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[Penguin]

Hi Penguin,

So good to know there is hope after taking HRT, as I do enjoy the Oestrogen part but a Hysterectomy is a very drastic action for a  way to take it.
I am having Tofu tomorrow for phytoestrogens also need dry eye drops & take sea buckthorn even whilst on HRT so hope they will still be adequate?
I shall up dose of yes 
Not sure where to get melatonin is it a hormone are you in the UK?
 
Try to come off for a few months at least to see where I am.
So any other tips - all will be appreciated as it does feel very drastic!

Best wishes for the au natural journey all of us in it together!
LB

Melatonin helps your sleep / wake cycle. It is only available on prescription in the UK, but you can get it otc in the US, Singapore plus some European countries like Finland and Spain. I was getting it brought back for me, but my psychiatrist was happy to prescribe as its a lot less of an issue than a sleeping pill. I get a lovely 8 hours sleep now and don't know if that is the melatonin or the anti depressant.

[Kathleen]

Hello ladies.

Penguin - I have been using HRT for about ten years but I have never felt good on it, or if I do feel better it is only temporary.  I also take an AD , Venlafaxine also known as Effexor and this is supposed to help with sleep.  I wonder if this is the same AD that you are using?  I would be grateful to know if you have been prescribed something else which may be a better option.
 

I am currently using both HRT and an AD but still having issues, mainly anxiety, tiredness and low mood. I came off all HRT a few years ago and my VA symptoms increased and the frequent tearfulness turned into crying spells. I managed for a while but then went back on it.  I often think of giving up on HRT again as I long for some emotional and physical stability!

Wishing you well and take care.

K.

[Penguin]

Hello ladies.

Penguin - I have been using HRT for about ten years but I have never felt good on it, or if I do feel better it is only temporary.  I also take an AD , Venlafaxine also known as Effexor and this is supposed to help with sleep.  I wonder if this is the same AD that you are using?  I would be grateful to know if you have been prescribed something else which may be a better option.
 

I am currently using both HRT and an AD but still having issues, mainly anxiety, tiredness and low mood. I came off all HRT a few years ago and my VA symptoms increased and the frequent tearfulness turned into crying spells. I managed for a while but then went back on it.  I often think of giving up on HRT again as I long for some emotional and physical stability!

Wishing you well and take care.

K.

Hi Kathleen
I take Fluoxetine (aka prozac) as I have health concern OCD as well as generalised anxiety. I hadn't realised it would help the flushes and had asked for the one that is well known for doing that, but the psychiatrist said that one is a hard one to come off of so wanted me to try fluoxetine first. The thing I was told and which has turned out to be true is that for OCD you need higher doses to stop the looping thoughts than with general anxiety. So I am on 40mg now, whereas with citalopram (the other ssri id tried via my GP), I'd only managed 10mg. I was also told fluoxetine is more of a stimulant than some other ssri meds, hence why he gave me the melatonin. I don't actually know now whether I still need the melatonin or not, so I'm going to try over the Christmas hols to stop taking it and see what happens. But the flushes going is defo down to the fluoxetine as melatonin wouldn't impact that. It is worth speaking to your GP to see if a change or ssri may be worth it, but please make sure they give you a toolkit to manage any initiation side effects.

[Ladybird 2]

Thank you all for your very helpful information!

What is the advice for weaning off HRT is it 1/2 patch per week?

I will see if it is possible to get melatonin - at the moment I use Nytol which I believe is a antihistamine.

Many thanks,

LB   

[CLKD]

Nytol   

[Penguin]

Thank you all for your very helpful information!

What is the advice for weaning off HRT is it 1/2 patch per week?

I will see if it is possible to get melatonin - at the moment I use Nytol which I believe is a antihistamine.

Many thanks,

LB 

You can get it online from the US from a company called Biovea. My son has adhd and the only melatonin here is the hard tablets that I take, but which he won't swallow. I was recommended Biovea because they do gummies. But I wouldn't take more than 2mg, anything above that is used for jet lag or serious sleep issues beyond hormonal insomnia. 2mg is what you'd get if you had it from a GP here but I think you'd be unlikely to get a GP to prescribe it and would need a psychiatrist.

[orrla]

52 is early days...

[DottyD68]

Hi Ladies,

Am interested to hear any updates on stopping HRT?

I have gradually reduced mine again to half a patch as I felt the HRT was causing more symptoms than helping. I am managing any/most niggly reoccuring symptoms that appear for a few days at a time in my "cycle". However I have recently been hit by a surge of anxiety and fuzzy headache (that I previously felt I got when I was on too much HRT) so I don't know whether this is a sign to try stopping again or a sign I need more. If I also had all the other symptoms that I've had previously eg insomnia to indicate I need more I would increase, but I haven't (at the moment).

Anyone know what the signs that the HRT is topping up your hormones too much?

