Print

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

[Dazedandconfused]

Hi, my last post seems to have disappeared so apologies for posting again or if I did anything wrong.

One month ago I reduced my estrogel from 2 pumps to 1 pump due to bleeding and tender boobs.

Had a scan, lining good, small fibroid but no treatment needed.

Symptoms are being held at bay but now been bleeding again and still have tender boobs

I know increasing dose can cause this and needs to settle down.  Can decreasing also cause this and take time to settle down?

I've been on HRT for 10 months and also take 100 mg Utrogestan every night and vagifem every 3 days.

Thank you.

[Nas]

My post has vanished too! 

I think any changes to the oestrogen dose, can potentially cause bleeding and other symptoms. Bleeding does usually occur when you increase rather than decrease though.

Were you definitely post menopausal when you started HRT ( one year from your last period ?) If not, a sequential regime might suit you better.

It’s good that your lining is thin and the fibroid is small ( keep an eye on that because they can grow!)

Hopefully it will settle, but if not, you may need to decide whether to stick with the utrogestan or change to a different more effective progesterone.

[discogirl]

Hi Dazedandconfused

Well ive been on 3 pumps of gel since feb been ok on it. moved to cyclogest about 10 weeks ago. however for the last 8 weeks my boobs have been so sore and swollen.

my thinking is maybe you need to give your decrease time for your sore boobs to settle down. from my experience ive found any change to my hrt can cause bleeding.

its encouraging your lining is good.

 ive just reduced to 2.5 pumps of gel. ive had no bleeding but i'd be very interested in replies.

sorry i can't be of anymore help but i hope you get sorted xxx

[DottyD68]

I reduced from 3 pumps to 2 when I got large sore tender boobs (in the hot weather). Boobs felt much better within a week (weather had cooled too so not sure if linked) but then had very low mood, lack of motivation, unsociable etc for several weeks. Upp'd it to 2.5 pumps for past 3 weeks and feel okish but not my normal chirpy self. Haven't got the balance right and feel like my own fluctuations aren't helping. Got call with GP tomorrow to discuss dosage. Am wondering whether to gradually come off altogether to see where I am and possibly try and ride through it all as am getting so fed up of continuously changing symptoms depending on dosage.

[discogirl]

Hi DottyD68

I totally get where your coming from.

im post meno are you peri?

to be totally honest Dotty i havent felt like my old self since all this started last february.

i do hope you get sorted whatever you decide to do xxx

[DottyD68]

Sorry I realise I didn't really answer your original question 
What I meant to say is that I have discovered during this "journey" that many symptoms can either be due to too much OR too little oestrogen and in fact I believe it is that also combined with the balance between the oestrogen and progesterone. So you could have enough oestrogen but not enough progesterone or vice versa at any given time.
Hopefully someone with better knowledge will come along and provide a more informed view, this is just what I feel has been happening to me. I haven't got the balance right for any lengthy period of time so continually tweaking.

[DottyD68]

Thanks Discogirl,

I feel I have been pretty resilient and positive over the past 9-10 years of this (last 2 years on sequi HRT) and have dealt with continuously changing symptoms. However the low mood thing is new and really affecting my life. I am becoming more disengaged which isn't like me and I need to sort it out.

I was peri when I started HRT 2 years ago at 53. I can't believe it's going on so long. My monthly bleed now comes while I'm on the utrogestan so I don't know if it's my own cycle still or that I'm not absorbing utrogestan (which I discovered on this forum could be "a thing" I hadn't considered) and it's causing a bleed.
Had a scan in April and all ok. So haven't a clue what's going on or where I'm at.

[discogirl]

Hi Dotty

yes sorry Dotty you're totally right. I think ermin2trude understands the whole estrogen/progesterone ratio really well.

it is all a matter of getting the balance right which is half the battle i think x

 

[Dazedandconfused]

My post has vanished too! 

I think any changes to the oestrogen dose, can potentially cause bleeding and other symptoms. Bleeding does usually occur when you increase rather than decrease though.

Were you definitely post menopausal when you started HRT ( one year from your last period ?) If not, a sequential regime might suit you better.

