I'm 45 years old and have been on HRT (Estradiol + Utrogestan) for a year now. My main symptoms used to be mood swings, night sweats, difficulty to sleep through and hot flushes, which are mostly gone since I've been taking the tablet + applying the gel. The only side effect is that I've put on 4-5 kgs since. I wanted to come off it, if possible, and my GP suggested to reduce the estradiol application from 2 to 1 for 2 weeks and come off it completely. And then wait for a month and discuss again. As a possible solution, (if the symptoms come back after taking off HRT), he suggested venlafaxine (usually used to treat depression but also help with perimenopause symptoms.
I read up on the NHS site, and some of the side effects are exactly what I want to avoid: sweating and hot flushes, being unable to sleep.
I've been using high doses of venlafaxine for many years as an antidepressant because nothing else has ever worked for me and I'm non-functional without it. I am also now using HRT oestrodial gel and a mirena coil in perimenopause. I would not advise venlafaxine as a substitute for HRT because it is very difficult to come off the lower doses if you take it for a long time. It can also increase blood pressure and make you gain weight.
It confuses me that you are coming off HRT only for weight gain. Doesn't perimenopause cause weight gain and movement of fat round the body to places like the stomach? I'd put up with this and wait until after the transition to worry too much about that unless the increase is really severe.
Anyway this is my opinion - I am using venlafaxine for a totally different reason, though I note that hot flushes haven't been much of an issue for me so maybe it works for that but my biology is a bit idiosyncratic.
Thanks for taking the time and leaving this message. I've been reducing Oestrogel from 2 pumps to 1 pump and after 4 days I can see that I cannot sleep very well. So I might have to stay on it as I too don't feel "venlafaxine" is a good idea for me. But as I'm still having a monthly period, I think I shouldn't need to take the utrogestane tablet every day... I've now got an appointment on Tues with a menopause specialist so hopefully things will be clearer by then. Thanks.
Bambough Thanks for taking the time to reply. Now I'm back on 2 pumps of the oestrogen gel as I started having hot flushes a few days after the gel was reduced go 1 application. But I'm taking 2 progesterone tablets for 2 weeks and 2 weeks off. I've decided to walk / exercise a bit more! Thanks.
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