Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Tracey E]

Hi everyone, at the moment I'm taking 1.5 pumps of Estrodrial daily and experiencing horrendous palpitations. 😟 With this I'm also getting excessive wind, reflux and bloating. I know it's not the Utrogestan because I get this when I'm on the Estrogen only part of the cycle. My menopause symptoms seem to be controlled on this dosage too, well all for the palps.

Now should I increase my Estrogel dose or is there an alternative estrogen I could take with less side effects?

Any help greatly appreciated as I'm now thinking of giving up on HRT altogether. 😪

[Dotty]

Hi palpitations are a common symptom of menopause so could be that rather than a side effect of the gel x

[Hurdity]

I can't see that wind, reflux and bloating could be dramatically increased by using transdermal HRT? Do you take Utrogestan vaginally or orally and for how long? Have you tried changing your diet to see if someting else is to blame?

Hang in there and hopefully it will settle!

Hurdity x

[Tracey E]

I can't see that wind, reflux and bloating could be dramatically increased by using transdermal HRT? Do you take Utrogestan vaginally or orally and for how long? Have you tried changing your diet to see if someting else is to blame?

Hang in there and hopefully it will settle!

Hurdity x

Hi Hurdity, I eat a fairly good diet tbh, I have sent off for a gluten allergy test though just check if all well that way.

I take Utrogestan vaginally for 7 days a month. This produces a bleed in the 10th day.

When I was first going through the menopause I used to get awful palpitations and the doctor told me it was probably due to a drop in my Estrogen. I don't know if these palps are product related or not. I also get palps from the HRT patches too, when I leave them off they go away. Pfft fed up.

[Tracey E]

Hi palpitations are a common symptom of menopause so could be that rather than a side effect of the gel x

Hi Dotty, in my Peri stage I used to get them a lot then they seemed to fade away on their own. But since starting HRT post menopausal they've come back and I don't know whether it's because my dose of estrogen is too high or too low. :(1.5 pumps eases my hot flushes so I thought this would be doing the trick.

[Tracey E]

Just found this on the internet!

Many women use hormone replacement therapy as an aid against the symptoms of menopause or to otherwise increase estrogen levels. Hormone replacement therapy can compromise the closure of the LES leading to chronic acid reflux and heartburn, a symptom of GERD.

[Turkish delight]

Hia!

How long have you been on this regime? If it's for not that long your symptoms may decrease or go altogether.
But if it's been a while then as I'm doing now taking a break may help you resolve where the issue is.

Interesting that your Doc says palps are from estrogen. I had palps, I'm peri, had them before taking hrt but after replacing some of my estrogen with 1 pump E gel it resolved. I have however had to stop taking all hrt instructed by Doc, in the last week after 7 months on it as my wind, bloating and diarrhea have been out of control. It's so hard to work out what my body is trying to tell me, with these symptoms, there seems no rhyme or reason to it, I think I've nailed the reason and then I'm wrong. As yet to find the smoking gun.

Wishing you better luck than me in finding the answers, and sorry your suffering these symptoms, the palps are scary but not a symptom that's linked to heart attacks so don't worry too much. x

TD

[Jari]

Hi Tracy E,

I also used the gel and got severe anxiety/ palpitations using it. I'm sure it was that and not the utrogestan. I say that because I only took the utrogestan 7 days a month and the gel daily and the symptoms I had were continuous.

I ditched the hrt straight away and the symptoms went.
It just affects people in different ways, linked to our own hormone levels etc..

I started on 2 pumps per day but when I started to get the symptoms, I reduced to 1 pump per day, but the symptoms continued to get worse, even on that very low dose.

How long have you been taking it and out of interest, why did you start taking hrt? ie what were your symptoms like before taking hrt and what stage of meno are you at? X

[Tracey E]

Hia!

How long have you been on this regime? If it's for not that long your symptoms may decrease or go altogether.
But if it's been a while then as I'm doing now taking a break may help you resolve where the issue is.

Interesting that your Doc says palps are from estrogen. I had palps, I'm peri, had them before taking hrt but after replacing some of my estrogen with 1 pump E gel it resolved. I have however had to stop taking all hrt instructed by Doc, in the last week after 7 months on it as my wind, bloating and diarrhea have been out of control. It's so hard to work out what my body is trying to tell me, with these symptoms, there seems no rhyme or reason to it, I think I've nailed the reason and then I'm wrong. As yet to find the smoking gun.

