Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: LesleyB1964 on January 15, 2019, 10:55:29 PM
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Any help please. I've been on the Sequi Conti 50 patches but wasn't doing the job for me. I still suffer terrible insomnia. So I saw a Gyno and be he's put me Sandrena Estradiol 0.5 mg gel sachet that I rub on my thighs every morning and then in 14 days I use Cyclogest 400mg pessary for 14 days. Does this seem a lot of progesterone? When I started the Conti patch it stopped my very heavy periods but now I have had a few days of bleeding. I really don't want to get depressed with the latter as I've not been too bad now for 5 months apart from sleeping and a bit tearful. Hope someone can help. I'm 54. Thank you
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Hi LesleyB1964
Sorry to hear your first HRT didn't work out. I am puzzled though as to why you have been prescribed this combo? Cyclogest is not licensed for HRT (although it was the first progesterone my GP prescribed for me when I started HRT as utrogestan was not yet available in UK) - only for fertility. Utrogestan is the one you should be given if you want to use progesterone. Your GP will have prescribed this off licence - was this gynae at an NHS meno clinic? Sometimes at specialist clinics off licence regimes are more likely to be prescrobed - but usually only after the regular ones have failed. Is there any reason why he did not prescribe Utrogestan? Also yes - you have been given a low dose of Oestrogen and standard dose of progesterone which is quite high. When I used Cyclogest I used (was prescribed) this dose for 11 days per month with a medium dose patch 50 mcg.
What were your periods doing before you started the first HRT and how long were you on this regime - you say they were heavy but how regular were they - did you have irregular cycles?
Did the Evorel sequi/conti stop your periods completely?
If you were well advanced towards menopause then I would say that oestrogen dose is not high enough and is likely to give you less oestrogen than the 50 mcg patches - although women do absorb oestrogen differently with patch/gel and tablet - what doesn't work one way may work better if another route is chosen.
Hopefully we can help you!
Hurdity x