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[Momo]

Hello Ladies
i haven't been on for a long while, as i stopped taking HRT due to problems with my migraines ramping up whilst taking Estrodil or Evoril conti( i think) I stopped about 18 months ago and hoped it would all be ok, i stopped because my migraines were getting so much worse and i couldn't bear it any longer. Hot flushes have really reduced thanks to magnesium supplement, and it helped with leg cramping too.

But I am  going back to the Docs this week as i feel so very low and am not performing mentally at work at all, really affecting me. My anxiety is getting worse, i have no confidence, and spend lots of  time crying in the loos at work, it is ridiculous. I am 49!! And i am getting migraines again (about 1 a month)
 So was thinking of going back and asking about Oestrogen only gel to see if it might help with my mood, general wellbeing. But i did have a couple of questions.
Will i start bleeding if i take oestrogen only gel?  -  i have enjoyed not having any bleeds for the last 18 months. And what is the likelihood of being allowed to take Oestrogen only gel?

I still have a womb, so what are the chances that i will be allowed only to have oestrogen? I think the progesterone causes the migraines to get worse, i was getting real stinkers every 2 weeks as well as low mood and brain fog so really don't want to take it.
I have had mirena in the past, which often gets recommended, but it made me very depressed and again, hello Mr Migraine every other week as well as appalling acne. I sound such a wreck 

is there any feeling about whether i could have just Oestrogen Gel? Patches? or any other suggestions for someone in my situation?
thanks in advance and all  the best
Momo

[Dotty]

Hi you can use Oestrogel but you will need progesterone too to protect your womb. X

[CLKD]

Make a list to take to the appt..  Ask how often you will actually require progesterone - you may need a scan of your womb to check it's 'within normal limits'.  Let us know how you get on.

[Tc]

Momo. I think it's highly unlikely any doc will prescribe systemic eastrogen without a form of progesterone to ladies with uterus.

You havent had a period for 18 months so I guess you are post meno. So it's interesting that you are getting migraines once a month like you would with a cycle if migraine is hormone driven. Maybe some hormonal activity going on.

Have you considered that if you take a low dose eastrogen you might be able to "tweak" the progesterone part. . I dont know if you tried that before.but obvs needs to be done under docs supervision.

Also you mention mirena and everol conti but have you tried any other progesterones?

I suffered migraines for years which were deemed to be hormonal but havent had them since surgical meno. 9 months ago.  I am on HRT but my eastrogen is very low so mine might be eastrogen driven. When I first started utrogestan I had headaches, rather than migraine, for 2 weeks which went away but I'm struggeling with the other utrogestan side effects  and I'm not at all "balanced"  so I'm sorry I cant offer more experience 

I hope you get some replies from ladies with hormonal migraine who have tried different  progesterone or regimes with success. . That would be realy helpful for you 

It sounds as though from your symptoms you might be missing the eastrogen but I realy dont think you will be able to get eastrogel on it's own.

Regarding the migraine. Have you seen the new drug  aimovig injection.   my cousin in Holland  was part of the trial and found it was a real game changer. Its preventative.which is the breakthrough weve all been waiting for with migraine. It's been licensed here but NICE are dragging their feet on recommending it for NHS.

Good luck with your docs appointment. Xxx

[Dancinggirl]

Momo - you wouldn't be allowed oestrogen alone I'm afraid and as you seem to be very sensitive to progesterone you may be in a difficult position regarding HRT. At 49 you would benefit greatly from having HRT for a few years to protect your heart and bones but improving low mood is often the toughest symptom of menopause to treat - HRT doesn't always help.

Oestrogel  or oestrogen patches with Utrogestan (used vaginally though not licensed in the UK to be use vaginally yet!!) might be you best option to try and it could be trying to see if things improve.  I'm afraid headaches and migraines often get worse when meno hits - mine have become worse since I came off HRT.  I got a few migraines while on HRT but I always found I coped better in so many ways while on HRT until the progesterone really started to give me problems in the later years - I did use HRT for nearly 25 years.

Print off the information about Oestrogel and Utrogestan to show your GP  - it's all under TREATMENTS on this site.  GPs are rarely up to speed on HRT so it's best to have information to show them.  I wouldn't advice the continuous version, using progesterone every day, due to your sensitivity to progesterone but the sequi version will involve a monthly bleed I'm afraid.
If you don't try it you'll never know.  DG x

[Momo]

thanks for all the advice ladies
Tc - haven't heard about the new injection for migraines, it might be worth investigating. I have rather lost track of what progesterone i have tried, i think provera made them worse too, i am sort of hoping i can try the gel and then tweak the progesterone dose as you suggest. It is really annoying as i get migraines whether i am on or off HRT but they get a lot worse when i am on.

Dancing Girl - fair point about not knowing until i try, it is just the effort it takes that wears me down, but i guess i am at a low point now, so it is worth trying something.
CLKD - when i was on Evoril Conti i did have a womb scan and it was a bit thick, but not so bad that they were worried at the time, but that was 18 months ago/2 years so it could have changed since then i guess

thanks once again for all the advice, great you are all here for us worried folk!
take care

[CLKD]

Also - nowt is silly ;-)

Some do have a longer gap between progesterone phase ? to ease those symptoms ........ maybe make a list of your symptoms and discuss with your GP?