Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Rosehip on June 28, 2019, 07:09:11 PM
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I'm 45 and in the past year have started suffering from food intolerances and anxiety at certain times of the month. I also get very weepy on certain days and utterly exhausted on others. I occasionally wake up feeling like I've have a hot nights sleep but don't suffer from full on hot flushes yet. I have trouble remembering things and that is getting steadily worse. Libido very low. Periods regular - cycle has lengthened from 25 - 28/9 days over last year. Hair thinning.
My doctor has eventually prescribed me EstroGel 80 gram gel and Utrogestan 100mg oral capsules.
Having read through lots of posts on this forum I would like to try the following way of taking hrt based on other members Professor Studd experiences. I understand that this is my choice, my risk.
Start -
Day one of period - 1x pump of EstroGel every morning.
Day 22 of period - 1 x Utrogestan oral 100mg inserted as a pessary using an applicator every night for 7 nights.
I would like to add testosterone gel to this - I'm unsure of dose and type but understand you can get this from imeds.com in sachets or a pump.
I'd really appreciate any input from others who have found that Professor Studds way has worked for them. Does this regime sound correct? How much testosterone is recommended? I know that I will need to have regular scans because of the low dose of progesterone and think I may need to up the EstroGel at some point.
Thanks so much in advance.
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Hi Rosehip, I take Utrogestan starting on the 1st day of each month for seven days orally. Estrogel 1 pump daily. Hope that helps.
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Hi Tracey E
Am just about to start HRT and just wanted to know how long you have been on this regime? I want to take lowest dose possible to start with and see how I go.
Thanks
W
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Thanks for your reply Tracey, that is helpful
I see that you are post meno. I wonder if it's right that you take the Utrogestan at the end of the cycle for peri meno - pretty sure I read that here somewhere, hopefully someone can clarify.
Hi W, I am also new to hrt and looking to take lowest dose to start with. Very wary of all of the side effects but realise it's trial and error until you get the right combination.
Rose
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Hi Tracey E
Am just about to start HRT and just wanted to know how long you have been on this regime? I want to take lowest dose possible to start with and see how I go.
Thanks
W
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I've been on this regime for 1 month, my body can't tolerate Utrogestan daily. :)
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Thanks for your reply Tracey, that is helpful
I see that you are post meno. I wonder if it's right that you take the Utrogestan at the end of the cycle for peri meno - pretty sure I read that here somewhere, hopefully someone can clarify.
Hi W, I am also new to hrt and looking to take lowest dose to start with. Very wary of all of the side effects but realise it's trial and error until you get the right combination.
Rose
Yes Rosie probably different regime for Peri, maybe someone else could shed some light in thus. Good luck.
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Hi ladies,
can i ask, is this regime a newish prof studd one? i seem to remember that he had one that was pretty hefty!
i'm def menopausal, not peri and am trialling 2 pumps oestrogel
i'm 47 so feel that i should have "reasonable" dose.
but would studd's regime have applied to me?
i won't change mine now as i need to have consistency (and it's only day 5!) but i'm feeling quite anxious on it and am curious if the 1 pump regime is good for ladies who have no oestrogen but are relatively young(ish!!)
thanks and i hope today finds you all well :)
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Thanks Tracey E - should have read your first post properly,would have answered my questions! From my days ofbriefly taking the Pill I couldn't tolerate the progesterone part v well either so am hoping by doing same as you it will be ok
Rosehip, I am same as you, have been trying to avoid HRT for a long time and go down the ‘natural' route as am v wary of side effects but have not been coping at all well recently. I am 56 and 7 years post meno so am thinking my body has finally run out of any oestrogen that was keeping me going, hence the worsening symptoms. Like you I am going to see how it goes and the good thing with the gel is that you can control the dosage. Fingers crossed. Hope it works for you too.
W xx
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Hi vintagefiend
I am like you ( except an older version lol!) and as I have probably no oestrogen left I am building up gradually so as not to shock my body too much and hopefully not cause sudden side effects. Will see how it goes.
W x
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Hi everyone
I am 49 and have been on hrt for 3 years. It has eased the sweats that i was having but I am still having anxiety and nervousness. The anxiety is terrible. Also one minute I'm happy next I'm so tired and next I'm feeling low. Also nausea. I use 1 and a half pump of gel and 100mg of utrogestan for 12 days of the month. I have a bleed for about a day and half. I don't know if I should be using more gel or not? My doctor is not at all helpful
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thanks westie- good luck with your regime- hope we all find something that works!
michelle your doc sounds crap- like mine! could it be the prog? are you still perimeno? could testosterone be a help?
sorry Rosehip - crashed your thread!
i too am doing my own thing- via info on here though i have nt got to testosterone bit yet- think oestradiol levels have to be a certain minimum before testosterone can be applied. good luck x
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Rosehip, I used the Professor Studd regime successfully for years but switched to continuous combined HRT about 10 months ago. As you probably know, he specialises in reproductive depression - this is with a high dose of Oestrogel to override the cycle - and progesterone intolerance hence the low dose for 7 days.
I used two pumps of Oestrogel (latterly Lenzetto) every day, testosterone every day and 7 x 100mg Utrogestan vaginally every 5 weeks. I always have regular scans and found I was getting good womb lining clearance on his regime but obviously there is no guarantee everyone will. It was the low dose progeterone that made HRT viable for me.
