Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Cadgwith Girl on December 05, 2019, 04:31:46 PM
-
Hi ladies,
Could you let me know which HRT you have had the most success with.
I'm currently off work due to a variety of issues (which some of you know about already through reading my other posts) including perimenopausal depression and anxiety. I cannot afford to be off work for much longer and don't want to be anyway.
In short I want to feel more like my old self and be able to cope in my job for the next few years at least! I no longer have a significant other in my life so I've GOT to find a way to get back to work and feel mentally stable in my job and earn an income which helps me to get by, rather than waking up every morning and not knowing from one minute to the next if I'm going to be okay or run and hide in the nearest toilet to have a good cry! It also doesn't look good to pupils when you come out of the toilet with very red eyes!!! I want to feel passionate about my job again and be able to cope with the pressures and demands of it! I always thought I would be in education until I choose to retire, not be forced out of it early due to menopause symptoms!
I know everyone is different when it comes to HRT but some successes might help me to make a more informed decision.Thankyou. :o
Cadgwith Girl
-
Oestrogel, utrogestan and Testosterone .....works for me.xx
-
Thanks, Dotty,
I'm on the same wavelength as you. I'm thinking about utrogestan for the progesterone side of things because I used to suffer horribly from PMT when I was younger. It only got better when I gave up coffee and caffeine. I was never able to cope with a coil or the pill when I was younger either. However, things might be different now due to dropping levels of hormones.
xx
-
No advice I'm afraid Cadwithgirl, I'll leave that to the more experienced members.
I just want to tell you that you have my full sympathy, and that teachers like yourself are simply wonderful. It's obvious that you are very dedicated to your profession and your pupils. I really hope you find something to help very soon.💜
Hi Lola,
What a lovely thing to say! If I had my way, I would still be a full time teacher and dedicate all my time to teaching now that I no longer have a SO in my life. My passion has always been teaching but I currently don't have the energy or mental capacity to cope with it; the brain fog doesn't help either! So now I'm trying to settle for the next best alternative which is being a teaching assistant. That way I can still make a difference to children's education and know exactly what I am doing when I am working with children!
xx
-
I will award gold stars all round to those of you ladies who can help me to find the right HRT which will give me back the quality of life I used to have and help me to work until normal retirement age, rather than being forced to cut it short due to this phase of our lives!!!
:rofl:
xx
-
hi there
estrogel ain't suiting me ! hairloss heavy head fatigue emotionally up and down
every women is different though and what works for one won't necessarily work for another it's how your body responds to hormones after all they are all artificial
-
Hi there
I tried to look back at your posts but couldn't easily find the info regarding menopause ie what your periods are doing and how far into or near to menopause you are and what symptoms re flushes and sweats. ie what is your cycle length and flow?
I have always had success with patches and have been using them for 12 + years. So depending where in menopause you are, you could try these ( or gel as Dotty said) along with utrogestan. Can be taken cyclically or continuously depending where you are in menopause. I find it too sedating so I still take it cyclically (and vaginally) even though I am well post-meno in mid 60's Maybe I've already said this elsewhere? Sorry if I have already?
Also can't remember how old you are! I know you have to be completely on the ball with teaching - in the past I have worked with children and there is no way I could have done this feeling in any way under par....
Hope you manage to find something that works for you :)
Hurdity x
-
Hi Sammiejane,
Thanks for your info
Cadgwith Girl
xx
-
Hi Cadgwith Girl - I am a success story but downside - it too a few years!
Tried 6 forms of hrt over 10 years, mind you one of them I was on for 6 years but didn't know enough to know it wasn't working properly. What works for me is oestrogel, utrogestan on a cycle (can't take continuous progesterone) and one blob (was 2) of testosterone a week. I now feel better than I have in 20 years (turns out hormones were up the left prior to meno, but hey ho, we live and learn!).
Good luck.
-
Hi Ladybt28,
Thankyou for this. It's the route I'm thinking of trying.
Cadwith Girl xx
-
Hi Hurdity,
I didn't think to state where I am with menopause! :o
I'm 49 years old and have definitely been in perimenopause since December 2017 because that's when I started having hot flashes. However, I think I have been in perimenopause going back as far as 2014 because that is when I started having mood swings.
My periods are generally very light. Last year I went through a phase of going three months at a time without a period and then they reverted to normal whilst I was using natural remedies: agnus castus, black cohosh, dong quai, ashwaganda and milk thistle. However, these remedies stopped working this year.
I have generally managed to stave of hot flashes and night sweats due to vigilance with my diet: no sugar, no caffeine, no alcohol (almost). I always know when too much sugar has crept back into my diet as the hot flashes start up again.
I have suffered with many other perimenopausal symptoms on and off too: nausea, insomnia, depression, anxiety, palpitations etc.
Currently, my periods have gone awry again. Not had one for 6 weeks now.
-
Hi Cadgwith Girl, My quality of life is far better since being on HRT, so many symptoms totally resolved others vastly improved. I'm on my second combination initially everol sequi then everol 75 patches & progesterone tablets 5mg continous. Due to stocking issues I am waiting on a gel prescription from my GP, will let you know how that goes, feeling a bit aprehensive with changing but hopefully it will be straightforward ;).
