Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: LouLou on September 22, 2019, 04:38:59 PM
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Hi- been taking HRT for 7 months now (2 pumps oestrogel & 100mg uterogestan daily) - have felt amazing, a few niggly issues along the way, (including 1 episode of prolonged bleeding (17 days) & hair loss) but overall it's been great. In the last few days I've noticed a few night sweats, low mood, exhaustion & today I've had 3 hot flushes!!! Admittedly, quite mild ones, but there's no mistaking them! 😫😫 my hair has been dreadful lately too - I'm starting to worry- I cant go back to all that- it made me terribly ill last time & had a breakdown- what can I do? Any advice please 😘 I'm also really confused- I've read a couple of comments on here that suggests oestrogel can cause hair loss??🤔 I haven't read that in the listed side effects & my GP had told me it's not a side effect?🤔 xx
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Hi LoLou, yes Estrogel caused my hair to shed, I stopped it 8 days ago and the shedding has definitely lessened. Like you my hot flushes had returned before I ceased taking it along with gastric problems and palpitations. I tried to up the dose of Estrogel to just 2 pumps and had severe side effects. Eight days cold turkey and no more hot flushes. I don't really understand all this myself but what I do know is I feel much better without it. Upping the dose of Estrogel to try and stop the flushes made me very ill and yet that always seem to be the advice readily offered. Good luck going forward. X
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Tracey thanks for your reply 😘 were you also taking progesterone? So have you stopped HRT altogether now? So you didn't wean off the oestrogel, just stopped it? I'm just so confused & don't know what to do for the best 😏🙁
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Tracey thanks for your reply 😘 were you also taking progesterone? So have you stopped HRT altogether now? So you didn't wean off the oestrogel, just stopped it? I'm just so confused & don't know what to do for the best 😏🙁
Hi, I was taking Utrogeston vaginally for 7 days of the month. I'm pretty sure the hair loss was due to the Estrogel. It's definitely improved this last week, I can always tell because I check my pillow each morning. I increased my Estrogel dose to improve the hot flushes but it just ended up making me feel worse, (acid reflux, bloating and palpitations). X
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LouLou, a return of flushes and night sweats suggests you need to up your oestrogen dose, for sure. Try increasing the gel half a pump at a time, give it two weeks and so on.
I use 3 pumps and a bit and have never mohair shedding. It's a fairly uncommon symptom!
If it's an uncommon symptom why is listed on the common side effects? And I quote from the makers website.
Common side effects of estrogens include headache, breast pain, stomach or abdominal cramps, bloating, nausea and vomiting, hair loss, fluid retention, and vaginal yeast infection.
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See I was told to 'up my Estrogen dose' because my night sweats and hot flushes had returned but that put me into a down hill spiral. How do you account for my hot flushes and night sweats disappearing after having no estrogen for 9 days Birdy?
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For what it's worth, i'm Currently using 200mg of progesterone and 3 and a bit pumps of oestrogel and i'm on a strong AD and I feel dreadful. Can't stop crying.
Big hugggs to you my dear, what are we doing wrong? I just don't get it.. xx :(
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Tracey, are you just taking progesterone now? No oestrogen? I couldn't see hair loss listed on the oestrogel leaflet that came in the packaging?🤔 not even as a rare side effect 😏 I wonder why it's on the website and not on information leaflet? I'll have to check again, see if I've missed it 😏 I've also tried to do some research online to directly link oestrogel & hair loss, nothing comes up? Thanks for your replies 😘 xx
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Hi Lou, Common side effects of estrogens include headache, breast pain, stomach or abdominal cramps, bloating, nausea and vomiting, hair loss, fluid retention, and vaginal yeast infection.
http://www.estrogel.com/is-estrogel-right-for-you
There's a PDF (patient information) top right hand corner of the above link, you can download it. Hair loss is a common side effect of Estrogel.
X
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Well I can only go from my own persinal experiences and the fact it's listed as a common side effect of Estrogel. :) When I upped my dose of Estrogel my hair shedding increased, when I dropped it a pump it decreased. So there you have it, make of it what you will.
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Some side- effects of Estrogel ( or any estrogen) mentioned seem to be symptoms of low estrogen. I would think upping the dose of try a another delivery method. But that doesn't seem to be the issue in your case, TraceyE. Changing the balance of hormones can apparently trigger some symptoms too including hairloss. Some women who take birth control for acne ( anti-androgen) experience a worsening of acne before it gets better.
I don't have the answers and also felt much worse on HRT but for me it doesn't mean estrogen is to blaim.
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Alicess the decider for me was the awful gastric problems and palpitations. My doctor seemed to think they were interlinked (GERD). Also the menopause clinic said they could be a side effect of the Estrodrial (GERD can irritate the vagus nerve and thus cause palpitations). I was also so bloated that I felt full even before I'd ate my evening meal. I had a couple of ocular migranes (which are quite scarey), never had a migrane in my life before starting HRT.
Since coming off the Estrogel my body feels like it's literally deflated. I was on HRT for some 16 months and the side effects never got any better. Regardless of upping or lowering doses, the common denominator through all of this was Estrodrial. For some reason folk think that it has to be the progesterone part of HRT to blame for their symptoms. Maybe in some cases it is but also this seems to be blinding us into thinking that Estrodrial is this wonder preperation. All singing and dancing, slap it on, up your dose wonder drug. Without even considering that maybe Estrodrial is really the issue.
