Hi Jan1234
Sorry, long post but hopefully some of it might be useful.
I had a Mirena fitted in November last year (due to bleeding) and had been on oestrogel and utrogestan since October 2022. I had tender boobs before the Mirena but when I stopped HRT for a month (my choice due to tests/scans re bleeding) they stopped hurting. The menopause nurse said this pointed very strongly to it being hormonal.
I started up again on two pumps of gel after getting the all clear and having the Mirena fitted (I also had a routine mammogram and breast check by the doctor so was happy that there was nothing else going on). Almost straight away on restarting I got very tender boobs again.
Thanks to the input of the lovely ladies on here it seemed possible that I might have jumped back in on two pumps a bit too quickly after a month off, so I reduced down to 1 pump and then built it up again more slowly. This did reduce the tenderness after about a month.
So now I'm two months in to being back on two pumps and two months in to taking Starflower oil. I still have one slightly tender boob but it's just a twinge now and again. I'm not sure if that's the Starflower oil or just things settling down.
So, long and short, I think for me it's the estrogen that causes it. Did you start straight on the two pumps having not been on that before? If so, maybe you need to reduce and build back up like I had to. I know that's hard if you feel you need more but maybe someone else on here can offer some help with that.
Re the strings, the nurse will check for you if you ask. I was told not to worry if I couldn't feel them as they would do this on my six weekly check up anyway to make sure all was okay. Also don't worry about ringing up if you want, they won't mind.
It's a bloomin' nightmare trying to balance everything! Hope things start to get sorted soon
