Menopause Matters Forum
General Discussion => New Members => Topic started by: Rosalinemac on September 03, 2019, 12:42:48 PM
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Hi
I'm 45 and a new member, I have had peri symptoms for around 2 years so decided to go onto HRT mainly to protect my bones. My symptoms have been Insomnia, waking up hot but not sweating, mood swings and zero sex drive along with very sore joints.
I am on day 3 of Elleste Duet 1mg and I'm starting to feel a bit weird. I'm feeling slightly anxious as I sit at work and type this, feeling sick and a little dizzy and I have a strange headache almost migraine like. I know these tablets come with side effects but I was wondering how long they last as I have a bit of health anxiety and convincing myself I'm really ill.
Thanks
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Just to add another side effect (I think) my brain has stopped working as I just keep forgetting things and what I'm doing :o Its freaking me out a bit and I'm wondering if I should stop taking them.
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The body can take a bit of time to adjust and settle. Make sure you eat and drink small amounts regularly through the day. It's early days yet - keep going. DGx
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I really hope its a quick adjustment because I'm feeling pretty rank at the minute and a lot worse than before I took them. Thanks for your advice though, I will keep drinking.
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Rosalinemac
:welcomemm:
Just to add what time of day are you taking the tablets? If you are taking them in the morning maybe switch to taking them at night or even in the evening so that the peak time for blood levels and any digestive issues fall when you are asleep? Also what was your cycle doing in the time leading up to starting HRT ie how often were your periods and was your cycle variable in length and flow? Sorry I can't help more with this as I've never taken tablet HRT.
Hurdity x
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Hi, I'm taking them in the morning and think I'll stick with this for next few days at least, see how I go. I feel much better tonight in fact I feel more hyper and active but hopefully this will calm down as I'm so in need of a good nights sleep. My last period was June for 3 days very light before this was April and before that January which lasted for 3 weeks. I'm going to keep a log on here as I think it might help me and hopefully help anyone else taking these tablets for the first time. Another thing I've noticed tonight is that my hearing is extra sensitive :o
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I've come to bed and doubled over with extremely bad guts. I feel sick and my head is pounding. I'm also feeling a bit panicky and wondered if starting HRT was a good idea? Can I come off these tablets at anytime or do I have to finish the course? I know it's only been 3 days but I feel horrendous.
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Its not a course, lovely, so you can stop anytime. Can you switch to transdermal, rather than pills ?
Also, it's only been 3 days ... maybe you have a bug, and it's not the pills ?
Hot water bottle for your tum, and paracetamol for your head. Hope you feel better soon.
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Thank you for replying, I don't think this is a tummy bug it's definitely the tablets. I'll keep going as it's only been a few days. Think I'll switch to taking them at night. I've had the worst nights sleep, hopefully today (day 4) will be better x
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Morning. I found with any medication that the nausea is the worst part !! :hug:
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The nausea is awful, I'm going to try taking them at night but a bit apprehensive as I don't want to be waking up having a panic attack :-\ The only positive thing at the moment is my mood has changed from being angry all the time to being a lot calmer. A good nights sleep would be good.
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Day 4 and I've just taken my tablet (morning) see how I go ???
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Today I've had a great day, I've been happy all day to the point that nothing bothers me at all, even oh toothbrush that's always left on the side full of toothpaste hasn't bothered me. I feel as though I'm waiting for a massive come down. I've not felt aches and pains on my joints all day, no headaches and no nausea today. I even feel slightly sexier lol. The only symptom I have is a really bad taste in my mouth.
I'm confused though as is this the way I use to feel before peri because I can't remember ever feeling this good.
Hope it lasts!!
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Hello Rosalinemac and welcome to the forum.
I am a lot older than you and didn't start HRT until three years after my last period. As I was going it alone I got into the habit of keeping a symptom diary, much as you are doing here. This has been very useful to look back on and I must say, your experiences so far look fairly familiar! Hopefully you will have more good days than bad days but bear in mind that mood swings can go both ways until everything settles. I also had a strange taste in my mouth caused by changing hormones. It was a metallic taste and occurred in the early stages of my first pregnancy. Not menopause related but definitely hormonal!
Wishing you well.
K.
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Hi Kathleen, thanks for your reply.
As the night has gone on my mood has come down slightly which I'm fine with as I was starting to feel a bit wired iykwim. I'm just hoping for a good nights sleep tonight and see what tomorrow brings.
The taste in my mouth is metallic as you've described, it's very strange and I'm so thirsty I'm also eating more so will keep an eye on that too.
Xx
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Hi . I had similar reaction to Ellestre Duet (I was on them for insomnia and anxiety which the GP thought was caused by Peri - I had no flushes/discharge/atrophy symptoms atall). I tried them for 5 days but felt extremely manic/anxious/sick/not myself . I did a phone consultation with the GP and was advised to come off. Since then I have tried patches (through Meno clinic) but although I did not get the same terrible side effects they did not help my anxiety so I guess it depends why you were put on them in the first place. I think some people suit certain medication and other don't - it is very much a try it and see unfortunately as there is no hormone testing on the NHS which gives you a certain diagnosis like you would get for say Diabetes for example). It is all very confusing and upsetting as you are looking for something to make you feel ' better' . I would say don't suffer in silence and maybe try and get a phone consultation with your GP to get some advice and support. We all seem to be different in Peri/Meno unfortunately.
