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[chattygal]

I am 65 and gave been taking HRT for 15 years. I have a a Mirena coil as I had slight thickness of the womb lining and my doctor thought that this coupled with a patch would be better for me than the tablets I had been taking. I was having breakthrough bleeding and further examinations showed I had some polyps which were removed and the specialist suggested trying a lower dose patch. So I am now on Evorel 25 and feel horrible. I've persevered for 3 months but feel like I am running on empty. The night sweats started almost as soon as the dose was reduced but were bearable but now I am a real ratbag and moody and I get hot flushes too. My hair in lank my skin is dry and I have aches and pains in my arms and legs. I can't make myself go to the gym as I don't have the energy. I do have to say though that with everything I am experiencing its not as bad as when I stopped taking HRT as a trial some years ago. So my question is.....has anyone else had this experience when trying to reduce their HRT dose and if so does the body adjust or should I go back to the doctor and try something else.  Merry Christmas everyone 

[Joyce]

I'm only on oestrogen. I'm 59 & been on HRT for a very, very long time. I've just restarted my patches after 3rd stint of stopping HRT. Like you it wasn't as bad this time as the very first time, but the sweats were horrible. This last time I stuck it out for 3 months, but was very glad to stick on my little patches again. I use Estradot 25.  Nearly all my flushes & sweats have gone after about 3 weeks.  I thought that this time I'd manage to stick it out, but symptoms were worsening.

[Mary G]

Chattygirl, I would not waste any more time trying the 25mcg patches, if you feel that bad and have that level of symptoms, then clearly it is not working.  When I tried the 25mcg patches, they were so ineffectual it was not worth using them.  50mcg is not a particularly high dose and many MM members find them to be very good at controlling their symptoms. 

You obviously get on with the Mirena coil and have had the polyps removed so I can't really see the problem with carrying on as you were before providing you are checked regularly. In your case, it wasn't broken so don't try to fix it!

I don't understand why doctors keep trying to get women off HRT when the benefits of using it are immeasureable. 

[Dancinggirl]

Hi chattygal - Why not use Oestrogel - you could try just using one pump per day and I think this may be a little bit higher than 25 mg patch - but with Oestrogel you can adjust the dosage till you find the amount that works - so you could use one and half pumps for example. You may only need that bit more but to be honest if you are not getting the benefit from the oestrogen it's not really worth using such a low dose - you might as well use the amount that works.
PRovided you are well, not overweight and have no real health problems then there really isn't any need to stop HRT.  When I was told to take a beak from HRt at the age of 57 I had all the symptoms you describe and developed all sorts of health issues - need up having cameras down almost every hole in my body. Now back on HRT I haven't needed to go to the doctor in ages!!!!!  DG x

[Mary G]

Dancinggirl makes a good suggestion.  I have found that the Oestrogel works much better than the patches - it was only since taking the gel that I finally got back to normal.  I also agree that one pump of gel would probably be enough for you but of course it is easy to adjust the dose if needed.  Why not give it a try?

[chattygal]

Thank you so much ladies for your replies. I will go back to the doctor armed with this advice as I always think it's better to have an opinion as they seem to take you more seriously then. I love this site for the help it gives as you never feel you are suffering alone.