am on 2 and a quarter sprays of Lenzetto at the moment) so maybe hopefully if Lenzetto is weaker it may (fingers crossed) work for me.  I certainly found 3 sprays made me feel OTT and over caffeinated like a zillion cups of strong coffee so am hoping cutting down a bit will do the trick.  Do hope so much you start to feel better soon.  I hear you big time re your daughter sleeping like a babe - oh for those days ay!! xxx

[Pippa52]

A quick update.  I slept like a total log last night.  In fact I really struggled to wake up.  It felt almost scary when I woke as I am so unused to sleeping well.  Today has been ok bit spaced out, lightheaded and headachey but that will be the dose change.  Onwards....
Hope the rest of you ladies had a better day today. xxxx

[Marchlove]

Sounds good Pippa! Ever since I started slowly reducing my estrogen my sleep improved.
I’ve gone from 3/4 hours a night to 6. I’m post menopausal so don’t want to influence any peri ladies in any way!
X

[joziel]

What estrogen are you on now Marchlove?

Pippa, what was your dose change? You were on 2 pumps, right? Then you tried 3 but that was too much and gave you high estrogen symptoms - then you reduced to 2 and a quarter? Is that right?

I find all this very interesting. How a very slight dose change makes a big difference.

I am doing an experiment tonight. I'm supposed to change my patches tonight (3.5 days), but instead I've just taken off the little patch and left the 25 patch on. I did this at 6pm because I think I read it takes about 6 hours to get out of your system. So by the time I go to bed, I should be at 25. So we'll see how much pulsing and throbbing and stuff happens. I still plan to put 37.5 on in the morning because I'm not quite ready to give up on that dose yet 

[Marchlove]

Hi Joziel

I’m on compounded biest which is 0.25mg estradiol and 1mg estriol. I do not need to take any vaginal estrogen so I feel the 1mg estriol really helps with VA.
But I still feel I’m on too high a dose of  estradiol so I err on the side of a slightly reduced full pump and my long term goal is to reduce to estradiol to a level that my body accepts.

I know the route I’m taking is beyond the expense of many members, but I sincerely feel that a reduction in estradiol for women, coupled with a good amount of estriol provides good benefits.

My aged doggie is on oral estriol,1mg twice a week so I value her input in my journey!

[lillith112]

I had zero sleep last night and felt dreadful today, jitters and restless, anxiety, like on a caffeine high.. I will update when I'm feeling a bit better.  😞 I'm so fed up, I don't know what's going on with me.

[joziel]

Marchlove, does that equate to about 75mcg patch then - or is it not possible to say that? Is it oral, the estriol? I didn't realise you were trying estriol over estradiol. I know that Vagifem is estradiol and Ovestin is estriol but didn't realise there were those options in other ways.

I had a dog once that was on Incurin, which I think is a type of estrogen. It was because she had spay induced incontinence. It didn't work for her and she needed another med (propalin) instead which wasn't estrogen. I often wonder if we shouldn't be putting spayed dogs onto doggie HRT but that is probably a whole other subject. And seeing how we struggle to get the side effects sorted in humans, I don't know how we'd do that with dogs 

Lillith, I'm so sorry. I know how frustrating it is. What dose are you on?

[Pippa52]

lilllith - I am so very sorry you are feeling so rubbish.  It seems changing over HRT due to the shortages has messed up so many of us in so many ways.  I really hope you start to improve very soon xxx

joziel - yes I was on 2 sprays of Lenzetto - then went up to 3 which nearly blew my socks off and now for the last 4 days down to 2 and a quarter sprays  I know it sounds crazy but the one quarter extra so far seems to be ok rather than just the 2 sprays when I was getting the anxiety, palps and insomnia back.  Its very early days so I won't get my hopes up yet but I am praying I am on the right road at least.  My son is a vet and my late Husband was a vet so propalin is a very well known med to me for incontinence in dogs   I used to answer all the emergency calls at the weekends and evenings - truly don't miss those broken nights but hey...... now sleeplessness has have been replaced by menopause and HRT - joy!!!    .  Very best of luck with your experiment tonight and hope it gives you a really good night's sleep xxxx

[Pippa52]

Sounds good Pippa! Ever since I started slowly reducing my estrogen my sleep improved.
I’ve gone from 3/4 hours a night to 6. I’m post menopausal so don’t want to influence any peri ladies in any way!
X

Marchlove so pleased your sleep is so much better. It honestly makes such a difference.  I am post meno too.  It is so interesting that you and some other ladies on here including myself have found that reducing the dose is what has helped us not putting it up (which I was advised to do). Just shows how much we all vary in what we need to get on a more even keel xx

[Marchlove]

Hormones and doggies Joziel, an issue that mirrors our own very much! Surgical menopause with no subsequent hrt that we know how to administer correctly is very sad, so my view now in all of my dogs is to avoid it if you possibly can.
Incurin, which my dog is on, is estriol. The vet said for me to give it to her every day, which I did and it stopped the Incontinence , but then I sort of realised it was too much and reduced it down and she stabilised.

It’s a compounded cream of both estradiol and estriol.
I think the estradiol is equivalent to 1/3 of
of one oestrogel pump, but don’t know how it equates to a patch. My specialist says it’s a very very low dose.

Yes my sleep is better but still got a way to go with day time symptoms, but that I know is mainly due to progesterone intolerance. An ongoing journey… x

[Nas]

lillith, I hope you managed to get some sleep last night? It’s awful when you down sleep and have tp function the next day.

Pippa, sounds like the lenzetto ( at the right dose) is the one for you?
Long may the good sleep last! How an earth do you manage a quarter spray from the canister? 

Well I did an experiment yesterday and added a sachet of sandrena to a 75 patch. Mood improved dramatically and actually got some sleep. Could be a one off, who knows! That’s approximately 125 of Oestrogen. My actual prescription is for 1mg of sandrena ( I had spare patches) so god alone knows now I’m going to address that with specialist ( she’s a lowest dose possible kind of specialist!)

On the joys !