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[Pippa52]

Hi Everyone could I pick you clever ladies brains please.  I am on Oestrogel HRT (after a year of having to swop several times due to shortages) and was advised to work up to 3 pumps daily. I got to two and a half and the headaches and anxiety became totally unbearable and I oddly had hot flushes too.  I am now back down to 2 pumps and although the headaches are better and the anxiety improving I am getting really bad joint and muscle pain in my hips, knees shoulders etc.  I just wondered if they will settle down in time even though the headaches etc have improved on the lower dose my joints and muscles clearly are not happy.  I really don't want to go up on the dose again so am just hoping my body will adjust in time.  I am 70 years old and had a hysterectomy plus ovaries out in my 40's and have been on oestrogen only HRT ever since.  I had a blood test this week for oestrogen levels and have an appt on 1st Dec with Dr to discuss the results.  Thanks in advance for any advice or similar experiences x

[discogirl]

hi pippa52

im really sorry i dont have the answer but just wanted to say hello and bump your post up.

hopefully someone will be along to give you good advice x

[Pippa52]

Discogirl thank you so much for your lovely post xx

[Marchlove]

Hi Pippa

I don’t have an answer other than perhaps looking beyond just sex hormones.

Have you had your thyroid tested, as dysfunction can cause aches and pains. This is something you could raise with your Gp at your appointment.

Also as we age (I’m 65) our adrenals do not function as well as they once did. So perhaps it’s a question of looking outside the box.

M xx

[Pippa52]

Marchlove yes I have just had my thyroid tested plus full blood work for pretty much everything which were all normal. Thank you so much for the advice though and you are so right to say look outside of just hormones. Thanks so much xx

[discogirl]

Discogirl thank you so much for your lovely post xx

 
no problem at all xx

[Gnatty]

Hi Pippa, maybe it's going to be a bit of a trade off. The fact the aches and pains seem to have started since lowering your dose could be an indication that you need your oestrogen levels to be higher to help with aches and pains but.... at the cost of raising anxiety levels. I think I notice the same tbh! It's a fine balance isn't it and like you I hate the anxiety so not prepared to give way on that. I take just under 4 pumps of oestrogel, 3 in the morning and another blob at night which really helps me to sleep. .Like you I have had a hysterectomy and ovaries out. What definitely does really help is testosterone. I have Testim tubes and one lasts me a week. Definitely makes a huge difference to well being and muscle aches etc etc.

[Kathleen]

Hello Pippa52

I wonder if you are experiencing some inflammation in your joints that your Oestrogen previously controlled? Perhaps incorporate some anti inflammatory foods or spices like Turmeric into your diet and see if that helps.

Wishing you well and take care.

K.

[KatyB]

My situation is not very similar, but I certainly find the aches and pains for me are directly related to how (low) my dose of oestrogen is / whether I'm absorbing it. I found it took some weeks to settle on that front, whereas the anxiety was very up and down initially whenever I changed dose / route. Agree the testosterone makes a difference to wellbeing - feels much more like being back to the self I (dimly!) remember....

[CLKD]

As oestrogen levels drop muscles may become lax = aches and pains. 

[Marchlove]

Hi Pippa

Just wondering how you are and how your appointment went? xx

[Pippa52]

Marchlove how sweet of you to ask x   My blood levels were so low at 53 that the Meno consultant said I may as well not be on HRT at all as I clearly was not absorbing the Oestrogel at all.  It was also making me feel increasingly unwell particularly the most recent bottle I started on as originally when I started on it 3 months ago I had started to improve.  I have noticed other ladies on here also saying they are getting bad side effects similar to what I had on Oestrogel too.  Anyway I have been swopped onto Estradot patches (started on 25 and now upped it to 37.5) and already a few days in am feeling considerably better.  I have actually reported the side effects I was suffering from Oestrogel on the yellow card system as clearly something is going on as other ladies are also suffering.  Thanks again so much for asking so kind of you. I hope things are going well for you? xxxx

[Marchlove]

Hi Pippa

That’s good you reported it as the more people who do, we’re then perhaps more likely to get some answers.

That’s good news regarding the patch, I do hope it continues well for you.

I’m not too bad, not perfect but at least mood wise I’m good.

M x

[Ljp]

Hi Pippa,

Sorry you are suffering the horrible joint aches, I know that feeling it’s just horrible!
I’ve been on HRT for 7 years and was on oestrogel.

I changed to patches last December and was prescribed evorel 100.
I read lots of positive posts about estradot and after a couple of weeks struggling to get evorel to stick, I changed to estradot 100.
I loved that they were so small and stuck well, BUT my aches and pains returned with a vengeance, I never connected it to the change in patches at first, but after a week I thought about it and realised it had coincided with the change.
So I stuck on an evorel 100 and literally within hours my aches had gone!

Just shows it’s trial and error and finding what works for you xx

[CLKD]

Have U tried pain relief to see if that helps?