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Author Topic: Feeling so desperate and confused.. I need help!  (Read 2943 times)

Albertadawn

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Feeling so desperate and confused.. I need help!
« on: January 07, 2019, 05:51:24 PM »

Hi everyone,
I have just found your organization and I'm so grateful for it! I have spent several years living with anxiety, low mood, foggy brain and joint aches and pains for gradually increasing days of the month, now I feel bad most of the time.
I was so fed up that I went to a private clinic and had blood tests done which showed I didn't have any hormones at all left in the tank but was still peri menopausal so they didn't prescribe estrogen, just progesterone and testosterone in the form of compounded bioidentical creams.
Almost immediately I felt better, my palpitations stopped, my energy levels increased along with my libido and I felt the sunshine creeping back into my brain again. That was at the end of October. I had to give up the testosterone as it was making me angry, I have now stopped taking the progesterone too as I have been feeling more anxious and pannicky than ever and have started with heartburn this past few weeks which I have heard can be caused by progesterone. I emailed Dr. Currie for advice and she has said that I can take hrt. The thing is I'm confused....if I'm only  peri menopausal, won't I become estrogen dominant by taking hrt and won't that make my symptoms worse? I just want to feel better again and more like myself. And I also don't want heartburn for the duration of my time taking progesterone.
I'd love and appreciate so much if members can give me advice and let me know if they can relate to my dilemma. I'm going to see my GP tomorrow so it would be great to have some more information or insight to go to that with. I have decided to not continue with the compounded bioidentical hormones, as I have dome more research that shows they're not as pure or as well tested as pharmaceutical hrt. Also, their diagnosis relies heavily on blood testing which I don't think is necessarily that accurate in diagnosing where we are in the menopause.

Thank you!
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Kb21

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Re: Feeling so desperate and confused.. I need help!
« Reply #1 on: January 07, 2019, 06:01:38 PM »

Hi and welcome. I'm pretty new here too and I'm not very well versed in the hormone treatments. However there are some great brains on here with loads of knowledge and I'm sure they'll post some advice.

I'm confused, if the clinic said you were not making any of your own hormones you would be post menopausal I think. Therefore you would need oestrogen as well.

Xx
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Albertadawn

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Re: Feeling so desperate and confused.. I need help!
« Reply #2 on: January 07, 2019, 06:57:29 PM »

Hi and welcome. I'm pretty new here too and I'm not very well versed in the hormone treatments. However there are some great brains on here with loads of knowledge and I'm sure they'll post some advice.

I'm confused, if the clinic said you were not making any of your own hormones you would be post menopausal I think. Therefore you would need oestrogen as well.

Xx

Thank you so much! I'm really looking forward to connecting with people on here who have the knowledge and experience to guide us through this challenging time in our lives.
You're right to be confused, the thing is because I'm still having periods, I'm classed as perimenopausal still. And they did blood tests a month later and my oestrogen was high. So blood tests are not reliable. The thing is is that the clinic won't go on symptoms, they go with the blood tests. You know what has been a great resource for me too? Menopause Taylor on YouTube. She is a obgyn and has a lot of great info on all things menopause, she is very popular with a lot of women. Maybe you would like her? You could watch a few of her videos to see what you think.
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Kathleen

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Re: Feeling so desperate and confused.. I need help!
« Reply #3 on: January 07, 2019, 07:12:09 PM »

Hello  Albertadawn and welcome to the forum.

Unfortunately I am not one of the expert ladies but I've had my fair share of meno symptoms so I can relate to practically everything you say.

Sorry I can't be of more help but don't despair, you are not alone.

Wishing you well and keep posting.

K.


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CLKD

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Re: Feeling so desperate and confused.. I need help!
« Reply #4 on: January 07, 2019, 07:18:57 PM »

Blood tests are reliably un-reliable  ::) but can give a basis for where your levels might be.

Maybe keep a mood/food/symptom diary.  Jot down how you feel.

Browse round.  Make notes.  Do look at the Vaginal Atrophy threads.    Did Dr Currie suggest which regime would suit you?

