Print

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

[Blue Kingfisher]

Hi everyone,

Ive been on oestrogel & Utrogestan for almost 3 years now so I've given it a good go! I'm on 5 pumps oestrogel daily (I absorb poorly & symptoms are most under control on this amount. I'm 50 years old but have been suffering from peri symptoms since early 40s. My symptoms are akin to being on a roller coaster every month where I have patches where I feel ok but patches where I feel wretched. The pattern of feeling terrible is the same at the same time in my HRT regime so it must be related.

I recently sought advice at the Newson clinic (under the advice of a wise member on this forum!). They have suggested I consider trying other forms of HRT with the Mirena coil whilst sticking with oestrogel as the suggested first port of call. They also suggested, if i was still experiencing symptoms, to try adding in an oestrogen patch to see if I absorbed that better.

The next option they suggested (unless I preferred to start with a patch as opposed to the Mirena coil) would be to try a Conti patch either Evorel or Femseven at 100mg & then adding in 1-2 pumps of oestrogel to top up should I feel I need it. They suggested Conti rather than sequi as my periods were all over the place before commencing HRT & my natural oestrogen level measured less than 19. Never got more granularity on what the figure actually was but obviously it was very low. I'd have no idea which patch to try first & imagine it's pot luck if you get the one that suits you first time! Also, aren't there supply issues with patches......? Just to add to my anxiety on all this! 

I'm not sure what to try first. Mirena I'm sacred (because I'm a anxious wimp!) about the pain aspect of insertion & im also terrified I will feel really bad on a low, continuous drip of synthetic progesterone. I felt totally shocking on 100mg Utrogestan vs 200mg Utrogestan & this fact concerns me. The message I am getting though from the doctor at the Newson clinic is that different methods react differently for different women & there is no real way to know unless you try.

If I went for the Mirena, it would have to be that if it started to make me feel terrible, it would have to come out pronto! When I say terrible I mean like the 100mg Utrogestan makes me feel I.e. unable to get out of bed, unable to work, unable to function, would rather end my life than have a life where I was forced to take it.

I have Hashimoto's (under active thyroid) which may account for some of the severity of my reactions.

Perhaps the patch would be a better bet for me but I have no idea & I guess with the Mirena I would be changing ‘one' thing at a time by sticking with the oestrogel & if it didn't work....then consider a patch at that time. Although I do wonder with also having to take thyroid meds every morning (they don't work well for me if I take them at night) if a more constant flow of HRT would be better than a sudden surge of 5 pumps oestrogel every morning ....btw, I've tried splitting my oestrogel dose - none of that gets me to a good place I can tell you!

Anyway, I know there are no answers but the truth is I'm very scared. I don't feel good enough to stay on the current regime but scared I'll feel worse. Put it this way, I'm thinking I might need to take considerable time off work if it all goes wrong (like when I tried switching to 100mg Utrogestan for a longer time period!).

If anyone can share their experience in switching from oestrogel/Utro I'd be extremely grateful to hear about it.

Thanks all xx

[Tinkerbell]

I hated utrogestan, but i find the Mirena perfect for me i haven't had any low mood episodes and i having been using it for 3 years now.
I was anxious about the insertion, it was more uncomfortable than a smear but certainly not as bad as i thought it would be.

[Blue Kingfisher]

Hi Tinkerbell,

That's very encouraging to hear, thank you for sharing! Out of interest, what are you taking for oestrogen?

Such a relief having this forum. Peri/Meno is extremely lonely. Have to hide my symptoms at work, hide them at home (only because after a couple of years you are fed up of putting the mockers on things!).

Really helps to hear from others in the same boat, thank you xx

[Penelope]

Hi Tinker bell I hear everything you are saying.Have you considered HRT pill form.My Specialist advised this because if you take it at the same time every day you know what you are getting and it's easy to increase the dose.The patches he advised are good but you never get the exact same does every time and they fall off.The gels and creams are never absorbed the same everyday.I chose the HRT Kliovance pill because I needed It to be a regular supply into my body.
There is no need at all to be worried or scared.Just remember HRT is half the strength of the contraceptive pill.Women who stress cause there hormones to react and that causes more severe symptoms.Hang in there honey.Make a decision that is right for you and go for it.xxxx😀

[owenlana]

Hi
I wish you good luck, also very scared here to try anything new having been faced with this possibility due to shortages of evorel.  Like yourself I started taking young at just 42 due to early menopause. Evorel sequi has worked really well for me
Hope you find the right hrt for yourself. 

[Blue Kingfisher]

Thank you so so much for your responses ladies. I think on reflection I will try the Mirena coil whilst staying on the oestrogel. I'll await the letter from the clinic advising this as a first step & then book an appointment to discuss it with my GP. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was worried about this making me too ill to work & concerned about how quickly I could get it removed (if it effected me in this way) but I'll have to discuss all this with my GP. I think I will also warn work that I may experience side effects from a change in medication.......why does the menopause happen when you have the most responsibilities, both at work & at home!!??

Thank you again ladies, it helps to know I'm not alone in all this! xx

[paisley]

Hi Kingfisher
Totally understand where you are coming from. I have been in this menopause for 9 years & 8 of those in surgical menopause. I don't need to take progesterone anymore. I used to feel horrendous on the progesterone phase of HRT. Have you tried to rule out which is causing you to have the awful down times? If you knew it was the progesterone part you could concentrate on trying to get one to help or if it was the oestrogen part you could concentrate on that one only. I suspect it's the progesterone phase that's causing you these ups & downs & so would think it's a good idea to find one that works better for you instead of changing everything at once

[Elmsey]

Thank you so so much for your responses ladies. I think on reflection I will try the Mirena coil whilst staying on the oestrogel. I'll await the letter from the clinic advising this as a first step & then book an appointment to discuss it with my GP. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was worried about this making me too ill to work & concerned about how quickly I could get it removed (if it effected me in this way) but I'll have to discuss all this with my GP. I think I will also warn work that I may experience side effects from a change in medication.......why does the menopause happen when you have the most responsibilities, both at work & at home!!??

Thank you again ladies, it helps to know I'm not alone in all this! xx

Hi Kingfisher

I know this is a couple of months old, but I thought it would be worth posting my experiences. I had similarly awful experiences with progesterone parts of HRT. Could not tolerate Utrogestan at all even in the smallest doses. Made me suicidal!  I tried really hard for nearly a year.  In the end I had a Mireya fitted. I had similar concerns, but I have never looked back. I use it with gel (2 pumps) but I find that a complete fath and a bit random so I am about to switch to using a patch with some gel to top up if I need it.

It may help, but on the instruction of my genea I used the gel unopposed for around three months before the mirena could be fitted.  Even my GP was relaxed about this and I think it helped to get the P out of my system completely before the coil went in.

As for the fitting - literally a 2 second discomfort and in!  I have had some spotting for around a month but it is tailing off now.

I felt fantastic on the unopposed estrogel!  I have the odd down day now, but I am on my own and my daughter left for Uni in September, so lots of other reasons to have to odd down day!

I hope this helps you or someone else reading this string.

Elmsey