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[Diagonalley1]

Hello everyone I’ve just joined although I’ve been reading here since august, so thanks for having me. I’m 48 and began oestrogel and utrogestan in August and have now switched to patches. 
I was wondering how hrt is designed to behave, because if the body produces wildly fluctuating hormones during peri, does hrt add more of these which might make symptoms worse- or is it supposed to regulate the hormones instead?
Nothing seems to agree with me although not taking anything doesn’t agree with me either. I started symptoms in May so was wondering if I’m just too new to it to be on hrt or something.
(The estrogen element makes me hot, can’t sleep, heart races- and adding the progesterone element makes me extremely depressed)
Thanks

[Perinowpost]

Hi Diagonalley1

From your post it sounds like you’re peri menopausal. This is a time of fluctuations and hormones can be all over the place which causes some of the symptoms you describe. For me it was the hardest part and now I am post menopausal a lot of these symptoms have settled, hopefully it’ll be the same for you.

To answer your question hrt replaces falling hormone levels. I personally wouldn’t want to be without it for the protection it affords (bones, heart, brain, VA, etc).

Any questions just ask x

[discogirl]

Hi Diagonalley1 and Perinowpost,

I feel the same as you Diagonalley1, I'm post meno, but sometimes my symptoms feel more like peri.

My main post meno symptoms were insomnia and anxiety, and now I'm wondering if it's the estrogen part that's causing the insomnia or maybe my hormones just need time to settle as I've only been on the 50 patch for about a week xxx

[Epona52]

Hi diagonally1,
I totally agree with the other ladies that you are in  peri menopause, it is so hard to get and feel the right balance, I've recently written a post about hormone levels, I had my first blood test before applying the estrogen and my levels were 189, having had another blood test recently with the gel applied they were 1076, but someone has pointed out that applying the gel to upper arms then having a blood test wouldn't give a true reading, my symptoms are anxiety, insomnia, fatigue etc,  I wasn't to bad during peri, fingers crossed your levels will settle down in time, when I first started treatment estrogen and testosterone it took a few months, but 5 years on and symptoms are back, just wish we could all get tailor made hormones and be able to be the women we want to be, hope you feel better soon
X

[sheila99]

Some women have been prescribed a combined BCP pill with success in early meno as that takes over rather than working with your own hormones. Hrt just adds to your own hormones so in peri it's pretty much guaranteed that you will be too high or too low at some point because of your own fluctuations which can be extreme. It does get easier to manage as you head towards meno.
Discogirl my insomnia and anxiety were from insufficient oestrogen but as you say a week is too soon to tell, it took me 3 months for them to go completely.