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Albertadawn

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Re: Feeling so desperate and confused.. I need help!
« Reply #5 on: January 07, 2019, 07:24:37 PM »

Hello  Albertadawn and welcome to the forum.

Unfortunately I am not one of the expert ladies but I've had my fair share of meno symptoms so I can relate to practically everything you say.

Sorry I can't be of more help but don't despair, you are not alone.

Wishing you well and keep posting.

K.

Aww thank you! Can you share with me what worked for you?
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Albertadawn

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Re: Feeling so desperate and confused.. I need help!
« Reply #6 on: January 07, 2019, 07:29:20 PM »

Blood tests are reliably un-reliable  ::) but can give a basis for where your levels might be.

Maybe keep a mood/food/symptom diary.  Jot down how you feel.

Browse round.  Make notes.  Do look at the Vaginal Atrophy threads.    Did Dr Currie suggest which regime would suit you?

CLKD, thank you for the reply and advice. Yes, I have been keeping a symptom diary of sorts, to help me remember what I've been experiencing.
Do you think I should be worried ref. vaginal atrophy? That's a condition I don't want on top of everything else!
Dr. Currie suggested cyclical hrt, but I'm still confused as to how that will work if I'm still perimenopausal-I don't want to have estrogen dominance if that's going to make things worse.
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CLKD

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Re: Feeling so desperate and confused.. I need help!
« Reply #7 on: January 07, 2019, 07:44:50 PM »

Hi Albertadawn: It really is Trial and Error so what's to lose?  If you have a product name, maybe put it into the 'search' box here to see what pops up?

Many ladies get VA.  It begins with the need to pee, a lot.  So being aware is important. Not enough is known or talked about VA!  It can be eased if caught early.
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Albertadawn

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Re: Feeling so desperate and confused.. I need help!
« Reply #8 on: January 07, 2019, 09:26:37 PM »

Hi Albertadawn: It really is Trial and Error so what's to lose?  If you have a product name, maybe put it into the 'search' box here to see what pops up?

Many ladies get VA.  It begins with the need to pee, a lot.  So being aware is important. Not enough is known or talked about VA!  It can be eased if caught early.
You're absolutely right, I will try anything at this point.
Thanks for that, I have heard of VA but hadn't looked into it-as you say, prevention is better than cure.
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Hurdity

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Re: Feeling so desperate and confused.. I need help!
« Reply #9 on: January 09, 2019, 09:08:38 AM »

Hi Albertadawn

 :welcomemm:

Sorry to hear you are feeling rough and struggling with the right preparation. I'm not sure why you went to a private specialist in the first instance and started on BHRT creams etc when you could have had better advice from your own GP on the NHS - at only the cost of the prescriptions? Oestrogen dominance is a red herring - so don't be put off by what you've read about this!

The bottom line is - if your natural periods have started getting erratic - variable cycle lengths, sometimes late periods etc - then you are peri-menopausal and conventional HRT (or the BCP) - containing a combination of oestrogen and progesterone is the recommended treatment. if your periods are still absolutely regular then you are not yet peri-menopausal but in what is known as the Late Reproductive Stage (or Phase)  - when some hormones begin to go awry but you are still ovulating regularly. Often women experiencing worsening pms at this point but this stage can be hard to treat when hormone levels are fluctuating wildly.

You haven't said how old you are but if still youngish you might be better off taking one of the BCP types - there are a couple designed for women in your position. They contain estradiol ( bio-identical oestrogen), suppress the cycle and one of them only has two tablet free days so minimising homronal fluctuations. These are called QLAIRA and ZOELY.

Some women find a low dose HRT tablet such as Femoston 1/10 helps at this point - if your periods are pretty regular but you are getting symptoms such as flushes and sweats.

In the meantime here is an article about peri-menopause which tells you what is happening in your body:
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/magazine/pdf/Article%20-%20Perils%20of%20the%20Perimenopause.pdf

Hope this helps!

