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[Orba]

After trying different types of HRT I finally settled on the mirena coil  with estrogel gel.
I'm a year in now and  my  meno symptoms of  hot flushes,low mood , aches did calm down but I still have bouts of fatigue and feel worn out.
Over the year I've had blood tests for, iron,B12, Thyroid etc and all my results are in  normal range.
Maybe I was unrealistic with my expectations from HRT and maybe I'm just tired because I'm 56 not 20 !!!!
Does anyone  else feel like this and are there any supplements you take that help ?
I only work 2 days a week, but do rush around a lot when off and also go to the Gym etc.
Is this fatigue just age related maybe ?   

[Flossieteacake]

Hello Orba. I know some celebrities say they feel wonderful on HRT and that all their menopause symptoms have totally gone. I have no found this with myself and from reading threads on here it seems many are also feeling the same way.

I think it is positive the hot flushes and low mood have calmed down because these two alone are very debilitating.

It is very reassuring your blood tests are not showing anything abnormal. 

[Orba]

Thanks for reply. Yes, that's a fair point about celebs ,I think women like  Davina Mccall are great for highlighting menopause  but their lives are probably  not " ordinary ' !!!

[Perinowpost]

I think it’s more likely to be the mirena making you feel worn out it doesn’t suit everyone. Health practitioners push it because it’s cheap but it’s not that great to be honest. My friend has just tried for 2 1/2 years with hers but is finally having it removed. Oestrogen usually makes you feel good but unless you try it separately (before introducing progesterone ) it’s hard to know what is doing what x

[Orba]

Hi, didn't consider  it could be Mirena. I couldn't tolerate Utrogesten hence why I agreed to try a coil.
Like you say, I'd have to have it removed to see, but who knows !
Dilemma ! X

[Gnatty]

Another option would be to try testosterone. It's often the missing link especially as you say you are lacking in energy. It made a big difference for me.

[2cats]

Another option would be to try testosterone. It's often the missing link especially as you say you are lacking in energy. It made a big difference for me.

Gnatty I’m interested to know how long it took for you to feel the benefits of testosterone? I’m nearly at 4 weeks and I can’t feel any change yet…. I know it can be 3 months. What did you start to notice first.

[Kat36]

This may have been my biggest learning curve with hrt. As a woman diagnosed with POI I expected hrt to kick me in line with my age of 39. I have learnt that while hrt has resolved many things for me, I’ve learnt that my life has to change significantly too. I no longer can expect to feel great if my diet is crap and I skip meals. I also drink alcohol rarely these days as it impacts my anxiety levels. Similarly, I can’t expect to live my life at the same rate of knots as when I was 25 without feeling utterly overwhelmed.  For me, the picture has proved to be much bigger than hrt.  It’s just a tool in my very full belt.

[Nas]

I think we have all been lulled into a false sense of security with HRT; probably from the celebrities, making out it is the silver bullet which fixes our misery! It isn’t in my view. HRT is just  one tool in the box which can help with symptoms. Lots of other factors come into play too and of course, we definitely need to factor in age.

I’ve come to the realisation that I'm not going to have the same physical and mental energy as my colleagues who are 20 years younger than me. I know I am not as sharp as them and it takes me much longer to process information.

The coil is a tricky one. I doubt it is that which is causing the fatigue . It releases only a tiny amount of hormone locally and can be great at tackling bleeding issues. It also works best with the correct amount of Oestrogen I think, so maybe your Oestrogen isn’t optimised or you need more? You could try testosterone also, to see what difference that makes?

I just think menopause is a hideous nightmare, full stop.🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

[Kathleen]

Hello ladies.

HRT has been a disappointment for me as I believed that replacing dwindling amounts of Oestrogen was the whole story. I now think that the process is more complicated and wonder if hormonal balance is the key.

About two years after my last period I developed daily headaches which I tolerated and didn't take HRT. I assumed they were hormonal and at about 9pm every day they miraculously disappeared, only to begin again the next day. After six months they stopped altogether and have never returned. When the internal shaking began I thought that symptom would follow the same course. However at six months I still felt terrible so I opted for HRT. I know of someone who also had the shaking but endured it and waited for it to pass which it did. My point is that perhaps we need treatments that help our bodies to adjust to naturally lower levels of hormones instead of flooding  our systems with a chemical that we are trying to live without.  I often wonder if I had stuck it out a bit longer I might have done better,  instead I feel that my HRT experiments have kept me in a state of  peri menopause with no hope of adjusting to a balanced post meno life.

I am putting my money where my mouth is and I am currently lowering my Oestrogen and have given up my testosterone. My main symptoms remain although they seem milder and I certainly don't feel any worse.