Thanks

[discogirl]

Hi DottyD68

I've just noticed this post.

The first time I was estrogen dominant or not absorbing the progesterone my boobs were really really sore, (which I knew was an indication, for me anyway of too much estrogen) then I had a massive bleed.

 I came off hrt for 3 months whilst they done scans and biopsy's and things and in March of this year I restarted hrt again, things were fine until October time, I had no sore boobs or anything but i had a really heavy bleed, I had a hysteroscopy and biopsy all fine, but I decided to stop the hrt on 1st November with no plan to go back on it.

 I've since been using magnesium glycinate and night and trying stuff like guided therapy etc for sleep.

[DottyD68]

Thanks for replying discogirl.

Good to hear it's going ok so far without HRT for you. My main reason for going on it (after 7 years of trying to manage wildly fluctuating symptoms/hormones) was because of terrible muscle pain/cramps in my thighs. I am quite sporty so for me that was debilitating and HRT has improved it. But since then 3.5 years ago, it feels like I just move from one new symptom to another as my hormones fluctuate. I feel like things settle for a month or two then I have a step change and either new symptoms appear or old ones reappear. The HRT has never really worked for me enough for it to be a gamechanger. I still don't understand how it can work successfully in perimenopause when your own hormones are fluctuating so much.

I am hoping to come off it again in the New Year, just to see what my own body is actually doing (rather than wonder if it is the HRT exacerbating things). I also have a couple of external stressors which I'm sure are affecting me and contributing to anxiety. But before I do stop HRT I need to get on top of an ongoing dry throat/dry cough issue which could be caused by a number of things....including low oestrogen 

It's just like one long brain-frazzling puzzle 

Happy New Year X

[discogirl]

Hi DottyD68

I understand how maddening fluctuating hormones must are. I also totally get one symptom seemingly gets resolved only to be replaced by another.

To be fair I would still be on hrt but I got fed up of bleeding, it was the third bleed I'd had.

My anxiety has been bad however I do have GAD as well.

I do hope you get sorted whatever you decide to do.

Happy New Year xxx

[Kathleen]

Hello again ladies.

As I said before, I am tempted to come off HRT as I feel that I am on an emotional rollercoaster every day and it is exhausting.

My moods include tearfulness and feeling low and overwhelmed but I also have times when I feel back to normal, other times feel upbeat and optimistic.  My trusty meno book says that  moods swings from elation to despondency are common during the menopause so that is reassuring!

The last time I came off HRT several physical symptoms returned which I could cope with but the emotional symptoms were more extreme and I had many crying episodes. Nevertheless perhaps I should try again and push through in the hope that things settle.

My menopause nurse said she thought that I just wanted to be on an even keel, you can say that again!


Wishing you well ladies and take care.

K.

[DottyD68]

Hi Kathleen,

Have just seen your last post. Just an update. I was down to half a patch for several weeks then a couple of weeks ago I stopped the patches to see where I stand.

It is very early days but, so far, mentally I feel much better. Less stressed, anxious and panicky. Not thinking about the HRT in itself just helps me and stops me over-analysing myself all the time.

Physically I have felt good. The only symptom I have is waking in the early hours and not properly going back to sleep. I'm not sure if that is my own hormones (or lack of them) or my husband inadvertently waking me when he gets up for the loo! I will see how that goes.

Although this forum is a fantastic help I have stopped reading it so often as I was finding it was feeding my health anxiety and making me question everything even more. I still check in every so often but not so much, which also reduces my stress.

I hope whatever you decide to do you start to feel better. I will update again at some point. X

[Kathleen]

Hello DottyD68

Thank you so much for your response.

I agree that worrying about the effect of the HRT has become another stress that I can do without!

This forum has been very helpful to me over the years but I can understand that all the information can feel overwhelming at times and taking a break is a good idea.

Thanks again and I look forward to reading your updates when you feel ready to post them.

Take care.

K.

[Hannah2041]

I have been on HRT oestrogen gel since September last year.
I started off on 2 pumps a day plus 1 progesterone tablet every evening. The progesterone was due to having had a subtotal hysterectomy last year so I needed progesterone when taking HRT.
The 2 pumps didn't work completely so at my review appointment my GP suggested I try 3 pumps of HRT gel a day plus the progesterone. I very quickly realised that 3 pumps of oestrogen or the 2 progesterone were affecting my mental gealth so I started reducing the amount of HRT and progesterone. Went back down to 2 pumps of oestrogen for a few weeks and then a few weeks ago I reduced down to 1 pump of HRT and 1 progesterone as i decided to see if I could manage without HRT if I msde lifestyle changes.
When I started reducing the HRT gel, I also started making lifestyle changes so I really made sure that my diet is as healthy as possible and I'm getting the correct nutrients to keep my body healthy without HRT