Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Sandie77 on November 26, 2015, 09:17:48 AM
-
Hi All,
This sounds strange I know but I have been taking Utrogestan and Sandrena for 5 days now. It's the first HRT I have taken for my Early Menopause.
I started off with a severe migraine first 2 days (I do suffer with them on and off anyway) this has now passed. The last two days I have felt very agitated and last night I was hearing things that weren't there like an auditory hallucination. It is not listed in the side effects although delusions are mentioned in Sandrena pack and anxiety.
I do get a lot of drug reactions generally but this is horrible. Anyone else experienced it or have any suggestions?
Thank you
-
Utrogestan gives me strange dreams, from time to time.....
-
Hi, thank you for replying, yes I was having very vivid dreams as well. Do you still take it?
-
Hi Stellajane,
Do you find it tolerable using it vaginally? Did the doctor suggest trying that route after side effects? Think I may try and get referred to a gynaecologist.
Thanks Sandie x
-
I ,like a few on here use it vaginally ;)
-
Thanks so much, at least I know I am not going totally nuts!! Although my husband may disagree after the last few years 😉
I will ask the GP to refer me x
-
Yes have been on it for years I only take it a few days per month so kinda grin and bear it.
-
From my experience, Utrogestan is definitely better taken vaginally because it works better, much more of it reaches the womb and it has fewer side effects taken in this way - like painful breasts for example. You find that you don't get migraines and can tolerate it when taken vaginally.
I can well believe you have had strange side effects and I'm afraid all types of synthetic progestin and, to a lesser extent, Utrogestan cause migraines and strange dreams for some people.
I agree that you might want to consult a gynaecologist who may have some other suggestions because as others have said, you are probably going to be on HRT for many years due to early menopause.
As a fellow (silent in my case) migraine sufferer, I doubt that any synthetic progestins will agree with you.
-
Crikey :o what on Earth is in this product that causes hallucinations :-X ……… or might it be the 'coating'?
-
Stellajane, I feel the same way, I love what I call the 'life changing oestrogel' and can't recommend it enough but I hate all types of progesterone.
If only somebody could invent a way of disabling the womb to stop the lining building up so we never have to take it.
-
.....also to add Sandie that 5 days is a very short time if you have just started HRT! If your body has been deprived of oestrogen and depending on the dose, you will be experiencing some side effects from this too - but these should settle. Sudden changes in the levels of both hormones cause some side effects. That's why you need to give it a while longer. The oestrogen effects should settle so that you feel good, but if you are intolerant of the progesterone - these will continue especially if you are taking it continuously.
If you are having an early menopause have you though of taking it cyclically so that you have a regular withdrawal bleed like a period? Several of us on this thread are doing that because we don't like/can't tolerate continuous progesterone. It has to be taken in quite high doses orally in irder for sufficient to reach the uterus where it is needed, and this gives rise to side effects in many women.
Hurdity x
-
Hello, yes I think I will ask a gynaecologist about going cyclical or perhaps using Utrogestan vaginally. I think I am feeling some benefits from the Sandrena oestrogen already, my muscles feel less achy and I have a little more energy and brain power.
I do wonder how much of my Fibromyalgia is actually the menopause, I have been virtually housebound through exhaustion and poor cognitive function this last year. Getting my hypothyroidism sorted has made a big difference and I think HRT is probably the next piece of the jigsaw.
Just wish I had made more fuss about my lack of periods when I kept being told it was the Fibromyalgia causing it, then maybe I could have avoided getting into this mess.....live and learn😉
Happy to be getting somewhere with it all now and so grateful for the advice from you all xx
-
Keeping a diary can be useful. Give it at least 3-4 months to allow your body to adjust.
-
Interesting what you say about fibromyalgia because a high number of women in mid life are diagnosed with this and CFS and this is the time that many women also experience underactive thyroid (one cause of fibro) and menopause - low oestrogen levels, and also low testosterone. If only doctors would give women a full MOT of all of this and really look into it, and then give the proper treatment, I am sure many women would not be fobbed off with this and just given painkillers or a "there there" and left to get on with it. I know several women on here who have resisted such a diagnosis and have found that hormonal treatment alleviates the symptoms. One woman's gynae (as she reported on here) even said that it is a collection of (albeit often debilitating) symptoms and not a disease as such - and has a variety of causes, if only one could find out what!
I do hope you continue to see an improvment so that you can function and enjoy life to the full again :)
Hurdity x
-
Hurdity - I agree. We should be listened to :-\
-
Stellajane
You mentioned about the weird head taking Utrogestan orally and was wondering if it felt like you were looking at everything through a fog? I've been on Utrogestan for quite a while but have struggled constantly with strange head with dry eyes that sometimes lifts in the day and sometimes doesn't - it makes me very tearful and out of control.
Many thanks
Lesley x
-
Hi meno lesley
Yes to the fog! I'm OK for the first few days - apart from tiredenss/exhaustion as it builds up and especially in the mornings but yes I get foggy heads at some point, and feel generally lethargic - even using it vaginally. When I've stopped and it has cleared my system and I've had the bleed, I'm back to my usual energetic self (well as much as can be expected anyway!), thankfully! There is no way I could take it continuously - even though it means I have to have a bleed - and that is the penalty we (those who don't tolerate it well or feel rough on it) have to pay for taking bio-identical progesterone (ie body-identical).
Hurdity x
-
Hi Hurdity and Stellajane
Thank you for your replies. I have tried using it vaginally but don't think it works as usually start to bleed and I have tried every other progesterone going but struggle on all but need estrogen in order to function. I am 57 and wonder after five years of ups and downs whether this is every going to settle.
Many thanks again.
Lesley x
-
meno lesley - I wonder why you start to bleed early? At what point does this happen? It should be more effective like that and I presume you've had your lining thickness checked? I can see it is difficult to use vaginally when you are bleeding and also I am not clear what is happening structurally to the womb lining if it is already coming away before the progesterone course is finished. Yes your own hormones should have settled by now - depending on when your last period was/would have been? Some women do have a late menopause though, and hormones levels do not bottom out until about 2 years following the last period or when it would have been anyway.
Hurdity x
-
Hi Hurdity
I had my last period 7 years ago and have struggled with hrt. Utrogestan taken continuously has been the progesterone I have tolerated the best especially vaginally but find that after a week or so I start to bleed. I'm not sure if I'm inserting it correctly, and this may be barking up the wrong tree, but I have a tilted womb and was wondering if the progesterone was absorbing correctly. I see Nick Panay in London and have had regular scans which have been ok.
Thank you for your advice.
Lesley x
-
Yes I have retroverted uterus too and it definitely absorbs well for me. I can see it would be difficult to continue taking it vaginally continuously if you want the bleeding to stop because absorption could be an issue while bleeding? I wouldn't want the head fog all the time either!
Hurdity x
-
Thank you for your replies Hurdity and Stellajane, I was thinking of asking to use it for part of the month but was wondering if at 57 if this was an option? I have tried all of the other progesterones and have felt like I was going mad, so Utrogestan has been the best by far, it's just some days are hard to cope with the continual foggy feeling. I seem to have developed some stomach issues as well and unsure if this is connected to what I'm taking or it is just me.
Many thanks again.
Lesley x
-
;D absolutely Stellajane!!
I'm 62 and still bleed every couple of months - because I do not relish the alternative - that foggy head!
Hurdity x