Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: GypsyRoseLee on June 30, 2015, 12:04:46 PM
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Have just enjoyed two fantastic weeks of feeling great and just like my old self again. Optimistic, relaxed and happy. Have been slerping so well too.
But right on cue I've reached the mid point of my cycle and my mood is now starting to really dip and I haven't slept well the last two nights. I was awake at 4.30 this morning and couldn't drop back off. Have got a touch of hormonal diarrhoea too.
I am due to start the Utro in the next two days.
I just don't know what to do. I have been on a higher 50mg patch now for roughly 8 weeks but it doesn't seem like it's up to the job of controllingy own hormonal pattern.
I feel it just makes me feel GREAT in the first half of my cycle but then can't help me enough through the second half.
Not sure whether to try a higher dose patch? Or switch to the Pill? We're going on hiday again beginning of August and the timing of it couldn't be worse. I'll be just tipping into the second half of my cycle again and I don't want another holiday spoilt.
Any advice would be very welcome.
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:bighug: could you take the product throughout your holiday and then re-consider, so that you don't get the 'dip'?
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You may just have to take the highs with the lows and try and work around things. Not ideal but unfortunately HRT is not a cure all.
Perhaps as you have said before you may fair better on the BCP.
Hope things improve for you soon.
Honeybun
X
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Hi CLKD
Which product do you mean? HRT? I still have another two days before starting the Utro but my mood is already dipping anyway.
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Thank you Honeybun. Might see my GP this week and see what he days. If I felt just a bit fed up then I wouldn't mind. But I feel very depressed indeed.
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Yep HRT. Can't remember what you've been prescribed ::). Let us know how you get on!
Would a 3/4 months course of anti-depressant medication help?
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GRL, I can't advise on the type of HRT you are on, but just wish to send you hugs
SallyGxxxxx
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Hi GRL,
What a mare for you.
When you are feeling like this , and you know I understand , it is so hard to see anything positive anywhere.
Do you remember how you were feeling before the HRT? Were you feeling worse more of the time? Has there been any improvement on HRT even a slight one?
You haven't been on the higher dose for that long yet , so you may need more time. Not much consolation when you feel like there is no hope and completely despondent I know.
Unfortunately it seems that the peri stage can be the most difficult time to go through, and there appears to be no complete answers.
Hang in there, you are doing very well considering .
Pepperminty xxxxxx
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Thanks Sally G, that's very sweet of you :)
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Hi PM
Well I have been 'up' again for the last 2 days ::) Suddenly felt that 'switch' flick over in my head late Monday night, had a good night's sleep and have felt good again ever since. This is driving me nuts. Don't get me wrong I am very grateful to feel 'up' again but these mood swings are just so hard to deal with. I genuinely don't know from one day to the next how I will feel?
I 'think' my mood might have really dipped two days ago because I was finishing ovulating, so I possibly reacted to the hormonal change. I just seem so ridiculously sensitive to any changes in my hormones whatsoever which is why I have always had PMS and I had PND I suppose?
But it's driving me up the wall because the lows are REALLY low (as I know you know).
Listening to what you say, I would guess that I've only had 2 'bad' days out of the last 16. But then prior to that I had 11 'bad' days straight. Before that probably another 'good' 14 days or so.
I think I just need to keep plodding on and on and on.
Anyway, enough about me. How are you doing?
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I'm slightly cautious about saying this, as every one is different, but I found switching to a BCP meant - whilst not perfect - the up days increased noticeably(compared with Evorel 50). I am also finding that each month, it slightly improves. Month five now, and the emotional change is massive. Even if I have a bit of a down day, I am more reassured that's it's just a blip, if that makes sense? (Previously I thought I'd feel like that forever!).
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I feel your pain, it's like I wake up every morning expecting this current up mood to go back to PMT mode.
The unpredictableness is very inconvenient! :P
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Hi GRL,
Well it sounds like you may be improving? Lets hope the downs will be less and less . Do you think that you could cope with them if there were only a couple of days here and there?
I am doing quite well at the moment ,thank goodness. I am able to cope even when my sleep is poor and I appear to be sleeping better on the combined phase of the pack. My periods appear to have got better and I haven't crashed again ( yet). I look a lot better and I have lost weight. I have more energy, but I still get tired. It appears to be working , I start on 2/10 in 2 weeks and have been increasing my oestrogen by half a tablet from an old pack , so when I go onto the increased dose it wont be such a jump, and therefore less side effects, I hope. So after a very shaky start I have now reached the " I am better on it than off it stage ".
I don't cry at the drop of a hat anymore and manage difficult situations now without a major panic. I just hope it continues. So perhaps you may need a little more time as I am a month ahead of you I believe and also you have changed your dosage , which will need time to bed in . I really do feel for you as the lows are horrendous .
pepperminty xxx
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I often think of the things you post about being on the Pill Briony. Your posts really help. I am so glad that the BCP is helping you so much. I find it very reassuring that at least the Pill could be another option for me especially as I think our peri symptoms were very similar?
