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[Mazzy31]

Hi everyone,

I’ve never posted on here before but I’m hoping some of you lovely ladies will be able to help me.

I started HRT when I was peri menopausal due to some symptoms starting up….night sweats, itchy skin, heartburn etc. I started on Evorel Sequi then Evorel Conti 50.

Time passed and I had a couple of increases of the patches….meanwhile I can only assume my own hormones were trundling along in the background.

Anyway things took a turn last January 2024. It seemed to coincide with a virus I had, but gut issues, heartburn, night sweats, lightheaded, dizzy, aching arms, and probably more. My doctor put me onto an additional 25mcg patch with the 100 I was already on. This didn’t help, so I started freaking out that maybe it wasn’t hormone related at all.

I’ve been at the docs constantly this last year. I’ve also been diagnosed with gastritis via endoscopy.

I finally paid private to have blood tests done which showed my oestrogen was really low. So it appears I’ve not been absorbing from the patches. I spoke to my gp and she put me on 2 pumps of gel.  Ever since starting this, I have had such bad gut/bowel problems. I don’t think I’ve had a solid stool in the two weeks since I started. My heartburn has flared up, I’m constantly having diarrhoea and extremely loose stools and I’m just feeling awful. Has anyone had this reaction to switching to gel? I don’t know what to do but I can’t go on like this hoping it will settle 😢

[CLKD]

Awful ain't it.

 

It was recognised that Covid-19 upset hormone levels in that women were getting bleeds after years without.

Also 2 pumps may be too much to soon.  The night B4 a bleed I would howl and 10 mins B4 the bleed I would have to 'dash', even when a period wasn't due.  So from where I'm sitting, it's hormonal.  Which doesn't help the symptoms !

Which gel was prescribed?  Do U still have womb because you will need a progesterone too.

[Mary G]

That all sounds familiar! 

We have so many posts about bowel issues on here and particularly loose bowels and diarrhoea.  There's a very close link between gut health and hormones so the menopause causes an upheaval to the gut and so does HRT.  It's worth having a look online where there is information about menopausal diarrhoea etc.  Also read up on functional diarrhoea and bile acid diarrhoea both of which are common with the menopause.  Sometimes HRT can set off gallbladder problems too.

I've had IBS forever but it became much worse 20 years ago with the menopause - in my case bowel issues are closely linked to migraines.  I consulted a gastroenterologist a few years ago and it was very helpful.  They explained that there are many oestrogen receptors in the gut so HRT will wake them up and this often results in loose stools. 

I would persevere with the gel for now but if the diarrhoea becomes unbearable, you might have to switch to something else.  You could also see if Imodium helps but obviously that's not a long term solution.

Are you using Estrogel in the blue bottle? 

[Mazzy31]

I’ve only just seen the responses to my post back in February.

Thank you both so much for responding.

I’ve actually just made another post hence the reason for seeing these replies. I’m in a bit of a mess really x