Surgical Menopause - Estradiol gel dose???

[Mashtikka]

Hi all,

Anyone who takes estradiol gel for menopause, please may I ask how many pumps you apply each day?

I had a total hysterectomy a year ago (everything removed including tubes ovaries cervix) which of course meant I started surgical menopause straight away. After 6 weeks I was prescribed Estradiol gel x2 pumps per day (one pump applied to each upper arm) at first this was great as I started sleeping slightly better, however over the past 6 months I am really struggling to sleep and want to know if it is safe to have an 'extra pump' of gel each night?

I have been doing this for the past few weeks out of pure desperation and my sleep is genuinely getting better! I am just scared I am causing some sort of added risk to my health in other ways by taking the extra dose.

I am supposed to be seeing my gynae but the wait list is huge even just for consultation so in the meantime thought I would ask on here

Sammie x

[Pacman12]

Hi Sammie, I had the same procedure in Feb and am on 2 pumps a day (I was on prostap before the op so have been on 2 pumps a day since October).

I did ask my consultant at my 6 week check who would be overseeing my hrt medication and he said that was my GP - if you’ve got a long waiting time to speak to your consultant is it worth trying your GP if not done already? It’s awful struggling to sleep, really hope you can get some speedy and helpful advice soon xx

[Mashtikka in reply to Pacman12]

Hi Thank you so much for your reply, how are you doing after your surgery? Hope everything went well and you found relief, I have certainly found relief with regards to endo pain and fatigue etc so I am really grateful for that, it is just this sleep issue (and dry itchy skin but I can live with that 😊) My GP surgery isn't very good to be honest and I lack trust in them with regards to my hormones or anything related to my endo - they have been fantastic for my husband and children though but I feel they don't have great expertise in women's health unfortunately. When I was on Prostap prior to surgery I went to them explaining I felt awful and their response was, "well what would you like us to do? That's menopause for you!" I was thinking of paying privately for a menopause specialist as I am only 33 and so want to get this right. Thanks again for your response! xx

[Pacman12 in reply to Mashtikka]

Yeah, I know what you mean, after going through the op it is important to be and feel properly supported through the menopause bit too - especially when it’s going to be quite long term. I did look up a local menopause specialist in case I run into any difficulties in the future, I think our local hospital has a menopause clinic too but I don’t know what the referral times are like or the criteria for referral. It may be well worth a private consultation to make sure everything is optimal and also anything in particular to look out for as time goes on. Do you take any vitamins or supplements? I’ve just started on B12 as that was a bit low and a multivitamin but am not sure if I should be increasing calcium for bones or anything like that.

I’m doing ok after the op thanks, pretty much pain free at the minute so hoping that lasts! I do get quite tired but I think that’s just the recovery as it’s still fairly early days. Hope you manage to get some good advice soon and you can get back to sleeping well! X