When I'm having 'bad' days there is a real fear that they might continue for a long time or even indefinitely. This is frankly terrifying because I feel SO very low. And of course when you feel so very low it's very hard to rationalise and reassure yourself that this too shall pass.
When my mood dipped at the start of the week I really panicked because history shows that I was likely to feel down for at least a week especially as I was soon to be going onto Utro. I am very surprised but very pleased that I only had 1.5 days of feeling so low. So maybe this is a positive sign?
But like you say I would be very, very grateful to have the reassurance of knowing that any mood dip would only last a few hours or just a day or so. I'm going to give the HRT another full cycle and keep charting my moods to see if I'm stabilising more.
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I am so glad that you're improving PM. We have both really been through the mill haven't we? It looks like we're in the group who take much longer to respond to HRT. I've been on another site recently where everyone seems to respond really positively within 2 weeks. I felt like such a freak.
I am going to give myself one more full cycle on this dosage and see how I feel in a month's time. I will have then been just over 3 months on the higher dose so it should have reached its full potential.
Being objective I definitely feel much better on my 'good' days than I was feeling on supposed 'good' days 6 weeks ago, so that's an improvement of course.
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GRL - I understand how frightening it is to be low and not know how long it will last >:( which self-perpetuates itself with worry that the low mood will never lift. Even knowing that it's hormonal didn't help, same with the panic attacks - I know why they happen but if anyone else suggests that I relax and it will go away :kick: because it doesn't and it won't without the emergency pill sorry, I digress :-\
Did you ask about continuing with the first part of the HRT until your holiday is over ?
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I don't take HRT and am hating massive mood swings too.
I have really low lows where nothing matters its awful I cry for hours and then often after lunchtime, the switch is flicked and bingo I am 'normal' again, though not singing for joy.
I have health anxiety which is driving me nuts worst I have ever been.
I cant do many fun things to feel better as my hyperacusis has come back too so the whole world is noisy and overwhelming for me.
I've not had a period since February, means nothing yet I know, but my boobs feel ready to burst full time now. I'm 53 and that means nothing either but I cant see a light at the end of the tunnel either as I cant have HRT.
Just wish I had my mum to talk to about this.
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Sarai - do you eat breakfast?
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You're absolutely right CLKD. Feeling very depressed is bad enough without then feeling really terrified that it might not go away this time. Just nasty.
I could delay taking Utro until after the holiday but my own hormones broke through a few days ago when I wasn't even taking Utro. I think I reacted to the hormonal change as I finished ovulating? So not so sure it's a guaranteed solution.
Sometimes I could almost HATE my own hormones. I had no idea they could do so much harm to me emotionally.
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Why can't you take HRT Sarai?
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CLKD yes I do eat breakfast, always have. I need it to do anything in the moring.
GRL I have autoimmune disease one of which is a clotting disorder so HRT is out of the question.
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Sarai - I wondered if it was feeling better after eating lunch ;) maybe if you had breakfast: but you do already …..
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Gypsy Rose Lee,
I was very similar to you for months last year. Swinging up and down every time I changed onto a new part of the hrt regime. I'm very sensitive to the change in hormones too.
Now I take Utrogestan for 25 days out of 28, use two pumps of Estragel and only have a three day break from Utrogestan. I am finding my mood much more steady and feel more like the old me. I have wobbles but not as extreme. Maybe this is something you could consider?
Hugs Jedigirl x
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Gypsy Rose Lee,
I was very similar to you for months last year. Swinging up and down every time I changed onto a new part of the hrt regime. I'm very sensitive to the change in hormones too.
Now I take Utrogestan for 25 days out of 28, use two pumps of Estragel and only have a three day break from Utrogestan. I am finding my mood much more steady and feel more like the old me. I have wobbles but not as extreme. Maybe this is something you could consider?
Hugs Jedigirl x
Oh that's interesting. I take Utrogestan 100mg for 25 days out of 28 and one of the reasons the Dr gave for prescribing it me this way was that she thought that having a small regular dose would give me more hormonal balance given that I am so sensitive to medications. I have to say it has worked for me too. I take Utrogestan alongside Evorel 50 patches which I change twice a week.
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Gypsy Rose Lee,
I was very similar to you for months last year. Swinging up and down every time I changed onto a new part of the hrt regime. I'm very sensitive to the change in hormones too.
Now I take Utrogestan for 25 days out of 28, use two pumps of Estragel and only have a three day break from Utrogestan. I am finding my mood much more steady and feel more like the old me. I have wobbles but not as extreme. Maybe this is something you could consider?
Hugs Jedigirl x
Oh that's interesting. I take Utrogestan 100mg for 25 days out of 28 and one of the reasons the Dr gave for prescribing it me this way was that she thought that having a small regular dose would give me more hormonal balance given that I am so sensitive to medications. I have to say it has worked for me too. I take Utrogestan alongside Evorel 50 patches which I change twice a week.
