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[Katherine]

Or, in other words, if I stop it all now, am I likely to have a rubbish Christmas???

Am 49, in peri, been taking estrogel (1-2 pumps) and utrogestan (200mg x 12 days) since January. The utrogestan phase has been getting worse and worse since the summer, and I simply cannot tolerate another month of it.

At least 3 months wait to get a coil put in on NHS. I am planning to see a private specialist early in the NY instead to see if I can persuade them to let me do lower dose utrogestan with scans. I'm too scared to risk it without supervision, so if they say no, then I'm going to try one of the coils and get that put in privately at the same appointment.

But I need to do something NOW. I took 100mg utrogestan rather than 200mg last night and today was better, not perfect but better. I am due to take the last one for this month on Thursday - there is no way I am taking 200mg for next three nights, i just can't.

I don't know what to do in the short term, thinking of stopping hrt entirely for a month or two and then starting afresh with the private guy in January. Or slowly reducing over a few weeks,  but would welcome ideas on how to do that? Estrogel alternate days maybe 🤷‍♂️

So back to original question,  any idea how long before symptoms come back and any idea which will come back first please? My main ones were hot flushes at night which would wake me up with a start at 4am, constipation and increased health anxiety. I can handle the physical but not the anxiety- the estrogel has helped that but then it is all undone the minute I have to put utrogestan into my body 😥

Please help 🙏🙏🙏

Penguin I’m 47 and I take 100mg utrogestan continuously and 3 pumps Oestrogel, 2 in morning, 1 in early evening. I could never tolerate 200mg utrogestan- 100mg is plenty to do the job. My gp put me on that dose. It makes me sleep deeply. I have tried coming off hrt a couple of times in the past and was around the 9 day mark I started to feel I had to go back on it. More recently however I found just one night without utrogestan made me not sleep. So if I were you I would have a little break to get your progesterone levels down a bit, then go on 100mg utrogestan continuously. Xxx

[GraceM]

Have you tried using the utrogestan vaginally instead of orally?  Apparently this can help negative side effects from the oral route, though doesn't work for everyone.  You can take 100mg per night if it works ok for you, but it may cause different bleeding patterns. 

[Penguin]

Have you tried using the utrogestan vaginally instead of orally?  Apparently this can help negative side effects from the oral route, though doesn't work for everyone.  You can take 100mg per night if it works ok for you, but it may cause different bleeding patterns.

I've only ever used it vaginally due to having gastritis previously, I just cannot take anything on an empty tummy. I have put in a call to my GP re the 100mg. I did a number of nights at 100mg last month, still not great, but better than the 200mg nights.

[Katherine]

Penguin I've just deleted my most recent post and sent you a message instead.x

[Bass1979]

Penguin

Thanks for this post, I was on the patch for 6 weeks yes I know not long but was having migraines 2-3 times a week really affecting my every day life.
I was only on 25mg oestrogen as had a hysterectomy. However 4 days ago I came off it I could not tolerate it anymore. I did speak to my Gp no help whats so ever just made me so emotional.
4 days off the patch and 3 days of headaches have a headache while writing this, it’s getting me so low and making my health anxiety bad I just don’t know what to do any more.
Gp saying stay of the patch and try antidepressants I don’t know if that’s the best thing to do but clearly the patch does not agree with me.

Any advice ?

[Hurdity]

Hi Penguin

Sorry to hear about your issues with utrogestan - the devil's weed!

When I stopped HRT suddenly some years ago - I went back on it after 3 months but it was before that when symptoms began creeping back - first the night-time overheating ( like when I first started becoming menopausal) which woke me up so I tossed and turned in bed, and then the sweats and flushes came back. What was worse were symptoms that I didn't have before which included a horrible pelvic-ache, a sort of heaviness ( presumably as everything dropped due to muscle laxity?).  Also started to get the hot spotty itchy blotchy hot face - some form of menopausal acne though not acen type spots. All disappeared when I restarted HRT, never to return and I'm now 70....

Of course we all react differently, but in your position I would probably not want to risk the low oestrogen symptoms returning in time for Christmas and there would be no harm for a couple of months, in using 100 mg Utrogestan for day 14 days, instead of 200 mg - you are not going to develop endometrial hyperplasia in that time.

Also if you are still peri-menopausal, depending on when you ovulate, you will still be producing your own progesterone some months, which will help reduce the lining.

I am only suggesting this reduction in licensed dose on the basis that you are peri-menopausal and it's only for 2-3 months to tied you over Christmas until you manage to get the coil fitted hopefully?

All the best with whatever you decide anyway.

Hurdity x

[Penguin]

Penguin

Thanks for this post, I was on the patch for 6 weeks yes I know not long but was having migraines 2-3 times a week really affecting my every day life.
I was only on 25mg oestrogen as had a hysterectomy. However 4 days ago I came off it I could not tolerate it anymore. I did speak to my Gp no help whats so ever just made me so emotional.
4 days off the patch and 3 days of headaches have a headache while writing this, it’s getting me so low and making my health anxiety bad I just don’t know what to do any more.
Gp saying stay of the patch and try antidepressants I don’t know if that’s the best thing to do but clearly the patch does not agree with me.

Any advice ?

I don't know tbh, I have given up on day 6 and started the gel again, it was getting too bad for me 🤷‍♂️

[Penguin]

Hi Penguin

Sorry to hear about your issues with utrogestan - the devil's weed!

When I stopped HRT suddenly some years ago - I went back on it after 3 months but it was before that when symptoms began creeping back - first the night-time overheating ( like when I first started becoming menopausal) which woke me up so I tossed and turned in bed, and then the sweats and flushes came back. What was worse were symptoms that I didn't have before which included a horrible pelvic-ache, a sort of heaviness ( presumably as everything dropped due to muscle laxity?).  Also started to get the hot spotty itchy blotchy hot face - some form of menopausal acne though not acen type spots. All disappeared when I restarted HRT, never to return and I'm now 70....

Of course we all react differently, but in your position I would probably not want to risk the low oestrogen symptoms returning in time for Christmas and there would be no harm for a couple of months, in using 100 mg Utrogestan for day 14 days, instead of 200 mg - you are not going to develop endometrial hyperplasia in that time.

Also if you are still peri-menopausal, depending on when you ovulate, you will still be producing your own progesterone some months, which will help reduce the lining.

I am only suggesting this reduction in licensed dose on the basis that you are peri-menopausal and it's only for 2-3 months to tied you over Christmas until you manage to get the coil fitted hopefully?

All the best with whatever you decide anyway.

Hurdity x

Thanks you Hurdity,  I'm defo peri menopausal and actually probably still in what you called the late reproductive stage on another post earlier. My periods were monthly before hrt, but came as early as 25/26 days or as late as 33/34 days and were shorter amd lighter than before - big variation for me as I was always 30 days like clockwork when I was younger. I'd also had lots of symptoms including crippling anxiety, hotness at night sleep issues etc. I do ovulate most months, maybe all. So you've reassured me by saying it'd be okay to do 100mg for Nov and Dec cycles,  and I plan on seeing the private doctor in January anyway.  I defo cant be doing the 200mg during the Christmas week, it'd be awful. Waiting to hear what GP says too but he has not been re utrogestan so far, despite me only doing one pump of gel most months. Thanks for your advice.