Evorel Sequi HRT Patches & Hypothyroidism

[Dawnjennifer]

Hello, I've been underactive for 9 years and i'm now 51. My periods had been regular up until 3 months ago then they were a bit hit and miss, my sleeping pattern was poor and I was waking up in the night with a wet hairline. I went to see my GP and we discussed HRT and decided to trial it for 3 months. I did start to sleep better and feel brighter in myself but after a month of one patch FemSeven Sequi a different GP changed the patches to Evorel Sequi due to the fact that they weren't sticking to my skin. I feel awful this month, bloated, very tearful, moody and my sleep is lacking again. I'm feeling hot at night and my skin was itching all over last night. I looked online this morning and found the following warning in bold:

'take special care with Evorel Sequi, tell the doctor if you have every had any of the following, you may need to have checks more often' and at the bottom of a very long list was 'thyroid problems'! Has anybody else tried HRT and found it had an adverse effect? I've taken the patch off and i'm seeing the GP on Wednesday.

[Dawnjennifer]

Did you gynaecologist say anything about the effect HRT can have on your thyroid condition? My GP didn’t even mention it to me so to read it on the information sheet contained in the pack was a bit worrying.

[Dawnjennifer]

🙄😳

[FancyPants54]

Hi there. HRT can be a life saver. But there are many different types and women will be affected very differently by them. You should have kept on with the Fem Severn by the sound of it and worked out a better way to help them stick. Did you try cleaning the skin with rubbing alcohol and letting it dry before applying a patch? That will remove any trace of oil from the site. This current one is not suiting you. Fem Severn suits a lot of ladies, especially in perimenopause. It can need upgrading to a stronger preparation after menopause but you are not there yet.

We need balanced sex hormones for thyroid medications to work properly. Having very low, or bouncing oestrogen levels will not give you good results with your thyroid. You are on the right track. I'd first try going back to the Fem Severn and experimenting with where you put it and how you apply it (patches need to be warmed up first to get the glue going). I used to hold mine flat in my palm for a minute before I took the backing off and stuck it on. Then run the hairdryer over it for 30 seconds and then hold it down tight with my palm for another 30 seconds. They stuck pretty well by doing that.

If you want more help with types of HRT I recommend the web site Menopause Matters. Lots of information there about the different types, what they contain, how they are applied etc. and a patient forum, much like this one, full of knowledgeable women with experiences to share.

[Dawnjennifer in reply to FancyPants54]

Thank you FancyPants54, I did feel better on FemSeven. I tried various methods to make them stick & alternated where I stuck them (thigh/bottom) but in the end I bought some clear adhesive film to keep them on but I had a reaction to that!! I’ll speak to my GP & ask for blood tests too as haven’t had any since March. Hopefully a HRT that’s suitable will be prescribed

[FancyPants54 in reply to Dawnjennifer]

You can't really stick them on with another tape, they need to be adhered to the skin to work properly. Do go onto that other web site and read the treatment options. Most GP's know very little about HRT. You are better going in and asking for what you want rather than throwing yourself on them for advice.

I now use Oestrogel, it's great. I use Utrogestan for the progesterone. I'm past menopause so I take the progesterone part all the time. You won't need to do that. Many women love the gel preparation. It's the progesterone that can cause some issues, but there are quite a few options open to us there as well.

Not sure if you mean to ask for a blood test for sex hormones or thyroid. There is no point testing sex hormones during perimenopause because they will be all over the place. Your own cycle will be very up and down. The idea of HRT at this stage is to level out the dips so you don't feel awful.

I'm afraid HRT is another one of the conditions we have to know all about ourselves and more or less self-treat with our GP's help. You might be lucky, but if the GP reaches for that book of medications you know you have one who hasn't got a clue and so it's up to you.

[Dawnjennifer in reply to FancyPants54]

That’s the first thing she did was reach for her book! 😂. I would like my thyroid levels, & Vit D testing. I have been on antidepressants for years but started running Feb this year & managed to halve my dose. My GP did suggest putting my antidepressant up rather than HRT?? I will do my own research as you suggest, better to be self informed I guess.

[FancyPants54 in reply to Dawnjennifer]

Some not very informed GP's always try to prescribe AD's for peri and menopause symptoms. It's really bad! First line treatment for menopause should always be HRT. Some women will then need a low dose of AD as well to help clear their mood, but most don't. There is a document out there somewhere stating that AD's should not be used as front line menopause treatment, but I can't remember what it's called so can't find it for you.

[FancyPants54]

Hi, in my above post I was referring to progesterone capsules not oestrogen pills. But the same thing applies. It's not that they are bad for the liver, but that the liver has to break them down and in so doing other chemicals are produced that are not so good for us. I can't remember the name of them right now. So people can get side effects from swallowing the tablets that they won't get through skin absorption (vaginally or gels on the skin of arms and legs).

The big benefit of gel oestrogen is that it is very easy to adjust dose, and there are no risk factors for increased risk of blood clots or stroke. I'm overweight due to my thyroid issues, and so taking a pill of oestrogen would be a risk for me.

I used to take birth control pills, but that was years ago. Now I'm very happy on the gel. Using the progesterone vaginally is easy too and removes all side effects for me (my skin itched horribly and incurably when I swallowed them). It's not licensed for vaginal application in the UK for HRT, but it is for IVF! And on the Continent it is licensed for vaginal use and is used that way a lot. Exactly the same product. You need less progesterone vaginally too, because it's going in right where you need it, next to the womb.

[FancyPants54]

100mg a night (1 capsule). It's exactly the same as the product you can swallow. It is a gel cap and it dissolves in the vagina. In the morning there may be a little white cap residue on the tissue after I pee. You need to push it right up high and you do it when you are lying in bed ready for sleep. If you think you might want sex that night, you wait and insert the capsule afterwards.

[FancyPants54]

With HRT there are many ways.

[Furbabymommy]

Hi,

I’m hypo and 53 in meno with last period 2/17.

Taking thyroid meds.

Prior trial of hrt w estrogen patch made me feel hypo because patch made my TSH rise due to thyroid binding globulin effect (TBG)

Stopped the patch and TSH went back down and I felt better... well usual hypo state which isn’t great but improved from when was on patch.

Now taking a new form of hrt: oral progesterone 75mg capsules, and sublingual estrogen 5mg/testosterone 1mg -all from compounding pharmacy and ordered by my doc.

Wow, very different experience than before with patch regimen.

As this new regimen is absorbed, especially the progesterone it seems, I need less thyroid meds and decreased thyroid med dose with no hypo symptoms. Still in process with this. Can update you if you wish.

[Freddiestar1234]

hi there been rather quiet on here for over a year due to so many more probs on top of hypothyroidism ones. I was on sequel psyched for 6 months last year first few months seemed great lost huge about if weight which I didn't understand gp said nothing to do with hrt had horrible headache s reason I came off I'm very regularly rmonthly cycles but was given to lift my fatigue n improve skin. Did a thyroid test after 4 months showed that I had no change my levels of levothroxine can't remember if it was Increase Levo or reduce but I'm starting them again after year hand break on them any one else lost weight whilst starting hrt when ur hypothyroidism

Many thanks emma x