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[GypsyRoseLee]

Oops forgot to post last night!

Days 15-16:

Mood still up and good. Appetite still an issue though but started eating more carefully today. Just haven't felt able to take control until today.

The true test of whether a more oestrogen laden bcp is better for me will come in the next few days. As of today I have been 'good' for 2 weeks straight. If I'm going to dip, then it will be very soon, as I haven't gone more than 2 good weeks since forever.

[CLKD]

 

[GypsyRoseLee]

Hi Kathleen

Back before starting HRT my appetite went very odd. Felt hungry but couldn't fancy anything. Would order a lovely meal in a restaurant then end up pushing it around my plate. I was just the same when pregnant, so shows it must be hormonal.

I also sent through a stage of despising anything sugary or ruch (not like me at all) and started nibbling on dried oakcakes () and craving very sour drinks. Again, must have been hormones. But I did lose nearly a stone.

I hope my posts are informing and helping some people. I think the BCP has been very overlooked in helping with peri menopause. If I can stop must one woman going through what I have been through I will be so pleased.

[Chi chi]

I'm still following with interest  , hope it continues going well for you 

[GypsyRoseLee]

Day 17:

Nothing new to report. Still feeling good. I am poised for a mood slump though, as it's been over 2 weeks now that I have been feeling good, and I can't remember the last time I went longer than 2.5 weeks feeling good?

We're away this weekend and it will just be sod's law if my mood slumps just before.

[Briony]

Had enough of Marvelon yesterday (day eight) and decided to call the doctor to ask if I could switch to either Yaz or Mercilon (both 2mg estrogen rather than 3) as I think I am suffering from too much sudden estrogen. Just feel so yucky (hence reason not had the energy to post much). It came to a head last night when the nausea was keeping me awake, my lower back started aching, then I had severe stomach cramps. Was gone 2.00am before I finally fell asleep. Woke feeling tired and jittery.

Spoke to the doctor on the  phone, but she has persuaded me to hang in there a little longer. She said emotional and physical side effects are both very, very common and usually go within the first month, so it would be silly to lose the potential benefits for the sake of a few weeks. She said switching to a 2mg pill is likely to have poor cycle control and the standard 3mg tend, in the longer run, to be most popular.

She also confirmed that it's fine just to have a 3/4 day break each month - enough to allow for a bleed if needed, but not enough to provoke withdrawal symptoms.

[dogdoc]

I feel for you Briony. I think you're extremely strong to even attempt to 'power through' those symptoms.  I'm very familiar with them and not sure I could. Good luck.
Tara

[GypsyRoseLee]

Day 18:

Another very good day. Marvelon is definitely better for me than Microgynon.

Briony, I am so sorry you are struggling. It is so hard battling through the day when everything feels so grey. I do think your GP is fight in that you should give it just another few weeks, just to get past the first pack. At least then you can make a considered decision to stop/or not. You are doing so well to get this far it's only a little while longer. I think you were just the same when you first started on Qlaira?

You can do it girl!

I intend probably just having a 4 day break at the end of this first pack, just to see.

[Briony]

Thanks for the encouragement. I have decided to stick it out a bit longer providing things get no worse. Otherwise it will appear that the big struggle I had even to be prescribed a conventional pill will have been pointless.

One of the weirdest  side effects I am now getting is fluid retention. I can literally 'feel' it on my hands and ankles. My socks almost hurt yesterday !

Starting Q was nothing like this - I just had a bit of itching, headache  and it took a while for it to reduce my previous symptoms (pre pill symptoms). I guess the BCP is 4 times as strong so it's not surprising I feel so out of it.

I am also noticing that I can go from relaxed to hideously anxious in about ten seconds!

[GypsyRoseLee]

Day 19:

Another good day. Have even managed to lose 3lbs this week!

Briony, well done for sticking it out a while longer. A very stoic decision. In a way, I wonder if your body is reacting so strongly is just demonstrating how little oestrogen it was getting Vs. what it needed? I expect your system is havi g the shock of its life right now?

But the fact you are reacting like this makes me think that ultimately you really do 'need' this oestrogen maybe?

As for the fluid, that is weird. Maybe a mild diuretic would help? And the occasional 2mg if diazepam just to get you through the first month?

