Hahaha, I can't say I'm known for my patience but I do have a need to be in control
. I did decide early on that I would try and approach this systematically as I had seen quite a lot on this forum and elsewhere where women and their GPs were chopping and changing doses and products without giving time for things to settle and a true picture to emerge. It seemed to be a good way to keep my GP on board as far as possible too
. I have the luxury of working very part-time for my OH from home and have no kids so I could afford to be 'out of service' if necessary! I also had some counselling at the same time as starting HRT which was really helpful.
From what you say I would agree that it might be a little early to consider a specialist. The first thing is definitely to check the Mirena I would think as all other decisions will likely stem from whether you keep it or not. Also do you know if your iron, B12 and Vitamin D are at decent levels currently?
The diarroea is 'interesting' (!) as I suffered a lot in the early days of peri when my hormones were up and down like a yoyo and I was having lots of periods (every 12-18 days roughly). I made big changes to my diet and it seemed to go but it still returns the night before my withdrawal bleed without fail. That might be a red-herring in your case 'though? There are a lot of them in menopause, I've found
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If you were still having pretty regular periods then it's possible that you really don't need much oestrogen at this stage but just enough to oppose the progesterone in the Mirena and add a small top up? I felt better with some extra progesterone at this stage until my periods were much further apart - I went 60 days, 90 days, 150 days then two in quick succession and at that point I was flushing a bit and waking early to extreme heat and adrenaline surges. That was the time I decided I wanted full HRT (anxiety, aches and pains, hair loss, brain fog etc. had been around for a while at that point). One of the first things to go for me (eventually...) were the early morning wakeups (although I'm still a bit short of sleep all the time). Melatonin, valerian etc didn't help this at all (although they can be good for getting off to sleep I found). Anything to help you relax and reduce anxiety is good. I found acupuncture very relaxing but it didn't help my sleep, unfortunately.
It's really tricky 'though as anxiety and jitteriness can be a sign of both low, high and fluctuating oestrogen and your early waking is a classic sign of low oestrogen! The problem is we are all so varied and respond so differently to HRT (and vary between types and doses too). Whatever you decide I would suggest start low, keep a diary and stick it out for 3 months unless you are having unbearable side effects. I think you probably tried to increase to 50 from 25 patches too soon. Easier said than done, I know, but it really can take that long for levels to rise and any benefits to be fully realised. If you have current stomach issues definitely use patches rather than tablets. If you need a progesterone Utrogestan is often better tolerated and can be used vaginally (your GP won't know this I suspect, and won't approve!). You could also try something like low dose Femeston sequi (tablets) which has one of the gentler progesterones. There are lots of different products to try so don't despair. There is no reason why you cannot try all of them - don't let your GP tell you that they're pretty much all the same as many women on here will tell you that's not their experience at all!
I have also been through the whole gamut of supplements but now I'm on HRT I only take the non-meno ones as they can muddy the waters a bit and some interact. So no sage, soy, black cohosh, red clover, St. Johns Wort or evening primrose/starflower. I would go back to basics with everything - a diet that is nourishing and as unprocessed as possible, Vit D/Iron/B12 if you are low otherwise a good multivitamin/mineral supplement with plenty of B vits included. Extra magnesium is also really good for anxiety, aches and pains, stiffness (and period pain) - don't take M. citrate 'though as it will give you the runs! I take high doses and use a body spray too. I also found Lemon Balm (Melissa) quite good for anxiety for a while.
I totally get the fed up bit and the overwhelming tiredness just feeds into everything else making it ten times worse
. There are days I feel OK and others where I despair at spending the rest of my life stuck in a fog of exhaustion. We will get there eventually 'though! Let me know how you get on with the Mirena appointment and perhaps we can come up with a plan for your GP
. xx
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Topic: Private Specialist in SouthWest - anyone tried Poundbury Clinic in Dorchester (Read 3229 times)