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[JoannFran]

Good evening everyone

I'm sitting here trying to relax with my heart jumping all over the place and wondered for those of you that suffered with palpitations/heart symptoms/ectopic beats, what do you think helped the most?

I'm 49, peri and on HRT (100 evorel, utro and testosterone).  I've been on HRT for a couple of years.  Before HRT I had the racing heart/anxiety but hardly ever had ectopic beats.  This has increased over the years and I now suffer with them daily and sometimes they are relentless and every other beat.  I've had all the heart tests and been told benign 

I'm on propranolol beta blocker and this has controlled my racing heart but the ectopics have progressively got worse since being on HRT and propranolol.   I tried reducing estrogen but it seemed to aggravate them.

Anyway, just wondered what had helped the most if you've suffered from this?  I'm taking magnesium.  I don't drink, don't have caffeine, exercise daily.    I'm struggling to relax and sit down now as that's when I seem to get them the most.  I'm really not sure how much more I can take  .   It really helps hearing other stories especially if you've found something that helps.

Thank you.

[joziel]

Getting estrogen high enough and optimal stopped mine. What is your serum estradiol level?

[JoannFran]

Hi Joziel, hope you're well!

I last had my estradiol checked in April and it was 390 pmol (whilst on 100 evorel patches).  But I seem to remember at the time that I was feeling 'ok' and the ectopics weren't too bad, so could be that my own estrogen has taken a recent nose dive?

[Seasidegirl]

Hi JoannFran

I'm having similar issues as you know.   Mine does seem to be Utrogestan related. 

On 2 x 200mg last month I felt dreadful,  racing and elevated heartrate,  jitteryness, fatigue etc.  That continued for a week after I stopped the Utro. 

Changed to 1 x 100 (continuous) orally,  better but still racing heartrate.     Changed to vaginal and it's better in terms of heartrate but I still don't feel good. 

I stopped Utro last night to allow for a bleed and I feel so much better already.  I really can't face starting it again. 

I'm seeing a GP tomorrow and I'm going to ask for a referral for Mirena, I'm going to have to give it a go,   I can't find a way to make Utro work. 

I'm peri as well and I'm not convinced that part of the issue isn't that my own Progesterone levels are already high so the utro is increasing too much.   I've no idea if that makes sense.   

My other curve ball is that I've stopped drinking since I started HRT (May), but I have been drinking a 0.5% cider occasionally,  looking back I wonder if I'm having a reaction to that - I've often struggled with sulphates.  I need to try again and it may just be a coincidence 🤷‍♀️

Good luck!  This is really tricky when you can't make the meds work x

[JoannFran]

Hi Seasidegirl (I hope you do live by the seaside!! That’s my dream one day  )

Hope you get on ok tomorrow with GP. I also have an appointment tomorrow with the meno dr so I’m going to talk through my options. I think she’ll suggest mirena again!

Please let me know how your appointment goes! So tricky trying to find the right thing that works!!! Xx

[Seasidegirl]

Good much tomorrow too JoannFran.  I'd be interested in what your meno specialist suggests.  Would you mind updating this thread?

I do live by the seaside,  I love it,  I feel very grounded by the water

[Furyan]

I wrote on another thread recently about this and discovered I had to increase, rather than decrease, my oestrogen dose to help. Now on equivalent of 87.5 patch, which has gone some way to relieving most of it but I don’t think I’ve quite got the progesterone dose right now e.g. I found I had to increase my progesterone as well but wondering whether I’ve done enough as I’m now not peeing as much and breasts are larger and very sore. Some women have those same symptoms on too high oestrogen though and the only way to tell is adjust up or down and see what difference it makes.

[Furyan]

Hi JoannFran

I'm having similar issues as you know.   Mine does seem to be Utrogestan related. 

On 2 x 200mg last month I felt dreadful,  racing and elevated heartrate,  jitteryness, fatigue etc.  That continued for a week after I stopped the Utro. 

Changed to 1 x 100 (continuous) orally,  better but still racing heartrate.     Changed to vaginal and it's better in terms of heartrate but I still don't feel good. 

