Hello
As I wrote in another post I am currently attempting to transition from YAZ birth control pill to HRT. I imagine such a transition from BCP to HRT is quite common amongst us women of a certain age!
Unfortunately, the attempts I have made this year have proven to be a disaster both for my physical and emotional health and, in desperation I have recommenced YAZ to try to stabilise my hormones again.
At 57yo it is understandable that my doctors advise the change to HRT but the trial and error involved seems dangerously unscientific and I am trying to make sense of the options so I can make a good choice without wasting more time feeling physically unwell and emotionally suicidal.
After trialing most products available in Australia - including Estradot, tibolone and bio-identical hormone compounded creams, I have discovered a strong progesterone sensitivity and that no combination really suits.
Currently my thinking is that, as I tolerated synthetic progesterone in YAZ (3mg drospirenone per day balanced with 20mcg Ethinyl Estradiol) very well and as bio-identical progesterone is not licensed for prescription in Australia, I should stay with drospirenone and introduce a bio-identical estrogen.
Angeliq produced by Bayer, who also make YAZ , have such a product however the balance of estrogen (1mg) to progesterone (2mg) in the tablet prescribed in Australia is way progesterone dominant and left me feeling dangerously suicidal on my first trial. My doctor has advised taking some extra estrogen to balance the mix - but how much do I need to equate to 20mcg that seems to work?
I contacted Bayer in both Australia and Germany to ask and they advised me that neither they, nor their scientists who made both products, knew the equivalency or comparison between Ethinyl Estradiol and Estradiol in their pills. This struck me as highly incredible that scientists of such a high caliber pharmecuitical company are unable to answer the question - so I now ask you perhaps more knowledgeable ladies:
Does anyone know the rough equivalent comparison between Ethinyl Estradiol and Estradiol?
If I am able to find an answer, I will be able to, hopefully, find an estrogen/progesterone balance that suits me and does not cause debilitating side effects.
On the side of logic, as synthetic progestin is, in my understanding, supposed to be the more dangerous of the two hormones and more likely to cause a stroke, it seems odd that I am advised to reduce estrogen and stay at more or less the same level of progestin as YAZ.
This HRT 'experiment' really does my head in!