Hurdity x
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Albertadawn

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Re: Feeling so desperate and confused.. I need help!
« Reply #10 on: January 10, 2019, 02:08:11 AM »

Hi Albertadawn

 :welcomemm:

Sorry to hear you are feeling rough and struggling with the right preparation. I'm not sure why you went to a private specialist in the first instance and started on BHRT creams etc when you could have had better advice from your own GP on the NHS - at only the cost of the prescriptions? Oestrogen dominance is a red herring - so don't be put off by what you've read about this!

The bottom line is - if your natural periods have started getting erratic - variable cycle lengths, sometimes late periods etc - then you are peri-menopausal and conventional HRT (or the BCP) - containing a combination of oestrogen and progesterone is the recommended treatment. if your periods are still absolutely regular then you are not yet peri-menopausal but in what is known as the Late Reproductive Stage (or Phase)  - when some hormones begin to go awry but you are still ovulating regularly. Often women experiencing worsening pms at this point but this stage can be hard to treat when hormone levels are fluctuating wildly.

You haven't said how old you are but if still youngish you might be better off taking one of the BCP types - there are a couple designed for women in your position. They contain estradiol ( bio-identical oestrogen), suppress the cycle and one of them only has two tablet free days so minimising homronal fluctuations. These are called QLAIRA and ZOELY.

Some women find a low dose HRT tablet such as Femoston 1/10 helps at this point - if your periods are pretty regular but you are getting symptoms such as flushes and sweats.

In the meantime here is an article about peri-menopause which tells you what is happening in your body:
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/magazine/pdf/Article%20-%20Perils%20of%20the%20Perimenopause.pdf

Hope this helps!

Hurdity x

Hi Hurdity, and thanks for your welcome and your advice  :)
I went to a private clinic because I'd read about Prof. John Studd's clinic and his belief in compounded bioidenticals. And then I read Carol Vorderman's story about her experiences so I thought it would be a good choice for me. Also, my clinic employs specialist obgyn's and was founded by a leading consultant so I really think they know their stuff.
What I'd like to do now is go on a low dosage patch of oestrogen and a gel form of progesterone. Thing is, I went to my GP has said that he doesn't think hrt is safe based on the latest study he's read and also that unless I'm having hot flushes and night sweats, it won't work for me. So....you can see what I'm dealing with .....he recommended sleeping tablets usually prescribed for people with diabetes and anti depressants.
My symptoms are just so bad, today I felt so down and flat. I just don't know what to try next? Any suggestions gratefully received.
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Albertadawn

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Re: Feeling so desperate and confused.. I need help!
« Reply #11 on: January 10, 2019, 02:10:22 AM »

Hi Albertadawn

 :welcomemm:

Sorry to hear you are feeling rough and struggling with the right preparation. I'm not sure why you went to a private specialist in the first instance and started on BHRT creams etc when you could have had better advice from your own GP on the NHS - at only the cost of the prescriptions? Oestrogen dominance is a red herring - so don't be put off by what you've read about this!

The bottom line is - if your natural periods have started getting erratic - variable cycle lengths, sometimes late periods etc - then you are peri-menopausal and conventional HRT (or the BCP) - containing a combination of oestrogen and progesterone is the recommended treatment. if your periods are still absolutely regular then you are not yet peri-menopausal but in what is known as the Late Reproductive Stage (or Phase)  - when some hormones begin to go awry but you are still ovulating regularly. Often women experiencing worsening pms at this point but this stage can be hard to treat when hormone levels are fluctuating wildly.

You haven't said how old you are but if still youngish you might be better off taking one of the BCP types - there are a couple designed for women in your position. They contain estradiol ( bio-identical oestrogen), suppress the cycle and one of them only has two tablet free days so minimising homronal fluctuations. These are called QLAIRA and ZOELY.

Some women find a low dose HRT tablet such as Femoston 1/10 helps at this point - if your periods are pretty regular but you are getting symptoms such as flushes and sweats.

In the meantime here is an article about peri-menopause which tells you what is happening in your body:
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/magazine/pdf/Article%20-%20Perils%20of%20the%20Perimenopause.pdf

Hope this helps!

Hurdity x

Ps. I'm 51 and am having fairly erratic period still and I don't know what BCP's are? I will look into the other meds you mention. Thanks!
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