For me it was a no brainer Cadgwith girl due to my age 41yrs I am taking it for heart and bone health aswell as symptom control. x
-
hi dotty
did u start estrogel and utrogestan and testosterone altogether ?
-
hi can you advise how i start my own thread then !
my apologies i assumed i had the freedom to ask questions wherever
-
Hi :-)
I'm on Oestrogel, utrogestan and testosterone. I was using Estradot patches til they ran out and I swapped to gel.
It's working for me, although I had to add fluoxetine and counselling to the cocktail to get over the dreadful depression I had got into.
Good luck x
-
Cadgwith Girl,
I think it's more tricky to get the HRT balance during peri as you've got the complication of your own hormone kicking in at various times. So you may find that one treatment works for a while, then as your own hormones decrease you might need to change to something different or change dosage.
I started on Femosten when in peri. Was on it for 12-18m and came off due to side effects, to find that I didn't get another period and was post meno. I had some time off HRT (about 2yrs), as I thought other HRT would give me the same side effects, and ended up physically and emotionally wrecked and very desperate. Saw a gynaecologist and went on Tibolone for around 2yrs (added extra testosterone in the last 6m as I wasn't getting the T effects that I got when I started it). Didn't feel I was getting the balance right with the testosterone so back to gynacologist and changed to Sandrena, Utrogestan, and testosterone around a year ago. Did a couple of tweaks with the Utrogestan in the first few months and recently with the testosterone and this is working really well for me ATM.
HTH,
S
-
Hi ladies,
Thankyou all so much for your input. It really is helping me to make up my mind about which route to try for HRT.
I also really don't mind someone else jumping in on my thread; again it's all connected to what I have been asking about the benefits/side effects of taking HRT and we all need help and advice along the way.
All I can say is that we really need to support each other on here.
Love to you all, suffering or suceeding!
Cadgwith Girl xx
-
hi
i realized that the success of estrogel for a lot of ladies seems to be when utrogestan is also taken !
together with testosterone
so i'm going to now try this and see !
-
HI,
For me it was real trial and error.
In the end i ivented my own regieme!! Which my GP has agreed to prescribe- after some persuasive debate.
I am now on Femeston 1mgs - it is the only progesterone that suits me. Tried several others.
I then add patches of whatever Oestrogen the pharmacy has. At the mo. i am using 100mcg. Bingo. Symptoms have all gone.
My symptoms were varied. Horrendus anxiety with horrible head fog. Cold for long periods then hot for long periods. BUrning legs, itching, couldn't be bothered with anything, non compliant bladder, burning undercarriage and what really sent me to the Dr for HRT was the delighful drenching night sweats and insomnia. NOw all but gone. At first, i would get some relief, but my symptoms woudl return, so i upped the dose, changed etc, now with the patches i can be quite flexible about upping and lowering my dose according to how i feel.
50 last week :'( Peri , when started HRT april 18, but who knows at this time what it is up to, but i'm not bothered as long as i am symptom free. Periods had been getting shorter and lighter since about 45 yr, but didn't realise how bad orhow many symptoms were related until Oestrogen got rid of the lot.
-
Oestrogel, utro 200mg 12 days per long cycle, Tostran every other day. I was fine with everel sequi too but had to change as it gave me a rash. Echo the comments about peri being difficult, you're guaranteed to be on too much or too little of something at times. It can take time to work too, my anxiety and insomnia took 3 months. It's really a case of try it and see, what suits one person doesn't suit the next.
-
sheila99
how many pumps of gel u on ?
i take two but wonder whether i do need 3 as i'm still very foggy thick headed fatigue hairloss maybe i'm
not getting enough ?
-
I know what I would do........
-
My hrt was a lifesaver for me! No symptoms and life is normal again!
-
Hi Emerald27,
What do you take?
Thanks again to everyone else who has contributed.
Cadgwith Girl xx
-
Hello there
My life was transformed by HRT. My sleep and anxiety were terrible and hot flushes severe. I had a bone scan and was found to be severely osteoporotic in my lower spine. Menopausal symptoms were severely affecting my life, including work (I'm an academic and the job is demanding), and I was very unhappy.
The symptoms went away within a few days of starting on a regime of Estrogel, utrogestan (cyclical) and testosterone and my quality of life, not to mention my sex drive, improved a ton! I have just had a bone scan two years into the HRT regime, and there is much improvement there too. I am no longer osteoporotic, but osteopenic, which is a great improvement.
I was 51 when I started with this and had technically already gone through the menopause (a year without a period) before starting with the HRT.
However, I've just had to adjust the regime as had very and irregular heavy bleeding over the summer, was found to have a polyp and thickened endometrium. This was caused by the HRT. I've just this week had the polyp removed and a Mirena coil inserted to deal with the progesterone side of things. I will report back when that is settled in to let you know how it's going.
Best of luck with working out what works for you. I see from this forum that many members have tried different things before settling on a formula that suits them. We're all different, have different bodies and lifestyles, and I think that makes a difference.
luna66 x
-
sheila99
how many pumps of gel u on ?
i take two but wonder whether i do need 3 as i'm still very foggy thick headed fatigue hairloss maybe i'm
not getting enough ?
I started on 2 in peri, now on 3 in late peri. Specialist said I could go to 4 if I needed to. If your symptoms aren't being controlled on your current dose it's a good idea to increase, but bear in mind it can take some time to work, they suggest 3 months.