[Chi chi]

You're prob right to try and continue Briony (if you can just about cope with it)  I knew I couldn't carry on with Yaz! I don't feel wonderful but I'm so much better now than this time last week  I'm due to start Qlaira tonight 😬

So glad things are still going well GRL 

[Briony]

Thanks both of you. To be honest, your logic was the same as mine - and it's the only reason I have persevered. I suspect you're absolutely right that my body 'needed' this amount of hormone. Much less nauseous today, but very, very snappy. One of the first days I didnt feel like I was about to cry too.

CHi Chi, it'll be interesting to hear how you get on. What hrt did you have previously? You may find that the Q is very similar so wont affect you adversely. The only thing I'd beware of, apart from random spotting, is slight changes (mental and physical) when you swap doses. I think it's day 7/8 ish when the progesterone goes up a dose but the estrogen stays the same. After a few months I hardly noticed it, but if you look back at my posts, I'm sure this is where I had my first (temporary) 'second thought'!

I'll be intrigued to hear how you get on as so far, there's not really been anyone but me on here taking it. Keeping everything crossed for you! x

[GypsyRoseLee]

We're away at the moment, in the back of beyond, and have only just figured out the WiFi.

But just to say, still feeling really good on the BCP. This has been one of the best weekends I have spent in years. I am going for hours and hours now actually forgetting that I have been so ill with my hormones these last 2 years. There was a time where it was all I could really think about because it loomed over everything and anything. My skin is really good too, so soft and smooth. No libido though. But I am hoping this might come back a bit in time?

I took my last tablet last night and have decided to give myself just a 4 day break. Hopefully enough to give me a bleed and enough to stop a build up of too much progesterone? But not long enough to give me too much of a withdrawal dip from the oestrogen either? It's going to be a bit of trial and error.

I have decided not to update my diary every day from now on. I hope what I have posted has been useful.

[Briony]

What a fantastic post - that's brilliant news. I am sure your posts will have been so useful to so many, even those who dont reply.

Would be interesting to know how you feel after the four day break, if you get chance to post?

The biggest thing I've learnt from recent weeks is how differently people - even those with similar symptoms and age profiles - respond to identical medication.

Yesterday was Day 12 for me and I had such a 'PMS' feel - quick tempered and sluggish. Woke today with a dull headache and slight spotting. I still feel it's side effects, so need to wait at least a fortnight before I give in totally. Otherwise I'll never know what I do need, if that makes sense? I cant cope like this permanently, but there's still a possibility it's just an initial reaction (I do often get initial side effects with medication so perhaps I am sensitive).

I am now beginning to worry about 'what next if this doesn't work?'. Chi Chi, you probably had similar thoughts? I could try Q, but know the fluctuations causes spotting and headaches. I could ask to try Yaz, which Prof Studd suggests on his site - it contains less estrogen than Marvelon and a slightly more natural (though controversial) progesterone. However, Chi Chi's experience has made me more reticent than I would have been. Alternatively, I could try and be 'creative'. I always felt best on the 3mg b/i estrogen pill days with Qlaira (this was natural, not synthetic, estrogen). I also loved taking Utrogestan, but hated the emotional hell dip after 12 days of 200mg. I therefore wonder if it's possible to take 3mg of bio identical estrogen with 100mg of Utrogestan, days 1-25 (ie similar to a pill's timing)? Anyone know if it's possible?  For the time being, it's just me 'thinking out loud' to people who get it.  I think I'd be too embarrassed to suggest it to my doctor - she'd think I am nuts!

[dogdoc]

I'm actually scared to try anything now Briony. As soon as I start something and feel like crap I stop. Patches only - felt good for a bit then crap, then stopped. Felt ok on utrogestan, within days of stopping = crap. Thought well I'll try to hold out and not take any hormones at all until I'm skipping periods ( they're all over the place but still sorta 'monthly ' between 21-35 days.
Thought I'd just use local estrogen for dryness. Tried vagifem. Horribly painful breasts and lower pelvic cramping like pms but worse and the face parasthesia and buzzing eyeballs I now associate with excessive estrogen. Don't think so!!

So I have no idea where I'm at. Having periods monthly tells me I still have estrogen even if not much. Maybe my loading more estrogen into the system is not helping at all. Going to "'break" for a month or two and see what happens.
Ready to be done now.