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[Dancinggirl]

dorothy - I sent you a personal message - did you get it? All hormone treatment is trial and error before you find the right balance for you.  GPs are not specialists in this field and while some are very supportive I feel being pedantic about keeping you to a BCP is possibly not your only option.  AS the others have suggested, maybe ask about Qlaira? Sometimes it's the progesterone in particular hormone treatments that can cause fatigue and low mood - so this is why it is good to try different treatments.  DG x

[Dorothy]

DG - yes, I did get your message.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been managing ok apart from when I am on my break, so I doubt it is the hormone in the pill that is causing the problem, but rather the lack of it.  As I will have to wait 6 weeks to see my GP again anyway, I am going to try running the packs together to see how I get on.  If that doesn't work, then I will ask her about trying something else, but I want to give each option a good chance before deciding it doesn't work. 

Thanks for your suggestions about seeing a specialist or emailing Dr Currie - I am in a rural area and don't have the money to travel to see a specialist or to pay £25 for an email consultation - if my financial situation improves, I will consider it. 

My GP has actually been very open to any suggestions (she checks out articles on MM and actually recommended I use the site myself!).  It's not that she is insistent on BCP, just that she feels it is the best option for me at the moment, but every time I see her, she says to come back if things aren't working.

[Briony]

I second what DG suggests - Dr Currie was really helpful when I emailed her.
She gave me lots of options - BCP, Qlaira, or much higher patch with Utrogestan. I prefer the simplicity of a pill, and that it is so much stronger/controlling, but I have to add, all the BCPs'  progesterones are synthetic and, as DG says, that's where the fun can start for some people. If there was a BCP with Utrogestan (or even a 3mg Femeston) I'd jump to take it! The good thing with Qlaira is that despite being a BCP, it does only have two blank days so, theoretically, you wont have the end of pack blip. The down side is that most days it only has 2mg of estrogen (same as, say, Femeston higher dose) so some people find it's not strong enough to control fluctuations. Most regular BCPs are 3mg minimum.

Meant to say, I also get what you mean about preferring to take the BCP for 'social' reasons (not the best phrase to use, but you know what I mean). I hate the fact that some of my friends in their early forties are pregnant and I will never know what that feels like. I pretend it doesn't bother me ... but it does. If I mention menopause or HRT their eyes glaze over (thank goodness for you lovely ladies on here!). Even my own mum doesn't really get it. I sometimes wonder if she feels I have let her down by not making her a grandmother.

[Dorothy]

Sending you hugs Briony, I can sympathise - I have the same issues with my friends.  I also get fed up with people telling me to hurry up and start a family (Query: with whom?  Do they expect me to grab someone off the street?!!!) and they won't shut up unless I tell them I'm peri and if I do, they act like I have leprosy or have suddenly aged 30 years (oh, we can't walk that far, it might be too much for Dorothy etc, etc, as though menopausal = senile & decrepit!)  Fortunately, my best friend is going through it the same time so at least there is one person who I can guarantee won't make tactless comments!