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[pebbles]

Am 52 having bleeding twice per month. could cope with that but I cant function with the other symptoms. Been taking soya and fish oils, have tried black cohosh but it upset my stomach. now just don't know where to turn.
am constantly exhausted, having flushes at night, anxiety, depression and feel very insecure.
worse than those now is for past few months I have been having terrible headaches, mostly on one side of my face. they feel a bit like sinus pain but I dont have a cold. they are now there every single day. Despite having an excellent work record i am struggling to go to work and just want to stay in bed all day.
I have read that oral tablets HRT can make headaches worse but patches may help but these are expensive so not sure if you can get them on NHS.
I feel a bit embarrassed asking my dr for them as they are more expensive but am scared about taking oral medication.

I don't really want to take HRT but don't see this ending soon, it has already been like this for years.
can anyone advise if they have tried patches and can you get them on NHS?

Just been reading other posts and see that headaches can be a problem with patches too - agh am so confused. can anyone advise if HRT has helped their headaches.

[Taz2]

Hi pebbles - I can't comment as to whether HRT can help headaches as I haven't suffered with them recently but they are not normally a reason to be denied HRT which would help your other symptoms.

I wonder if you have had your headache checked out? There are many reasons why we can develop headaches and it's easy for us to blame it on menopause when there could be another reason which is treatable. It sounds as if you have had a horrible time lately, especially if you feel that your work is suffering, so I reckon you should ask your GP for advice.

Taz x 

[Dancinggirl]

Hi Pebbles - the headaches that come in the peri meno phase are horrid - I suffered terribly with these. In the peri stage your hormones will be fluctuating and this can result in erratic bleeds and hormonal headaches.

Unfortaunately the combined HRT patches only come in the medium dose and I found them too strong when I was peri meno.  What could be good for you is Oestrogel, which you apply to inner thighs once a day, and then you add progesterone in pill form for 10-12 days each month to induce a withdrawal bleed - the progesterones Provera or Utrogestan are best.  This would possibly help your headaches and give you a predictable bleed each month while you are in this peri stage. I would start with just one pump of Oestrogel per day and then increase to 2 per day as you get deeper into the meno.  DG x 

[pebbles]

thank you so much for replies.

[Kathleen]

Hello pebbles.

I just wanted to add that I experienced daily headaches when my periods stopped and before I started HRT. I have never been prone to headaches and these were horrible, starting as soon as I woke up and not going until late in the evening.  This continued for six months and then they just stopped and I haven't been troubled by them since. Some time later I began using tablet and then patches HRT but the headaches have never returned.
The menopause can be a rough ride for some of us and I hope you get the help you need.

Wishing you well and take care.

K.

[Limpy]

I'd heard that HRT patches were less likely to cause headaches.

[Annie0710]

Hi Pebbles

I've been on tablet hrt for years and started getting horrible headaches so have gone over to patch, headaches much reduced and painkillers don't seem to be helping when I get them (from every single day without fail to two or three a week, and not where I can't do anything, more a hindrance) but now I use 4head menthol roll on and it's really helping!


Hope my experience helps

Annie xx