Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Annabanana]

Hi.
I'm hoping someone can give me advice. I'm post menopause (56) and have been on evorel conti for years. I recently found it not working and felt I needed more oestrogen.  I was very tired and low in energy, sleep was poor and just not feeling like I had the energy to do my job.
I switched to 100 utrogestan and 2 pumps of get. All good for first 10 days but by day 14 I was a complete zombie. Waking up felt like coming out of an operation and the heart racing.  I then after an hour of waking couldn't do my job from complete fatigue. Stopped taking the utrogestan for last 2 nights . Feeling a lot more energy and more like myself after initial anxiety in the morning.  Can't get to see anyone until Monday.  I don't know what to do. Should I stop everything or would it be OK to use gel still. Or should I go back on utrogestan after 2 nights without? I'm working this weekend so can't be zombiefied. Any help would be great for the here and now and also about suggestions for Monday when I see nurse as they rush the appointment so I need to be able to advise them . But I don't have a clue what to suggest.

Many thanks in advance

[sheila99]

Utrogestan has the same effect on me. Do you take it at night? Most people find they're OK by morning though I wasn't. Taking oestrogen on it's own won't do you any harm until you can get an appointment though obviously not long term. There are other options for progestogens, see the Treatments tab. I used norethisterone (half the tablet as the 5mg dose is far too much), now I have a mirena which gives me no side effects. 2 pumps gel is equivalent to the dose you were getting on the conti patch so you may find you need to increase it, though it's possible you'll absorb it differently.

[Annabanana]

Thank you Sheila 99
Yes i take it at night on an empty stomach.  I was fine for 2 weeks but then by day 14 it was like my body was progesterone overloaded, couldn't stay awake , tearful and massive fatigue weight. I felt trapped in my own skin. Never thought about possibly upping my oestrogel to balance so I will ask about that. I just don't think my body can cope with too much progesterone. 

[bombsh3ll]

You could try taking the utrogestan vaginally so that it doesn't get converted to sedating metabolites.

Alternatively you could use a sequential regime ie taking progesterone 2 weeks out of 4 (however the dose would need to increase).

Or you could switch to either the IUS or an oral progestin - none of these are sedating.

Tibolone is also an option for progesterone intolerant women.

[sheila99]

If you are OK on it for 14 days another option would be a sequi regime which is 12 days. You'll have a bleed and they won't like it much but the specialist agreed to it for me because of the side effects. It's worth trying vaginally but although it sorts out digestive issues it doesn't seem to make much difference to the doping effect

[bombsh3ll]

If you are OK on it for 14 days another option would be a sequi regime which is 12 days. You'll have a bleed and they won't like it

How on earth would they know? They aren't the knicker police! Since you would be taking twice the dose for less than or equal to half the time, you do not need to get your prescription altered as the number of capsules you need per month overall is unchanged.

[Annabanana]

You could try taking the utrogestan vaginally so that it doesn't get converted to sedating metabolites.

Alternatively you could use a sequential regime ie taking progesterone 2 weeks out of 4 (however the dose would need to increase).

Or you could switch to either the IUS or an oral progestin - none of these are sedating.

Tibolone is also an option for progesterone intolerant women.

Thank you bombsh3ll for the advice. Lots of food for thought for Monday. I think its going to be trial and error unfortunately but I'm interested in the Tibolone idea.

[Annabanana]

If you are OK on it for 14 days another option would be a sequi regime which is 12 days. You'll have a bleed and they won't like it much but the specialist agreed to it for me because of the side effects. It's worth trying vaginally but although it sorts out digestive issues it doesn't seem to make much difference to the doping effect

Thank you Sheila 99
I don't have any digestive issues other than the bloating so doesn't sound like vaginally would make a difference.  But the sequi is a possible option too as I was fine for the first 14 days?  maybe an option.
Its complicated trying to work out if it's progesterone intolerance, not enough oestrogen or if it's the gel not absorbing. I suppose there's no quick fix to this but it's hard to play around trying to find the right remedy when the symptoms are quite disabling when you need to work  .

[joziel]

I think you need more estrogen.... If you were on Evorel Conti, that is 50mcg. You wanted more estrogen than that and were switched to.... 2 pumps of gel. Which is actually equivalent to 50mcg in a patch, it's not any more. And you can also absorb it differently.

If I were you I'd try another pump of gel and I'd either stop the progesterone for a few more days so you can figure out what is caused by what, here... Or take the progesterone vaginally to see if that helps. Bloating does sound like progesterone to me, hopefully you will get used to it or taking it vaginally avoid it. You can also take it rectally...

By the way, if you were absorbing Evorel Conti well it would have made more sense to put you on Evorel (estrogen only) patch at 75mcg increasing to 100mcg if needed. Rather than switching you to gel, a totally different product. Have you had bloods run to see how well you are absorbing?

[sheila99]

You could stop the progestogen for a couple of weeks so you can see how you are on oestrogen only, if it's for a short time it won't do you any harm. I agree it would have been preferable to stay on evorel patches. 2 pumps gel is only the equivalent of the conti patch and if you don't absorb gel so well you might actually be getting less now than you did before. An evorel 75 patch might have been a better option.

[Annabanana]

Thank you ladies for all your support.  As an update I went to see nurse today. She said I hadn't given it enough time initially and said I couldn't increase it to 3 pumps as she would have to increase the utrogestan.  I told her I'd been advised I could go to 3 pumps on 100 utrogestan.  She then looked it up and told me, "well just use 3 pumps then". I did ask about patches but she said i had to wait 8 weeks to see if that worked. It was very unpleasant experience unfortunately.  She said they could treat the physical symptoms of menopause but not the psychological and extra oestrogen can cause mental health in women! I did feel like I was a nuisance and felt I had to justify seeking help by reiterating the symptoms I was experiencing were preventing me from continuing to work , and that was why I was reaching out. So I will have to see how I get on on 3 pumps for the next 8 weeks.  I will look to use utrogestan vaginally and alter my dose where necessary as the support and advice from this site has been much more helpful and informative. 
Thank you to everyone who has reached out with suggestions 🙏 it has really been so helpful especially in light of my experience today