Wishing you better luck than me in finding the answers, and sorry your suffering these symptoms, the palps are scary but not a symptom that's linked to heart attacks so don't worry too much. x

TD

Hi TD, are you now post menopausal? Apparently estrogen given during HRT can disrupt the digestive system. I have a friend who's a doctor and they told me  that this disruption (acid reflux and bloating) can trigger the vagus nerve. This can then cause the palpitations. Which would explain why the palps get worse around meal times. I really don't know what the solution is. I am seriously contemplating coming off HRR altogether.

[Tracey E]

Hi Tracy E,

I also used the gel and got severe anxiety/ palpitations using it. I'm sure it was that and not the utrogestan. I say that because I only took the utrogestan 7 days a month and the gel daily and the symptoms I had were continuous.

I ditched the hrt straight away and the symptoms went.
It just affects people in different ways, linked to our own hormone levels etc..

I started on 2 pumps per day but when I started to get the symptoms, I reduced to 1 pump per day, but the symptoms continued to get worse, even on that very low dose.

How long have you been taking it and out of interest, why did you start taking hrt? ie what were your symptoms like before taking hrt and what stage of meno are you at? X

Hi Jari, I've been on the Prof Studds 7 day regime since March 2019 and I'm post menopausal. My symptoms were hot flushes, eczema and VA. My mum had Osteoprosis and I was worried I might develop that in the future.

I really don't want the VA back or the hot flushes but I can see no light at the end of the tunnel resolvement wise.

I've upped my Estrogel today to two pumps, in a last ditched effort to help. Maybe it's the fact that I'm not taking progesterone every day that's causing the problem. I'm should be having a Mirena fitted shortly but I need my estrogen balanced before I do that.. Pfft.. 

[Tracey E]

I had palps when my oestrogen was low. But if you are anxious, you can get them too. What a minefield all of this is!

Hi Birdy, I don't feel anxious though, they come one when I'm relaxed watching the telly or they wake me in the middle of the night when I'm asleep.

I've upped the estrogel to two pumps today to see if it helps. Are you still getting palpitations ?

[Jari]

Hi Tracey,

Have you had these palpitations since taking hrt or has it only recently started. Mine started just a couple of weeks into taking it..
There's no way I could have carried on taking it, because I literally couldn't breathe after 2 months.
I know the flushes can be quite distressing and that's why I raced for hrt in the first place, but I'm pleased to say, my flushes are getting less and less. My gp told me that for the majority of ladies she sees, the flushes etc do start to fade and for most, these symptoms have all gone after 2 years.
My worry with taking hrt, is that we don't therefore know how our “ natural menopause” would be doing, because the hrt masks that.

Do you take supplements and get some good exercise? Drinking plenty of water to keep body hydrated? X

[Jari]

Ps Tracey, I've recently had a bone scan as I was curious to see how my skeleton was.

My results were normal for hips but borderline osteopenia for spine. No meds recommended. The consultant said just keep on with good diet and walking exercise is good for bone health. She said my calcium etc was good levels from blood test, but I decided to get calcium supplements anyway.
She said she would have prescribed calcium if I needed it.
If you're concerned about your bone health, I would definitely recommend asking your gp for a dexa scan. X

[Tracey E]

Hi Jari, I've not had palps on this regime until two weeks ago but then I did drop the Estrogel dose to try and achieve the lowest possible input. I used to get palpitations all the time on Evorel Conti patches that's why I changed HRT.

See if it was just the hot flushes I would probably cope coming off it. But I have VA as well so I don't want to get back to the point I was with that prior to HRT. My sister still has hot flushes at 70 years of age, I'm only 56...

I get plenty of excersise two crazy dogs to walk every day. I only eat fish and veg so no meat in my diet at all. I take multi vits, magnesium and cod liver oil tablets. I should drink more water though.

I'll see how two pumps of gel goes for a while and take it from there  X

[Sammiejane]

Hi Tracey e

I'm not sure I'f I already asked you this but have u suffered thinning hair since being on the estrogel I know u take utrogestan for 7 days but I'm on the gel 2 pumps and my scalp hair has thinned dramatically and not sure if it's the gel or just low estrogen but I had ovaries removed 5 years ago and have only been taking HRT for 9 months and prior to starting HRT I didn't have hairloss so HRT I believe has triggered it x

I'm wondering wether to swap to a patch as my estrogen levels suggest I'm not obsorbing the gel very well .