It’s good that your lining is thin and the fibroid is small ( keep an eye on that because they can grow!)

Hopefully it will settle, but if not, you may need to decide whether to stick with the utrogestan or change to a different more effective progesterone.

Thanks Nas, definitely post menopause, not had a period for 7 years, hence the bleeding and tender boobs have been quite a change for me.   .

[discogirl]

Thanks Discogirl,

I feel I have been pretty resilient and positive over the past 9-10 years of this (last 2 years on sequi HRT) and have dealt with continuously changing symptoms. However the low mood thing is new and really affecting my life. I am becoming more disengaged which isn't like me and I need to sort it out.

I was peri when I started HRT 2 years ago at 53. I can't believe it's going on so long. My monthly bleed now comes while I'm on the utrogestan so I don't know if it's my own cycle still or that I'm not absorbing utrogestan (which I discovered on this forum could be "a thing" I hadn't considered) and it's causing a bleed.
Had a scan in April and all ok. So haven't a clue what's going on or where I'm at.

Hi Dotty

you've had this going on for such a long time.

To be honest i had no issues in peri everything for me everything happened  post but i know for a lot of ladies peri can tbrow a whole new set of challenges.

when i took utro i got constant feelings of dread it was horrific. im on cyclogest and i do still battle anxiety but i do feel a bit better on the cyclogest.

it must so difficult for you not knowing if its your cycle or the utro causing the bleed xx

[DottyD68]

It was crippling muscle spasms and anxiety and jitters (which I'd never had before) that finally made me try HRT. 4 pumps helped both those main symptoms go away but anxiety would creep back from time to time. Anxiety was back again with a vengeance and horrendous around Christmas (had family caring stuff going on too) along with the worst palpitations so i reduced to 3 pumps and it all settled. But then the sore large boobs and bloating kicked in after 3 months, so reduced it again. But by too much maybe? My gut feel is that lower oestrogen is better for me for most of my other symptoms (allergies, anxiety, palpitations) if only I could feel happier, less irritable and less angry. I have a good life and no worries at all (except very ill/ageing parents) and yet, despite wanting to make the most of it, I'm not at the moment. Im sure like everything else it will pass, it just seems to be taking a long time!

[discogirl]

ive been quite settled on 3 pumps since feb but ive put weight on and i will be getting some estrone from those fat cells so maybe thats why i had the very sore swollen boobs. i only decreased by half a pump as i just want to be careful.

anxiety and palpitations are the pits though.

im no expert but doesn't testosterone gel help mood?

[DottyD68]

I have put weight on too and its not from over-eating or lack of exercise!

I will ask GP about testosterone but not holding my breath.

Thanks for your responses x

[discogirl]

To be honest my weight gain is the last of my problems.

If I can get my sleep sorted and the anxiety I will be happy.

Not to sound like a moaning minnie, but I have forgotten the old me. She was such a happy cheerful soul as well  xxx

[Kathleen]

Hello ladies.

I just wanted to sympathise with the frustration of trying to get the balance right. 

It seems that a regime can work well for a time but then something changes and HRT needs tweaking again. I never used HRT during peri so my experience has all been in post meno but the physical and emotional symptoms still resonate with me.

Last night I was imagining that Oestrogen travels around the body and when it supplies all the receptors in your brain for example, you feel emotionally okay but the receptors in muscles or other body parts then feel deprived and start to complain. The Oestrogen then moves on to say your heart and the palpitations stop but now your mood has dipped. All this is silly I know but sometimes I notice some vaginal dryness for about an hour or two and then it goes. Same with my moods. I did have some muscle pain a few weeks ago but not anymore. Some nights I sleep okay but last night hardly at all ( though it was very hot last night apparently). I have also been struggling with irritability lately , mainly in the morning for some reason.

This whole rollercoaster is very annoying but it is so reassuring to learn that other ladies have the same issues and that we are supporting each other in trying to find the right treatment. It is no surprise that some of us are tempted to take a break from HRT altogether!

Apologies for the ramble ladies and I wish you all well.

K.