There has been much debate about his regime on MM and if you type 'Professor Studd' into the search box at the top, you can see all the relevant threads.
Hope that helps.
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Hi Mary,
Thanks so much for your response. I hope you don't mind me asking what brand of testosterone you used and how much?
Great idea - I will do a keyword search for Studd for more info.
Pleased to hear this worked for you for so long. Also curious as to why 5 week cycles, not 4?
Rx
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Hi all,
I too am peri, 49.
Started HRT 18 months ago and gone through several dosages/ types.
I found some of the progesterone tricky norethesterone -🤢, utrogestan was even worse, totally nuts🤯, stopped after 5 days.......
Patches and pills at all different doses frankly it all drove me mad. It all got sooo complicated.
My worst symptom that refused to stop we're the night sweats ergo insomnia, appalling sleep, head fog. My life long love affair with anxiety/depression got a lot worse ......
I was starting a regime, symptoms would ease for a few days and come back again.
So- I went back to basics, back on Femeston 1mg ( kind progesterone) then added a 100mcg patch.
Finally , it seems things are looking up, not ‘cured' but certainly better.
I suppose my point is keep it as simple as possible and try a few different combo's as we are all so very different, a set regime that is supposed to be amazing , may work for some, but be a disaster for others.
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Sgtvhilts were you still having a bleed before you went on hrt? I too am 49
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Rosehip, I'm using a small pea sized dose of Testim at the moment but I have used Tostran in the past. I'm not sure how much benefit I get from testosterone with regards to menopause symptoms (libido, energy etc) but I had a DEXA scan the other week and had a T score of 0.3 which is good apparently. My gynaecologist said the combination of testosterone and oestrogen helps maintain bone health.
Re the 5 week cycle, it was something I decided to do myself because I wanted to minimise Utrogestan use as much as possible. I tried a longer cycle but I had breakthrough bleeding so I decided to stick at 5 weeks.
Hope the new regime works out for you.
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Thank for that info Mary, it helps a lot.
I'm at ovulation in my cycle right now and I track my cycles. I'm dreading the next two weeks as these are when my symptoms worsen. Ideally I would like to start with the Estrogen gel tomorrow and add the progesterone in a weeks time to stay in tune with my natural cycle. Is this a good idea or should I wait for day one of my cycle to start the estrogen?
Thx xx
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I'm 45 and in the past year have started suffering from food intolerances and anxiety at certain times of the month. I also get very weepy on certain days and utterly exhausted on others. I occasionally wake up feeling like I've have a hot nights sleep but don't suffer from full on hot flushes yet. I have trouble remembering things and that is getting steadily worse. Libido very low. Periods regular - cycle has lengthened from 25 - 28/9 days over last year. Hair thinning.
My doctor has eventually prescribed me EstroGel 80 gram gel and Utrogestan 100mg oral capsules.
Having read through lots of posts on this forum I would like to try the following way of taking hrt based on other members Professor Studd experiences. I understand that this is my choice, my risk.
Start -
Day one of period - 1x pump of EstroGel every morning.
Day 22 of period - 1 x Utrogestan oral 100mg inserted as a pessary using an applicator every night for 7 nights.
I would like to add testosterone gel to this - I'm unsure of dose and type but understand you can get this from imeds.com in sachets or a pump.
I'd really appreciate any input from others who have found that Professor Studds way has worked for them. Does this regime sound correct? How much testosterone is recommended? I know that I will need to have regular scans because of the low dose of progesterone and think I may need to up the EstroGel at some point.
Thanks so much in advance.
Hi Rosehip - you may not yet be at peri-menopause if your periods are still regular and are ovulating each month. Therefore the advice you have been given about cycles etc do not apply to you completely. As your cycle is 4 weeks then to stay in tune with it you need to take HRT accordingly - and I can see you have been prescribed it presumably to ride over the fluctuations you will be getting each month just before your period as your own oestrogen level drops - and hence the low dose as you will presumably be producing quite a lot of oestrogen mid cycle.
Because of this - if you are ovulating, then you will also probably be producing a lot of progesterone yourself from the corpus luteum which may well be sufficient to shed most of your lining, in which case the "Studd regime" of only 7 days progesterone may well be fine to keep it within normal linits (but still needs monitoring). Once you get to peri-menopause with irregular periods (and ovulation) or post-menopause - things are very different. There is then no natural cycle as such so some women decide under medical supervision to extend their cycle length from 4 weeks to anything up to 12 weeks depending on oestrogen dose and progesterone dose and duration to create their own artificial longer cycle. This is not possible for you at this stage yet! it is mid/late peri and post-meno that the Studd regime specifically of 7 days x 100 mg utrogestan per cycle is controversial - well - in fact far far less than the licensed dose and can lead to endometrial hyperplasia so has to be done only under close medical supervision.
Re the testosterone - I would not buy this yourself online. Please get it prescribed by a doctor willing to give it to you off licence and who will monitor your T levels (along with SHBG) to ensure your levels are not too high. You don't want to become T dominant!
re your Q about starting oestrogen - it dooesn't matter when you start but oestrogen naturally drops dramatically after ovulation and rsies again a week later in most women - tho' not as high as the pre-ovulatory peak - and then crashes again just before your period. That being the case I would start asap!!
Hope this helps and you manage to work out a regime that suits you :)
Hurdity x