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[Sunriser]

Had a chat with someone on a menopause FB group-she does one to ones, not a medic but very knowledgeable.
Trying to make some improvements to my health which is very poor and has been deteriorating despite my best efforts.
So I am doing an elimination diet to see if there's something that I'm eating that is causing the migraines/chronic fatigue. I already have ruled out alcohol and I know another one is rapeseed oil.
Felt a bit more energy yesterday but after I put on the gel my head started to spin. I didn't do my morning gel application.
Something she said at our chat was that I was on a very high dose of HRT for someone who is post meno. Last period was when I was 48 and I'm now 54. Doc put me on 3 pumps plus 1 utrogestan.
I don't know what to do now and feel like asking Doc to put me back on the patches! I had an oestradiol test done and that came back with 150 which she said was low and that I wasn't absorbing enough from the Conti 50 patch.

[CLKD]

Hi!  U could reduce the pumps - not all at once but perhaps alternate nights then leave a bigger gap?   C how your body reacts.  Our body doesn't get where it is suddenly so slowly reducing may give you some relief.

Which symptom were you hoping to ease B4 U decided on HRT?  Blood tests are reliably un-reliable!

[Sunriser]

Have been on HRT since a friend spotted the symptoms a few years ago, I had no idea! Constipation, chronic fatigue, pain, weight gain, insomnia never mind feeling like PMS on steroids haha. Biggest issue is also chronic migraines.  I'd had them for years before I knew what they were, gave me stroke symptoms and the horrors. Awful.
So HRT did initially help with everything but then gradually the symptoms have been returning so that's when I went to the consultant although I wasn't too impressed.

[CLKD]

As no one else has responded, mayB put the product name/s into the Forum search box to read the threads.  Make notes ;-)

What was the cause of migraines?  how bad were they, as peri can increase frequency.  I believe that patches are preferred for those with migraines but I am be completely up the wrong tree!

[Mary G]

Sorry to hear about your migraines, I have silent migraines (aura without headache) without a fair bit of medication.  What type of migraines do you have?  Are they with or without aura.

Your oestrogen dose was very low on the patches and I doubt that dose was doing much to relieve your symptoms but three pumps of gel does sound high for someone who is several years post menopause and I would have thought two pumps would be enough.  Before you change your dose it would be worth having an oestrogen blood test to make sure you are absorbing the gel. 

Blood tests very definitely are reliable and they do have value once you are post menopause and your own hormones have stopped fluctuating in the background.  It is the only tool you have available to check how well you are absorbing your HRT.

Hormone manipulation kept my migraines at bay for years but it suddenly stopped working a few years ago so now I have to take 200mg propranolol, 5mg calcium channel blocker and 25mg nortriptyline every day which is quite a cocktail of drugs but at least it works.  Not all migraines improve post menopause (or without HRT) and my particular sub type often gets worse - they are initially caused by low oestrogen/progesterone which in turn leads to a complex chain reaction of unstable hormones, low seratonin levels and high(er) unstable blood pressure. 

I read recently that if you have subclinical hypothyroidism that can also trigger migraines and that it's worth medicating to keep your TSH levels at about 3.00.

So you might need a multi pronged approach but I would start with the blood tests.  Have you had any improvement of symptoms since starting the Oestrogel?

[CLKD]

   Mary G