I stopped Utro last night to allow for a bleed and I feel so much better already.  I really can't face starting it again. 

I'm seeing a GP tomorrow and I'm going to ask for a referral for Mirena, I'm going to have to give it a go,   I can't find a way to make Utro work. 

I'm peri as well and I'm not convinced that part of the issue isn't that my own Progesterone levels are already high so the utro is increasing too much.   I've no idea if that makes sense.   

My other curve ball is that I've stopped drinking since I started HRT (May), but I have been drinking a 0.5% cider occasionally,  looking back I wonder if I'm having a reaction to that - I've often struggled with sulphates.  I need to try again and it may just be a coincidence 🤷‍♀️

Good luck!  This is really tricky when you can't make the meds work x

Sorry I didn’t get back to you on the other thread Seasidegirl. Let us know how the Gp appointment went. Balancing enough progesterone with each oestrogen increase has been tricky to say the least for me! I’m already on 350mg of progesterone and think I might need more to balance the oestrogen. Sometimes I do wonder about the mirena too… 

[Seasidegirl]

Hi Furyann,

I had a really good discussion with the GP, I think I've found a good one!

She's increased my patches to 75 which the other GP refused to do (based on Newson letter), she has also prescribed Testosterone 🙌 which I'm taking from Newson (only a few weeks into the T).

I have abandoned Mirena for now,  I carried out some further research and Mirena potentially  has a higher breast cancer risk than the micronised progesterone.  I'm already high risk (but have balanced against quality of life), so I'm holding off that for now whilst I work through the thyroid issues. 

I've got some further thyroid investigations as I've got a thyroid lump,  I'm pretty convinced some of this is hyperactive thyroid related and she's agreed that assuming the thyroid lump is benign that she'll refer me to an endocrine specialist to look at the hormones as a whole which is great news.   She's also doing some further bloods which should have been done previously but got missed. 

Im going to do the best I can with Utrogestan for now and I may well accept that if that's 14 x 100 and I can still function then I'll go with that for now and pay for a scan next year  (Not discussed with the GP).

[JoannFran]

That’s sounds positive seasidegirl! Glad it went well.

How you feeling about it? Sounds like you have a good plan in place (and a good GP).

I’ve got my appointment at 4pm today.

X

[JoannFran]

I wrote on another thread recently about this and discovered I had to increase, rather than decrease, my oestrogen dose to help. Now on equivalent of 87.5 patch, which has gone some way to relieving most of it but I don’t think I’ve quite got the progesterone dose right now e.g. I found I had to increase my progesterone as well but wondering whether I’ve done enough as I’m now not peeing as much and breasts are larger and very sore. Some women have those same symptoms on too high oestrogen though and the only way to tell is adjust up or down and see what difference it makes.

Thanks Furyan, Glad you're getting there with your dose.  How long did it take when you increased Estrogen to notice a difference in symptoms? xx

[JoannFran]

Just a quick update, dr told me to stop all medication  .  She said she thinks my body could do with a reset as something clearly isn't agreeing with me.  I've taken off my patch and will reduce the propranolol gradually.  I'm to see her once a week whilst doing this and she will also phone me once a week (I think she could tell I'm rock bottom).  She said I might need an AD or maybe a different beta blocker or different HRT but let's see where I'm at.  I'm scared and also strangely positive that hopefully I can see what's causing these awful feelings.  Arggghhh! 

[Seasidegirl]

Just a quick update, dr told me to stop all medication  .  She said she thinks my body could do with a reset as something clearly isn't agreeing with me.  I've taken off my patch and will reduce the propranolol gradually.  I'm to see her once a week whilst doing this and she will also phone me once a week (I think she could tell I'm rock bottom).  She said I might need an AD or maybe a different beta blocker or different HRT but let's see where I'm at.  I'm scared and also strangely positive that hopefully I can see what's causing these awful feelings.  Arggghhh! 

Hi JoannFran, it sounds like you are being well supported which is good.    I can imagine how scary it feels to give it all up! 

Fingers crossed it goes well 🙏

[joziel]

I can't see how it helps to stop all medication. That's just going to create even more fluctuations