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[Trish17]

Hi everyone

I am 50 & believe I started perimenopause at 42 with hot sweats & irregular periods. However, they disappeared for 5 years, then came back with a vengeance at 47 with 6 hot sweats an hour, sleeplessness & lots of wierd (vibrating pubic area, not as fun as it sounds 🙄) & not so wonderful symptoms.

I was first put on Everol 50 sequential hrt, this was such a relief for me & I was feeling pretty good. But 6 months in I wouldn't stop bleeding until I took the patch off. Gave myself a few weeks off and started the same patches again. All was good, until the 6 month period came & again I wouldn't stop bleeding until I took the patch off. My gp suggested femseven, i think it was, but there were shortages, so i ended up with 2 pumps of oestrogel & 200mg Utrogestan vaginally.
All was good for months, until the start of this year. My mood plummeted and I became extremely teary. I was up and down for months. The last month has been awful, crying constantly for a month, and that is no exaggeration. Also, the forgetfulness, which i have also been experiencing is frightening.

Last week i stopped the oestrogel, couldn't take it anymore, plus I wanted to see if it was the Oestrogel causing this upset or whether i am depressed (have been through and still going through various upsetting times & I don't know if its all just catching up with me).  Overnight, my mood changed, and I felt really good (apart from the lethargy), so im thinking it was the Oestrogen making me feel this bad. The day after that I started to lightly bleed (wasn't due on for another 2 weeks).
A couple of days after that it seemed to change to a full period bleed. Then after a few more days my period stopped. Also, since I stopped the Oestrogel, I have been having light hot sweats, about 5 a day & my breasts hurt, so I must need the Oestrogen.

I did, also keep on with the utrogestan, needed to sleep, which I was using through my 'good' week (I'm halfway through the pack).  In the last couple of days, the hot sweats were getting more and more, I haven't slept well the last couple of night and my breasts hurt, so I decided to try 1 pump of Oestrogel. It's only been a couple of days, so still getting hot sweats, but my mood is good.

As a side note, all the way through taking hrt I do not have the energy & concentration I did pre hrt. Just feel constantly lethargic.
Also, apart from the trouble I had with the progesterone bit of the patches, it hasn't affected my mood at all, so I don't believe I am progesterone intolerant, could be wrong though, I dont know.
My periods have also been regular, starting my period with a couple of days, either way of finishing the utrogestan.

Does anyone know why this might be happening to me. I know through perimenopause your hormones are up and down, but I don't get how I can be feeling good for months on certain hrt's and then it all goes to pot.

Sorry if this post is all over the place, I'm trying to get all my thoughts out and with the brain fog it's hard to do and I've probably missed lots out.

Thanks 😊

 

[CLKD]

   hormones  .  Symptoms may be worse if there are stresses ......... 

Sometimes our own hormones take over from the HRT regime ...... as periods wax and wane it follows that this may impact on treatment.

We have a 'doing stupid things' thread - you'll fit right in ;-).   Brain fog can be difficult to deal with.  My brain feels muggy all the while.   .  Memory too.

[joziel]

Hey Trish, it's likely that you needed more estrogen - not less. If you were experiencing forgetfulness and poor mood, those are both symptoms of low estrogen.

2 pumps of Oestrogel is pretty low for someone in peri-menopause. So rather than stopping the estrogen, you might have needed more of it...

With the low energy and lethargy, I reckon testosterone is what you need for that.

It's pretty normal in peri for everything to be all over the place because our ovaries work better and then sputter out for a while and then work again and we are dealing with a lot of fluctuation... One approach to this is again to use higher amounts of estrogen, to override the fluctuations from our ovaries which cause a lot of the symptoms. If you don't feel your doctor really understands all this, you might want to consider an appointment with a private meno clinic. I'm with the Newson Clinic and do recommend them, overall.

[Trish17]

Thanks CLKD and Joziel.

Before HRT I had this impression that it would sort me right out & I'd feel wonderful, but in reality it just not like that, for me, anyway, & it appears loads of others too.

I did keep a diary from Feb, but there's just no rhyme or reason to it at all. What I felt in 1st week of April for example, was different to how I was feeling in the 1st week of March & again different to the first week of Feb.

I'll definitely look at the 'stupid things' thread, sounds like I will fit right in.

I was wondering if I needed more oestrogen, not less, but I was scared to try it, in case it sent me even lower than I have been.  But it sounds like that maybe the way to go .
Although, is it true that its the same symptoms, whether you are on too lower a dose or too high a dose of oestrogen?

My gp has been really good, and let's me lead. It was me that suggested taking Utrogestan vaginally, and she said "ooooh, I don't see why not". She's lovely, but, the last time I had problems she said, if this doesn't work, then I will have to refer you as I don't know what else to suggest.  So, I think, when I see her next, in 2 weeks, she is going to refer me to the menopause clinic. Although, the wait is months. Unfortunately  I'm not in a position to go private at the moment.

Think I'll try 3 pumps & see how I go.😊

[CLKD]

MayB not 3 pumps every night?  Perhaps this evening then a gap of a couple of nights, otherwise your body may kick back. 

I would ask for the referral, when you get an appt date if you feel better U can cancel. 

[Trish17]

Ahh OK. I did 1 pump this morning, another pump just now  & was going to move to 3 tomorrow, but will do what you suggest.

I'm a bit confused to why, when I stopped the oestrogel, I then started to bleed.
I know I would bleed if I stopped the Utrogestan, but didn't think I would bleed when stopping the Oestrogen.

[CLKD]

That's technical and I don't do technical 

[Trish17]

No worries 👍