Greenfields/Jedi girl - do you still have periods? Were you able to do this regime before your actual menopause? X
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Gypsy Rose Lee,
I was very similar to you for months last year. Swinging up and down every time I changed onto a new part of the hrt regime. I'm very sensitive to the change in hormones too.
Now I take Utrogestan for 25 days out of 28, use two pumps of Estragel and only have a three day break from Utrogestan. I am finding my mood much more steady and feel more like the old me. I have wobbles but not as extreme. Maybe this is something you could consider?
Hugs Jedigirl x
Oh that's interesting. I take Utrogestan 100mg for 25 days out of 28 and one of the reasons the Dr gave for prescribing it me this way was that she thought that having a small regular dose would give me more hormonal balance given that I am so sensitive to medications. I have to say it has worked for me too. I take Utrogestan alongside Evorel 50 patches which I change twice a week.
Greenfields/Jedi girl - do you still have periods? Were you able to do this regime before your actual menopause? X
I haven't had periods on this regime (but have only been on it for 3 months).
Prior to starting it, I was on Nuvelle Continuous for a month - and had no periods then.
Prior to that, I wasn't on any HRT and I had 2 small break through bleeds in 2014 - so basically I had stopped menstruating mostly ... having said that, I have been under a huge amount of stress the last year and I've noticed in the past when this has happened, I've stopped menstruating - so I don't know whether I would have had more periods if I hadn't been so stressed (and continue to be under a lot of stress).
So I would say, I think, that I am perimenopausal ... but I don't completely know. Hope that helps?!
Hugs xx
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Thanks. My doc insists you can only do the 100mg for 25 days if you're over 54 or have gone for a year with no period, so wouldn't let me do it. I would have loved to as 200 mg for 14 days left me with a 'dip'. I've tried to find it (that you can do 100mg in peri) written down somewhere so I could show the doc, but no luck. Luckily , the Qlaira seems to be doing the job at present ... Though, being 'high risk' for the pill, I do worry sometimes ...
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Alternatively, one 100mg Utrogestan capsule can be taken once daily at bedtime on days 1 to 25 of each 28 day cycle. This usually causes less withdrawal bleeding.
Read more: http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/womens-health/medicines/utrogestan.html#ixzz3f0qhfAle
Follow us: @NetDoctor on Twitter | NetDoctorUK on Facebook
My doctor knew I was peri and was happy for to take this regime, also the doctor at the menopause clinic said it was a safe regime. I do still have a period this way though it's not in the three day gap but near it.
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Thanks. My doc insists you can only do the 100mg for 25 days if you're over 54 or have gone for a year with no period, so wouldn't let me do it. I would have loved to as 200 mg for 14 days left me with a 'dip'. I've tried to find it (that you can do 100mg in peri) written down somewhere so I could show the doc, but no luck. Luckily , the Qlaira seems to be doing the job at present ... Though, being 'high risk' for the pill, I do worry sometimes ...
Briony I would ask the Dr where they got that info from re: not being able to offer it unless you've had no period for a year or are over 54.
I'm 51 (52 this month) and my Dr actually double checked in her instruction book (don't know what manual it was) that what she was doing was correct - and it seems to work fine for me.
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Greenfields ? :party09:
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My GP looked it up too, then my doctor at the menopause clinic said it was a good regime and it didn't matter where in the regime I bled as long as i had a bleed, which i do. I think you should ask your GP to check again if this is a regime that interests you. x
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Greenfields ? :party09:
I'm 52 on 20th July :-[
But the only thing I will be celebrating this year will be my mental health! (assuming it holds!)
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I am on a conti patch and have been since I was 52. I queried it with Dr Currie and she assured me it was just fine. I would hate to have a bleed now but I'm fine on constant progesterone whereas some aren't, hence the personal choice of a sequi HRT long after nature would have stopped periods.
Not for me now though.
Honeybun
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At least you can party in the Summer - I'm a Winter baby :(
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At least you can party in the Summer - I'm a Winter baby :(
I don't feel like partying at all this year ... it's been the worst year of my entire life :'(
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There is improvement and a few days yet until your Day - you may well feel differently by then ;) - when do you plan to fly?
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There is improvement and a few days yet until your Day - you may well feel differently by then ;) - when do you plan to fly?
Haven't booked yet - am going to talk to therapist on Tuesday. If there are any tickets left that I can afford, I might go next week after I've seen the Dr!
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GF/JG .. Thank you so so much. Really useful info!
Xxx
Ps Greenfields - just seen your other post. So happy things are beginning to look up for you. You're such a lovely, supportive person. You deserve a :) year ahead of you xxx
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GF/JG .. Thank you so so much. Really useful info!
Xxx
Ps Greenfields - just seen your other post. So happy things are beginning to look up for you. You're such a lovely, supportive person. You deserve a :) year ahead of you xxx
Thank you Briony xxx