Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: BeKind26 on January 22, 2026, 05:36:38 PM
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Hi all, new to this forum...
I'm 43 and after a lengthy 3 year battle with "random" symptoms and almost changing personality... I plucked up the courage to see a Dr.
Explained about not knowing who I am anymore, anxiety through the rough, libido through the floor she put me on the 50 evorel patch and Micronised progesterone, 100mg x 2 second 14 days of my cycle.
I started on cycle day 23 (wish I had waited to finish my natural cycle) I started both on that day as I swore she said start taking the progesterone straight away for 14 days to help the anxiety. Which gave me immediate relief by the way!
Fast forward 11 days my period (natural cycle is 4 days late) has hit me like a freight train.
Do I carry on with progesterone until the 14 days has finished? Or stop and restart?! I am confused.
I will not be able to speak to Dr, as I had to wait 4 weeks for the inital appointment..
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If your cycle is random just carry on. If you have a fairly regular cycle of your own I'd stop utro now and start counting again from day 1 of your bleed. I found it better when the hrt cycle was cancelled n step with my own.
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It really doesn't matter as long as you take the required amount of progesterone overall to protect your endometrium from hyperplasia.
As long as that is achieved you can schedule it whatever way suits you best.
I personally am not a fan of using sequential HRT in perimenopause because trying to time the withdrawal bleeding with a natural cycle is very much like playing pin the tail on the donkey and often results in a lot of angst plus more days spent bleeding overall than untreated women.
In my opinion the combined pill taken continuously makes for a better quality of life as it eradicates bleeding and delivers a stable daily dose of hormones without the fluctuations, whereas HRT can exacerbate both bleeding and hormonal turbulence.
However as the HRT seems to have helped the anxiety, and in particular if you feel this is down to the progesterone, then this may be a better fit for you if you don't mind the bleeding.
Taking 100mg of progesterone every day rather than seesawing up and down between a higher dose and none may also be considered.
If libido is the concern, replacing testosterone is usually required as this is the primary hormone of sexual desire in both sexes and even across different species.
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Thanks both!
I started taking both the 50 evorel patch and the progesterone on the same day, as I was more than half way through my cycle. Should have waited until cycle day 1, but I was never told to!
Think I'll stop the progesterone and restart that in 14 days.
Edit to add, that my cycle has always been regular, which is why I am now trying to time the withdrawal bleed as I dont want to now be all over the place!
Ill be fixing a few problems on one hand and causing irregular bleeding on the other! Doh.
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Just to be clear, if you are trying to synchronize the HRT with your natural cycle, the progesterone should coincide with your own luteal phase.
So on "day 1" ie the first day of your period, you start the estrogen alone.
You start the progesterone two weeks later, halfway through your natural cycle.
Bleeding "should" occur after finishing the course of progesterone.
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Just to be clear, if you are trying to synchronize the HRT with your natural cycle, the progesterone should coincide with your own luteal phase.
So on "day 1" ie the first day of your period, you start the estrogen alone.
You start the progesterone two weeks later, halfway through your natural cycle.
Bleeding "should" occur after finishing the course of progesterone.
Noted, Thank-you! Im on day 2 of cycle now so wont take progesterone today, and will start in 14 days.