I'm 45 and in the past year have started suffering from food intolerances and anxiety at certain times of the month. I also get very weepy on certain days and utterly exhausted on others. I occasionally wake up feeling like I've have a hot nights sleep but don't suffer from full on hot flushes yet. I have trouble remembering things and that is getting steadily worse. Libido very low. Periods regular - cycle has lengthened from 25 - 28/9 days over last year. Hair thinning.
My doctor has eventually prescribed me EstroGel 80 gram gel and Utrogestan 100mg oral capsules.
Having read through lots of posts on this forum I would like to try the following way of taking hrt based on other members Professor Studd experiences. I understand that this is my choice, my risk.
Start -
Day one of period - 1x pump of EstroGel every morning.
Day 22 of period - 1 x Utrogestan oral 100mg inserted as a pessary using an applicator every night for 7 nights.
I would like to add testosterone gel to this - I'm unsure of dose and type but understand you can get this from imeds.com in sachets or a pump.
I'd really appreciate any input from others who have found that Professor Studds way has worked for them. Does this regime sound correct? How much testosterone is recommended? I know that I will need to have regular scans because of the low dose of progesterone and think I may need to up the EstroGel at some point.
Thanks so much in advance.
Hi Rosehip - you may not yet be at peri-menopause if your periods are still regular and are ovulating each month. Therefore the advice you have been given about cycles etc do not apply to you completely. As your cycle is 4 weeks then to stay in tune with it you need to take HRT accordingly - and I can see you have been prescribed it presumably to ride over the fluctuations you will be getting each month just before your period as your own oestrogen level drops - and hence the low dose as you will presumably be producing quite a lot of oestrogen mid cycle.
Because of this - if you are ovulating, then you will also probably be producing a lot of progesterone yourself from the corpus luteum which may well be sufficient to shed most of your lining, in which case the "Studd regime" of only 7 days progesterone may well be fine to keep it within normal linits (but still needs monitoring). Once you get to peri-menopause with irregular periods (and ovulation) or post-menopause - things are very different. There is then no natural cycle as such so some women decide under medical supervision to extend their cycle length from 4 weeks to anything up to 12 weeks depending on oestrogen dose and progesterone dose and duration to create their own artificial longer cycle. This is not possible for you at this stage yet! it is mid/late peri and post-meno that the Studd regime specifically of 7 days x 100 mg utrogestan per cycle is controversial - well - in fact far far less than the licensed dose and can lead to endometrial hyperplasia so has to be done only under close medical supervision.
Re the testosterone - I would not buy this yourself online. Please get it prescribed by a doctor willing to give it to you off licence and who will monitor your T levels (along with SHBG) to ensure your levels are not too high. You don't want to become T dominant!
re your Q about starting oestrogen - it dooesn't matter when you start but oestrogen naturally drops dramatically after ovulation and rsies again a week later in most women - tho' not as high as the pre-ovulatory peak - and then crashes again just before your period. That being the case I would start asap!!
Hope this helps and you manage to work out a regime that suits you
Hurdity x