My side effects maybe unique or they maybe more more common than you think. It took a while to eliminate various causes to come to the conclusion I did. But what I do know is that I feel much better HRTless. Only time will tell what happens next. Good luck Alicess. X
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When i was losing my hair, my Dr said Oestrogen was good for hair, unfortunately the patch he gave me was bad for hair, not due to the Oestrogen but the progesterone, could it be the progesterone side of it that is causing your hair loss do you think?
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Jaycee, Estrodrial can cause hair loss, it is a common component of most HRT. It is listed as a common side effect.
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Tracy this is why i was questioning vagifem it's estriadol, but i have read about people saying their hair has only recovered after starting HRT,I think it might depend on the person, everyone is different, my hair came out lots on Evoral Conti.but some others love it
It might depend on the balance and what one has more of than the other ,which is why i don't understand why no blood tests, i know they say hormones can fluctuate .buy i would think it would show if there was a lot more of one than another
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Yes I think so too, have you requested a blood test Jaycee? This is the second time I've taken Vagifem and have had no extra hair loss. However we are all different and some are more sensitive than others to the ingredients. I shed on Evorel too Jaycee. So frustrating!🤯
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Sorry Tracey E,only just seen your message, i know most say can cause hair loss, but i think in general it is referring to the patch ,and as it is a combined patch, it could be either the E or the P which is causing it,
All the comments i have seen regarding hairloss are patches with Norethisterone in in them
Anyway i am seeing the Dermatologist tomorrow and see what he says
I have been looking at side effects etc of livila/Tibilone and regarding hair a few people have said theirs started going curly then settled back to normal, no hair loss, as i was on livial for 18 months with no hair loss or weight gain then all of a sudden both coincidental
It was only when i went on the Evoral Conti that my hair really got bad,so did my daughters, hers was long and very thicj and glossy, now it is half the thickness, she was fine on Femseven Conti until it bacame unavailable, but it was a different progesterone
I was in contact with someone on mumsnet who had hair loss, and she tried various, but she said on the Estrogen and on Estradot her hair improved, and she went onto the implant and all still ok
I really replied to ask when you went back on the Vagifem? as you thought the first time it was that which caused hairloss didn't you?
I am using the Ovestin now, but it hasn't got rid of the itch, and i am now getting up to the loo in the night again, and since stopping the livial not sleeping well,
I have woken up the last few nights between 3am and 5-50 on the run, so not good
Re;tests the Dr said testing is not worth it as hormones can fluctuate, as i know, but surely it would show if you have one hormone higher than another which would be at least a guide to what to try,if there was a big difference
I think hair loss can be down to the hormones being not balanced probably
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No vagifem has never given me hair loss, probably due to the low level of estrogen in it. I've tried six different types of HRT all different progesterones. All of these caused hair loss, palpitations, GERD, stomach upsets and bloating. Doctor had a consultation with the menopause clinic who told her Estrodrial could be the cause of all of these side effects, hence me coming off HRT. I think sometimes we need to think outside the box, everyone bangs on about the progesterone when maybe it could be the Estrodrial causing the issues. I agree hairloss can be down to hormone imbalance but since stopping my HRT the hair loss has subsided.
Why did you come off Livial Jaycee?
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I realize this is an older thread (it came up when I was searching for something else), but I wonder if perhaps the issue isn't exactly caused by the estrogen/estrogel, but rather an insufficient dose of progesterone relative to the estrogen. You know how when you're pregnant and have luxurious hair (and loads of hormones), and then about 3 months after birth, about when the baby starts blowing bubbles, you have a massive hair fall. Well, if when starting HRT the body has a tremendous need, or backlog, for estrogen and progesterone, there is an adjustment period. Then 7 months in, things have somewhat stabilized, and perhaps the ratio of estrogen:progesterone is not ideal. My body, personally, seems to favour higher progesterone and when I added more estrogel, I had unwelcome symptoms from that. I may have a higher background ovarian activity as I'm peri.
Anywho, read this article and maybe it makes sense for you. https://www.cemcor.ubc.ca/resources/perimenopause-time-%E2%80%9Cendogenous-ovarian-hyperstimulation%E2%80%9D
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Thanks Shannon, that's really interesting. :) I did an enormous amount of research on Estrodrial before I came up with the ultimate conclusion to the cause of my side effects. They all led me in the direction of Estrodrial. Having tried various HRT preperations which involved continual progesterone I was still having the same side effects. So I don't believe it was an imbalance in hormones. I guess it's just an unfortunate fact that some women have an adverse reaction to this hormone product.
I've been off the HRT now for nearly 8 weeks and I can honestly say I wouldn't ever go back on it. My sympto s have reduced by round 75%. Still getting the odd palp but the acid reflux/bloating is now diminshing and hair loss now is virtually no existent. :)
Progesterone isn't always the reason for the side effects on HRT. If you've tried different variations of patches, tablets and gels and you still have the same symptoms then it's time to rethink, could Estrodrial be the culprit rather than the progesterone component. X