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I'm beginning to wonder if I had peri symptoms or it was just a coincidence, its all very confusing and now I've started these tablets I don't know how I should be feeling. I researched for many months before going to my GP, there is so much conflicting information about HRT and the menopause. I wish it was all over with :'(
I still have insomnia and haven't slept for what seems like months.
Today (Day 5) I feel bloated but normal (I think) no headaches or any other symptoms today. My mouth is super dry and I'm hungry a lot more than I would normally be.
I will see what tomorrow brings :-\
squeaker99 What if anything are you taking now? I don't have flushes but keep waking up warmer than usual then can't get back to sleep, no sweating though.
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Rosalinemac - You mention in a post that "you don't know how you are supposed to be feeling". I have to say from my experience and from reading loads of posts on here over the last year, hrt is a slow burn. The recommendation is that you take it for a minimum of 3 months so that you can work out what it does for you. The issue you will find in reading others posts is that we all react differently to different forms of hrt and one that suits me won't suit you nor will it work the same.
You are only in the first week and there are side effects when you start taking it because your body is adjusting and it will continue to adjust through those 3 months. During that time, most of the symptoms you had when you started should subsideand settle and you should feel much better but in some cases some of the "side effects" come and stay which is usually an indication that another form of hrt would suit you better than the one that you are on and there are many combinations to choose from.
As you are on day 5 you have quite a way to go. I post often that it is my opinion that the idea you take hrt and it behaves like taking antibiotics or even AD's in a couple of weeks is just wrong. There are no hard and fast rules in any of this, but I will say that those who come to the forum and stay here are often the ladies who have problems. Those who get on the right regime an it works fine first time don't often stay here as they have no need. HRT is much more complicated than it sounds and GP's or consultants cannot really advise you either because each one of their patients will react differently to the form of hrt they are prescribed. You can only go on others experiences and share your own and then come to some conclusions :)
I myself have tried 6 forms of hrt until I found one that worked for me (elleste being one of them that didn't work although it works for thousands of other women no problem) When you start digging around on the forum you will find loads of combinations that didn't work for many of them and they will post they are better on one of the ones that didn't work for me. The only way is trial, error and quite a lot of posting on this forum ;) ::) During this journey you will learn much about your body you probably didn't know and if you persevere and collect lots of info from the ladies on the forum you will probably be able to tell your GP a thing or two!! ;D Just keep posting and hang on in there. x
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Excellent post Ladybt28 - sensible thoughts and advice. DG x
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Thank you Ladybt for your reply, it makes complete sense and I will take everything you said on board.
It's very interesting what you say about taking HRT and it behaves like AD's. I've never taken AD's in my life and if it was just for my mood I was concerned about then maybe I would of gone down that path. My main concern was the protection of my bones as I'm only 45 but feel very old and aching everywhere and it's not just my age, I know it's lack of oestrogen that's making me feel this way.
Although I'm only on day 5 I have learned so much about my body and what it has needed to be me again. If I feel like I do today for a good few years then I will be happy. I feel as though I have my mojo back. Im happy and last night was the first night in a long time I slept through which was a main symptom for me. For the past couple of years I have felt old before my time, today I've felt my age maybe it's the good nights sleep but I have so much energy and I'm smiling more.
I realise things can turn and I will have bad days but for now I'm good. Maybe this is the correct HRT for me, who knows xx
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Oh I really hope so Rosalinemac, that would be wonderful.
I didn't mean to confuse you what I said about timescale of HRT is that..... it doesn't seem to (usually) work like other medications GP's prescribe "like AD's" where they can work within one month or like a 7 or 14 day course of antibiotics or blood pressure meds that work immediately....what some GP's never explain really is the timescale involved before HRT can start "to come right" and the symptoms are eradicated... which is pretty much 3 months and in some cases much longer. When I finally got the right HRT for me it took 7 months for me to feel well (or as well a I was gonna get) on regular basis.
Its very good for bone protection but also if you feel your quality is suffering well why not try hrt. At 45 you are far too young to be feeling old, not sleeping and having aches and pains. Long may your successful start continue but keep us up to date won't you?
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Thanks Ladybt I do understand what you are trying to say.
Tonight I'm having a really bad night and I'm hoping someone will come along and tell me it's ok. I started reading some reviews especially the green tablets. I'm starting to get anxious and tonight I'm having a very bad anxiety attack. I've felt so amazing on these tablets that I'm wondering if I'm covering all my symptoms up and what I really should be feeling by taking what seem like happy pills. I'm so confused now and so anxious that my heart is racing.
My husband and family have noticed a huge difference in my personality and I feel like I'm so happy after a few tough years of flying into the rage, but next week when I start the green tablets I will be back to that again. Can I stop these tablets at anytime? I feel really confused 😰😰😰