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[CrispyChick]

Starting a new thread as my last one was under the title of zoley pill. But I opted for double cerazette instead.

So, that's me almost 6 weeks into a double dose of cerazette (desogestral). The aim being to shut down my brutal peri fluctuations in an attempt to calm both those and my hugely over reactive nervous system and immune system. I've been in hell for 7 years.

So. Last year on a trial of onc cerazette, at the 9 week mark my estrogen was 420 pmol. So there was no suppression. I stopped as I was feeling awful. Previously, years before, one cerazette would hold my estrogen about 200 pmol. But I still got lots of pms, which suggests fluctuations (according to my medical guru, chat gpt  )

So. Here I am at 6 weeks into double cerazette, so 150mg desogestral. It's been a very hard 6 weeks - but most of that comes from my nervous system and immune system overreactions.

I tested my E at 3 weeks and it was 24 pmol. Quite a surprise. Now, at 6 weeks in, I feel that low estrogen. My joints are starting to ache and I've got a familiar feeling in my head. These feelings are similar to where chemical menopause took me in October last year. So I know it's now low estrogen.

I'm panicked. Chemical menopause was the most brutal thing ever on my system. So I'm scared I'm about to descend to the same place. Logic tells me I shouldn't, and this should be a gentler low estrogen decline. But I'm panicked.

I don't seem to be having massive hot flushes - which I did in cm. But the same joint pain and scrapey head feeling are here.

So. I'm trying to keep going to 8 weeks, as I should have more stability by then. I intended to test E again at 7 weeks. If it's still very low, I'll need to act on it.

But me acting on low estrogen is not as simple as just adding some in as my whole system kicks off at any change. And estrogen addition was awful for me in cm.

So. My question really is: do I continue on 2 Cerazette with the resultant low E and attempt to add in some E slowly? 

Or. Do I perhaps drop cerazette to 1.5 tablets, in the hope that this reduces supression a little to bring my E back up, but still controls the fluctuations.

To be clear - I never get the low E joint pain when on nothing. Never ever.

Any thoughts?

Thanks you. X

[bombsh3ll]

It is unlikely to go much below 24pmol/L, and if it did you would be unlikely to notice any difference in clinical effects.

That is virtually zero and less than the margin of error for most hormone assays.

I would stick at 150mcg and add back rather than releasing the brake.

It is much easier to control.

With partial suppression anything could happen including the formation of a hormonally active cyst.

That happened to me on single dose cerazette. My estradiol was consistent with 12 weeks gestation.

[CrispyChick]

Hmmm it's a hard call. There seems to be a lag in estrogen dropping (my last bloods were 2.5 weeks ago) and the true low estrogen symptoms showing up.

This same pattern happened in cm.

Yes, I agree, in an ideal world 'keeping the break on' would be best. Then simply hop on a bit of add back E. But I tried all that in cm and it was absolutely disastrous. Not just because my body heavily reacts to shut down but also because it reacts badly to add back hormones.

That's my concern. I do intend to ask my GP for estrogen gel, should I make it to my next appointment in about 10 days. I never seemed to absorb patches very well.

But I need an out should my low E take me to a similar place it did in cm. And that would be 1.5 cerazette.

I guess it could be my right dose. 💁 Noone is meant to take two anyway.

Hmmmm. Will take it day by day. At least double is suppressing. I just didn't expect this deep a suppression, or this quickly. But there we go.

Thanks for the input. X

[joziel]

Just to add something totally different...

High estrogen doses suppress ovaries as well. That's what happens for most women on the combined pill. It's also what is happening for me now, on high dose E.

I know this because, when I am forced to try some other product (Sandrena once and Evorel last week!) and they don't work, my ovaries get unsuppressed. I get this ache in my ovaries like I used to get when I came off contraception in the past, which is the HPA axis firing up again and trying to get my ovaries to begin follicular activity and release more estrogen (as the drop has been detected by my pituitary).

And it's well known that high estrogen suppresses ovarian activity (that's how the combined pill works, albeit with synthetic). Which is all to say, sometimes I think women in peri need higher E levels. It took me ages to figure this out because initially I seemed to be really sensitive to estrogen. My hellish night time symptoms only began when I started HRT in the first place (not before I was on it!) and seemed to get worse with each increase. So we believed for a long while at first that I was really sensitive to it and needed gradual changes and low doses. That all delayed my ever trialling higher doses, which have been far more effective.

That's not to tell you what to do or make a suggestion, but just to put another point of view out there in case anyone else reading this wants another angle 

[CrispyChick]

Thanks joziel.

Yeah, I get that. And I know that's why the coc pills helped me before. But...I'm so sensitive and estrogen gives me migraines, so I'm 100% sure I can't use high estrogen for suppression.

I'm back in my usual ridiculousness. But, I am secretly very impressed how quickly double cerazette has shut me down.  . It gives me hope - in a way. And, if I'd known double cerazette could do this, to this level, I'd never have tried chem meno!!! Pah.