I've been taking HRT for almost 4 months now. Two pumps of Oestrogel every morning applied to my arms, one Utrogestan capsule each night and one Vagirux tablet inserted twice a week.
I'm experiencing a number of issues:
1. I'm feeling very depressed. Far more depressed and unhappy than I ever have done before. Whilst my personal circumstances may be contributing towards this I feel its far worse than it was previously.
2. Somebody here was talking about the green or orange squares on the front of the bottle of Besins Oestrogel. I'm now on my 4th bottle and for the first time I can see a green square and not a yellow. Has anybody noticed anything different?
3. Really tired of applying the gel, sometimes I forget. Has anybody switched from gel to patches? What is the equivalent of two pumps? Sometimes I wonder if two pumps is too much too. Does anybody take one?
4. My sleep seems to be getting worse again. I take longer to fall asleep but I am also wide awake at 4-5am and cannot get back to sleep again.
5. At times my appetite goes through the roof. I can see my legs are getting fatter. I do have more energy than before which is good as I experienced low energy for years. However, cant seem to control the appetite at times. It seems cyclical.
6. Still have lots of brain fog.
7. Dry skin and excessive hair loss.
Would appreciate any thoughts. Thanks.
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menopause is c..p! Have you considered Utrogestan vaginally? You insert every other night. I found Utrogestan kept me awake ( even with sleeping pills). It also gave me nightmares. It was alot better when I changed to vaginal use.
I use estrogel and I remember years ago there was a big thing about the different coloured squares. Some people could feel a difference, but I didn’t 🤷♀️.
Now if you are going to use patches ( which I used to) then ensure it’s Estrodot on the prescription as it’s the smallest and stickiest patch. 2 pumps =50mg patch.
I swapped to gel after a few years because I was already on maximum patch and needed more gel (5pumps) to relieve symptoms.
Thanks I switched to vaginal again since you suggested it. Woke up feeling anxious and depressed this morning yet again and even had a go at my mum last night 🙈 How long did it take for you to notice a difference with taking Utrogestan vaginally? Sometimes I think it might be better absorbed as it doesn't go through the liver. I'll persevere with it but having no applicator is also a pain.
So does the patch not give people more than 2 pumps worth? Thanks for letting me know about the conversion.
you can have 100 mg patch which is the equivalent of 4pumps of gel which is supposed to be the highest dose but many people need to take more than that. Utrogestan vaginally is supposed to give you less side effects. I think you could persevere using vaginally for a couple of weeks at least. If you are on 2 pumps of gel you could also increase that to 3 then even 4.
Try looking at Balance the menopause app and website by Dr Louise Newson. She has a private clinic in Solihull or ask your GP to refer you to a menopause specialist. There are many other ways to take HRT. Don’t give up yet!
I'm on 75/100. Brand is usually the same. I don't have test results to hand since the switch. I had to do a blood draw at the local hospital as requested by the endo. Thanks for the advice. As soon as I have results I'll post them here.
I do an estradiol patch 2x per week, progesterone pill at night, and a estrodiol ring in the vagina that lasts 3 months. As far as the patch goes compared mg of active ingredient. Personally, I would get the help of an ob/gyn or endocrinologist for the Rx change.
I didn't like the slimy gel you could try Lenzetto spray?
Lack of estrogen had me awake early, often woken by some awful dread... dry skin sounds more likely under medicated thyroid, I was a scaly creature when my T3 was low
I started to sleep relatively better when I started everything but now my sleep has gotten worse again. I wake up every morning at 4-5am feeling horribly anxious and worried, like today. I did also switch from oral to vaginal Utrogestan 3 days ago. Not sure how long I can put up with doing this. Not having a custom applicator doesn't help either. I'm not sure if the switch has had an effect either. Yes skin feels incredibly parched.
I've not tried anything other than Oestrogel, waiting for to dry as a type 🙄
Lenzetto is a quick squirt on the forearm and dries within 30 seconds thankfully, yes horrible vivid, realistic dreams of something I should have done or done differently... gaslighting really....... and the anxiety stayed with me for hours
Where are you with your Thyroid levels? Everything crashed for me after the first covid jab and had to increase all hormones.... our immune system runs on estrogen
I was losing lots of hair when my vit/min levels were low, this stopped when I sorted out my supplements, adding in amino acids seemed to help as I wasn't getting enough protein at the time
Sounds like you might benefit from a little raise in both thyroid and estrogen... test results will shine a light on your thyroid, it's not unusually to need a tweak as things find their new level and balance out 🤗
There was talk of the different coloured squares on here after lock-down when there was shortage of Oestrogel and we had European forms given instead but I never noticed any difference.
I too got fed up with the gel having to dry and switched to Lenzetto which is a more concentrated oestrogen spray and dries much quicker. Just one spray equals 2 pumps of gel.
I have previously tried 1 gel pump and upped it to two for no reason other than advice from my practitioner regarding my bones, but honestly don’t feel any different.
I don’t think Utrogestan is licensed for vaginal use in the UK? but there are practitioners prescribing it that way. I have read when both hormones are used vaginally it is better to use oestrogen in the morning (as its thicker and lines the vaginal walls) and utrogestan at night (as its thinner and lying down helps keep it in!).
Have you thought of getting testosterone levels checked and maybe adding a little if low?
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