I would like to see a more tailored approach by to HRT but I think the medical profession doesn't fully  understand the meno which is why the one size fits all,  take as much oestrogen and you can bear approach does not work for some of us.  I have even toyed with the idea that the main culprit isn't low Oestrogen at all but instead symptoms result from a delayed ability to convert female testosterone to Oestrogen and when this adaptation is complete we continue happily with our new hormonal profile.

I understand that VA for example needs topical oestrogen but not everyone develops VA so perhaps even that condition is more complicated than we thought?

Just my thoughts ladies and feel free to shoot down  my ideas lol. We are all trying to find answers and  if we keep looking we may be successful one day!

Take care everyone.

K.

[Marchlove]

What a wonderful post Kathleen, thank you.

The thoughts you give about your journey resonate with me completely.

Indeed, I totally agree that higher doses of estrogen in the past have  kept me in a state of peri, even though age 65!
So now I do low dose estrogen.

I was particularly drawn to your comment about testosterone and the aromatisation of it to estrogen. I think this is a key issue.
 Post meno the main hormone produced in the body is testosterone,
primarily from the adrenal glands. So adrenal health is paramount.

So, yes Kathleen, I understand where you’re coming from regarding a more balanced individual approach.
I’m on this journey with you, looking at it all in a critical way and questioning current thinking and treatment.

M x

[Kathleen]

Hello at ladies.

Marchlove -  We do sound very similar and I am sure many other women also share our experiences. I often read comments on the forum about previously adequate HRT that suddenly stops working or side effects that arrive out of nowhere. Perhaps our bodies begin to fight the extra hormones or we have no way of processing them because we have fewer oestrogen receptors. Another possibility is that we are flooding our system and this results in hormonal surges. Who knows? It does however frustrate me that even the professionals seem confused.

All we can do is try to help ourselves and share our stories so that others can benefit.
Sisterhood in action, lol.

Take care everyone.

K.




 

[Marchlove]

Hi Kathleen

My experience has been that the professional’s don’t seem to know either which is as you say frustrating.

It could be that we have fewer estrogen receptors, not able to metabolise hormones as we used to, gene mutations, well really any number of reasons!

We probably won’t ever know, so it looks like we have to be our own advocates and do what works best for us.

Can I ask how much you’ve reduced your estrogen too now Kathleen and are you planning to lower your Utrogestan (I think that’s the regime you’re on) once you get down to a much lower level?

M x

[Kathleen]

Hello Marchlove.

I am now using one 100mcg sachet of gel every day which is a reduction from three sachets. I don't use Utrogestan and was prescribed  Cyclogest 100mcg pessaries instead. I was told to halve each pessary and insert every other night. I am with Newson Health and the thinking was that I could use as little progesterone  as possible.

Having said all that, going down to one sachet was my idea after remembering the advice  of an NHS consultant who told me that too much Oestrogen can be as problematic as too little.

I have also been reducing testosterone (Androfeme) from a maximum of  0.75 mcg to zero over the last few days.

I can't say that I have noticed much difference without the T and my mood swings are still ongoing though certainly no worse than when I was on  higher doses of HRT.

I am hoping that as I lower oestrogen still further that my moods will stabilise. Of the emotional symptoms, low mood and jitteriness are the worst and were still present when I came off all HRT on 2019. Infact it was the illogical and erratic moods that sent me back to HRT in 2020!

I feel as if I have really been around the block on this Meno journey and I would dearly  like to return to some sanity asap lol.

Obviously I worry about feeling worse on less oestrogen but I also wonder if my best chance of hormonal balance is by removing the added amounts that I rub on my thighs every day! Time will tell I guess lol.

I originally planned to cut down to half of a sachet but I am taking it slowly. My next Newson Health isn't until next year so I don't have the benefit of their advice and I am reluctant to pay for any contact before then.

I hope this helps you in some way and wishing you well.

Take care.

K.

[Marchlove]

Thank you Kathleen.

From what I hear, Newson are advocates of higher estrogen in general. I was with the Studd clinic for awhile and they were the same, 4 pumps of gel to start and I thought I was going crazy! Reduced down one and still no different.

Thankfully my new specialist takes an entirely different approach, in that it’s what works for me.

Do you notice that you feel any different on the days you don’t take Cyclogest?

I’m on a compounded estrogen now which is 1mg estriol and 0.25mg estradiol, so pretty low dose.

Hope your day has been better than usual.

Orba- sorry to hear about your fatigue, do you think you might try the testosterone? It might just help so worth a go.

Hugs to you all

M x