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[PollyH]

Hi all

I posted on here yesterday re (patches - am I absorbing them). Thank you Hurdity an suziq for your replies.

I have just come back from my gp and I am devastated. This is my story - started menapause at around 39/40 yrs. I've had prempak c - rubbish and various others that I couldn't tolerate ie. the progestogen part. Then realised I could have one with a different type of progestogen - so started femoston 1/10. This was fine for a while - then ended up on femoston 2/10 ( never had a bleed on both doses but the doctor was not concerned). I've had a long and tough journey as many as you have had on here - without going into too much detail.

I am now 50 - and for the last couple of years have felt pretty crap on and off. I have had blood tests for almost everything (my thyroid says low t3 lower end of t4 and normal tsh - but they say they are not concerned). Don't seem to trust anybody medically. I'm also taking citalopram which my doctor now advises me to come off slowly - says that could be making me tired and has even mentioned me having ME.

So - back to the current treatment - back in February this year my gp said to try coming off to see how I feel - well I lasted about 5 weeks. I then decided that if I was going to stay on hrt for ever then I better go on patches. At this point I discussed the dosage and he agreed with me that the 50mcg estradot patch was equivalent and to give it a go alongside the utrogestan 200mg for days 15 to 26 which I asked for after reading threads on this brill site. However I felt the patch wasn't working as I was so tired and felt like I couldn't cope. So went back and managed taking the 75 patch for a month at which point the endrologist said to go back on femoston 2/10 for now. My bloods came back and amongst other things my estradiol was 103 pmol/l - low.

Back to today - been to gp and said I think I need a higher dose - going on 75mcg patch and then up to 100mcg. He totally shocked me by saying that there are no patches that are equivalent to the 2mg tablet form of hrt. (But he told me differently couple of months ago). Now I don't know who or what to believe. I actually wrote this down - the info he gave me was

1000mcg patch is equal to 1mg tablet - this doesn't sound right - somebody please help with this !!

PollyH

Xxxxxxx

[sweatybet]

Hi pollyh

Sadly it appears your GP knows nothing. 1mg tabs are considered low dose. 100mcg patch high dose. It may be the progesterone that is making you feel tired. Blood tests on hormones are notoriously useless but its away of GP's of getting us out of the surgery.  Check out the HRT preparations in the green menu print it out take it with you to the GP. If still no joy I would push for a referral to a clinic or if you can afford it good private.

I did find a conversion chart online once but cannot find it now.

Best wishes SB

[PollyH]

Hi sweaty bet
Thanks for replying.

Do you think I'm being fobbed of but he has given them me once. Shall I email dr heather currie to clarify this x x x

PollyH xx

[honeybun]

You could try gel rather than patches. It's much easier to tweak the dose and to spread it across the day...ie morning and evening. That could give you a more constant dose.

Just a thought.


Honeyb
x

[cheekygal]

Hi Polly, I do feel for you.  I have not had any experience with HRT myself as yet, not to say I won't in the future.  Have you tried emailing Dr Currie on here with your story and what you've been/are on.  From reading posts on here, I believe she may be able to answer your questions and help you find the most suitable form of HRT.

Also you say you are coming off an AD, you may also be having a bit of withdrawal to that.  I was on one only for 8 weeks, been off 3 and still unsure what's meno and what is withdrawal.

Good luck. let us know how your going

[Taz2]

You need to take a higher dose if using pills than if you are using patches as some of the dose is lost during the digestive process.. I think I'm right 

Taz x

[honeybun]

Yep spot on Tax.

Quite a bit is lost during the digestive process.


Honeyb
x

[PollyH]

Hi everyone and thank you all for your replies. I mulled over what the doctor said today and kept thinking this is not right. I rang the chemist to ask about tablet and patch doses and what they mean and she more of less confirmed to me that the doctor was wrong together with your replies on here - I just couldn't understand it.

I decided to ring the doctor back and needed to either talk to him on the phone or see him again asap. I rang up but felt scared to go back and confront him - there was a cancellation for 5.30, so I went feeling close to tears all the time. I walked in when my name came up and I said sorry for coming back (broke down in tears) and he immediately apologised and said he had done some research after I had gone this morning and realised he was wrong and said he had learnt something he didn't know today. I was so relieved. I knew he was a good doctor. So now I am starting on 75mcg patch and taking 200mg utrogestan vaginally on a trial of 10 days instead of twelve to see if I still have a bleed - if so he will be happy with that, or i may try 100mg if that dose is too high. I feel better now I know what I'm doing. What a bloody day!! But thanks to you all I got through it.

PollyH
Xxxxxx

[Suzyq]

Taken vaginally, I think I'm right in saying that much more is absorbed than orally, so I think you may well find 200 ultrogestan too much! I've only ever had 100 and that's worked fine. You may not have a bleed if your estrogen is too low so don't assume you need more progesterone. Glad you got some help though and don't worry about bothering doctors - they often get things wrong and it's not till we get home and do research that we know! I'm always crying in doctors except when I'm in a rage and then they sometimes come close to crying! I once had to go back to a doctor the next day and apologies for losing it with him - I think they understand that we are suffering with these bloody hormones ...