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[Peri-wrecked]

Hello lovely ladies,

I wont bore you with my history as I note I tend to go off on canter and my posts get too long winded.  Anyway, I started my HRT on the 10th of May -initially it was 2 sparys of Lenzetto and 1 utrogestan 100mg for 14 days. I took the spray in the morning and the utrogestan tablet at night before bed on the advice of friends of mine who said the progesterone could make me sleepy.  I had a 4 week review with my GP on the 4th of June and she suggested upping my spray to 3 pumps a day and then upping the utrogestan to 2 and take it continuously, she also said if that wasn't working I could up my spray to 4 sprays and increase the utrogestan to 3 tablets daily throughout the month - she had originally prescribed patches but pharmacy has shortage so had to get spray (widespread shortage in the area regarding the good patches as I was told and no idea when they will have a good supplu as some weeks they have them and other weeks they dont).  Anyway, I have upped my dose to 3 sprays and 2 progesterone at the moment as I wanted to do it gradually so that I could see what was working and what wasn't.  So, I am about 3 weeks on that regime and honestly I haven't noticed much changes.  I had a lot of hot sweats at the start (i had them anyway but they got much worse), I was dripping sweat at work, it was awful, my breasts had become extra tender but seem to have settled plus  I just had my period and I am feeling low today as I feel a shift in my hormones.  I am just wondering, how long should I give this regime before increasing up to 4 sprays and 3 utrogestan?  Should I be seeing some sort of improvement at this stage or is it far too early?
I know people advise give it 3 months at least and others say they noticed a huge difference within a few weeks?  how will i know if I am absorbing the spray and the utrogestan properly?  No blood tests were done to see what my hormones levels were at the time so should I be getting those done to see if I am absorbing it?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  thank you very much. 

[Jnine]

Hi there I was on the gel and utrogestan and didn't feel any relief as soon as I switched to patches everol sequi I felt immediate relief. they say to give it it 3 months but I thi8nk getting the correct dose you should feel something relief quickly? I was afraid of the patches as my friend had a bad experience with them so was loathed to try them myself but I did and they have been a saviour for me personally. Speak to your doctor and see what they say as you should be feeling better now? good luck 

[Jnine]

I meant to say I was on the gel and utrogestan for 18 months with nothing!! before I switched to patches.

[Peri-wrecked]

Hi Jnine,
Thanks for replying to me. How soon after changing from gel to patches did you notice a difference?  I just want some relief. My mood is rock bottom at the moment and I know it's not my usual self.  I'm mainly taking HRT for my mood to be honest. I could handle most of the other symptoms but low mood isn't one I can handle too much. I'll up my dose to 4 sprays and if that doesn't work then I'll switch to something else.  I'd give my right arm to be my former happy self.  Thank you for reaching out.

[bombsh3ll]

Lenzetto is known to be quite weak generally, and gel or spray is the least reliable formulation, although some women do well on it.

If you are perimenopausal there is little point checking estrogen levels as they are changing all the time anyway so not clinically helpful.

Additionally it is difficult to get any meaningful information checking estrogen levels on gel or spray as it peaks very quickly after applying then falls to low levels within the plasma.

My advice would be not to be afraid of oral estradiol if you can't get the patches you want and gel isn't working.

Oral tablets are much more convenient and reliable and don't dictate your daily routine.

The difference in thrombotic risk is not clinically significant in healthy users, yet many women struggle with messy, ineffective and high maintenance transdermal forms because they are needlessly afraid of oral.

[sheila99]

Are you peri or meno? It seems odd to have started you on sequi but only for a month before conti. Did she say why? The progestogen can cause problems so if you stay on sequi you can see what f you're better on oestrogen only phase.