Print

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

[Kathleen]

Hello ladies and I hope that you are all enjoying your Easter.

I thought I would post a quick update on my longed for appointment with an NHS Consultant and also let you know my recent blood test results.

HRT - I found the appointment very helpful and as I knew the Consultant from thirty years ago when he delivered my son,  we had a bit of a catch up lol. I am post meno and for the last six months I have been using half a 1mg sachet of Sandrena gel every day. This equates to a 50mcg dose which controls my hot flushes, night sweats and vaginal dryness. Unfortunately my moods/ emotional symptoms remain bothersome but I am reluctant to increase Oestrogen further because I don't want to risk bleeding and breast soreness which I have had in the past.
For progesterone I use half a 200mcg pessary alternate nights and the Consultant suggested that I increase this to every night to ensure adequate protection. He was very supportive of my experimentation and agreed to see me again in the future.

Blood Tests - In January I asked my GP for blood tests to investigate my fatigue and I was hoping that B12, Iron and Vit D would be included.  Unfortunately this was not the case but I began supplementing anyway. I recently managed to get the tests I wanted which showed that everything was in the normal range and no treatment was necessary. When I saw my results however I noticed that Vit D was only just in range meaning that I was likely deficient when I first contacted the doctor two months earlier. I am continuing with my supplements and I will have the tests done again in 12 months.

I am hoping that the HRT continues to be effective and that raising my Vit D levels will stabilise my moods and help my sleep etc. As always I am keeping everything crossed!

Wishing you all well ladies and take care.

K.

[Stella2]

Hi Kathleen,
All sounds good and hopefully it will get better for you as your vitamin D levels go up. Do you take a multivitamin/mineral supplement?
All the best

[Flossieteacake]

It is good to hear your appointment went well. It is good you started taking vitamin D yourself. I really hope the increase of vitamin D can help your mood.

[Kathleen]

Hello again ladies.

Stella2 - Thank you so much for your comments.

 I don't take a multi vitamin but instead take a vitamin D3 tablet and a K2 capsule daily. The K2 is another fat soluble vitamin that works with Vitamin D. I also take a magnesium and B vitamin tablet.   Every little helps as they say lol.

Flossieteacake - Thank you for taking the time to reply.

I will never know what my levels were before I supplemented but they would likely have been below the normal range. I decided to push for a blood test because everything I read online said that knowing your actual levels was a good starting point.

I think correcting a deficiency or insufficiency has to be a good thing for mind and body and hopefully even hormonal balance!


Wishing you both well ladies and take care.

K.

 

[Mary G]

Kathleen, I'm glad your appointment went well.   Out of interest, did the consultation suggest you increase the progesterone dose based on a scan result or because of bleeding?

The reason I ask is because I was told that if you are taking progesterone every day or every other day and it is an inadequate dose, you will automatically have an unscheduled bleed when you breach a certain level and the womb lining reaches a high level whereas if you never take progesterone, it will eventually build up to a dangerous levels.

Are you going to increase to 100mg progesterone every day?

[Kathleen]

Hello Mary G

The Consultant said that he was being cautious because alternate use of 100mcg may be insufficient to prevent lining build up.
 I have been on this regime for six months with no sign of bleeding but I will do as he suggests  and use the pessary every night.

This time last year I was using the same  progesterone but with much more Oestrogen ( two 1mg sachets of gel compared to half of one now). I  had some bleeding which was investigated and everything was fine and my lining was very thin.  It was concluded that the Oestrogen was causing the problem and I was advised to reduce the gel  but stay with the prog dose.

In summary half of a Sandrena 1mg sachet ( ie 50mcg ) daily dose appears to work well with 100mcg Cyclogest pessary on alternate nights but I am to move to every night just to be on the safe side.

I hope all that makes sense MaryG!

I haven't had any problems with this regime and I hope this is helpful.

Wishing you well and take care.

K.

[Mary G]

Thanks Kathleen, I hope it works out for you.   Progesterone helps sleep and has a calming effect on mood so if you tolerate progesterone well, you should see an improvement.

[Kathleen]

Hello again ladies

Mary G  - Thank you for your comments.

I always said that my sleep wasn't too bad however I usually wake in the night and in the morning I often feel so tired it's as if I haven't slept. It would be great if I could get some restorative sleep and feel rested. That's the dream lol ( sorry about the pun ). If a nightly progesterone pessary can deliver that I will be very pleased.

Wishing you well and take care.

K.