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[Sunnydays]

Hi,
does anyone have experience or info about alcohol having a negative impact when taking the progesterone part of hrt? I don't drink much alcohol at all but I'm beginning to wonder if, when I do whilst on the progesterone part, if it's making me feel awful. I took Provera early December and with it being the run up to Christmas, there were a couple of evenings when I had a couple of glasses of mulled wine and I felt really awful the next day, and the feeling lingered. Well, I'm now trying Utrogestan and for 8 days it has been absolutely fine, I had one  glass of prosecco 2 nights ago and within hours I felt awful, dull headache and as with the provera, it was as if all the side effects you can get from progesterone (like PMT) have started. The only thing is, the Utrogstan is being taken the vaginal route.
Any ideas?

[Dancinggirl]

I think it is common to get headaches etc. if you drink alcohol when taking any progesterone.
BTW 8 days of Utro may not be enough to produce a proper bleed and shed the womb lining sufficiently - my gynae explained that it is very important to use progesterone for at least 12 days to ensure the womb lining sheds properly!!! I do think it's best to avoid alcohol when on progesterone.  DGx

[CLKD]

I don't see why there would be any interaction, but ladies going through The Change often report that they develop an intolerance to alcohol. 

I don't drink, other than to take a sip from Himself's glass should he open something 'special'  and I would never think to walk down that part of the Supermarkets  - if I lose him that's where'll he be  and don't get me started on Champagne or Baby Cham   

[limpy]

This link looks at progesterone and alcohol
http://www.livestrong.com/article/548431-progesterone-beer/

Looks like oestrogen may be impacted as well
http://www.functionalps.com/blog/2012/03/31/alcohol-consumption-estrogen-and-progesterone-in-women/

[CLKD]

   we R a Mine of Info.!

[Trufflecat]

I have got my fingers in my eats and anm going 'la la la' as I don't want to know that taking HRT doesn't go with alcohol! I was just about to open a bottle of prosecco.....

[limpy]

I have got my fingers in my eats and anm going 'la la la' as I don't want to know that taking HRT doesn't go with alcohol! I was just about to open a bottle of prosecco.....

Go Girl Go 

[Sunnydays]

thanks for the links Limpy. I've read the first one and it suggests moderate drinking can delay the meno! Bum - I should have been a drinker all those years ago and maybe my meno wouldn't have started till I was about 80! Any use for you trufflecat?!!

[Cassie]

No it doesnt have any interactions for me

[CLKD]

  …….. sorry   

[Goosieloosie]

Well I've definitely noticed that I can't drink as much as I've been getting older, I never thought about it being meno related  even before I was on HRT I couldn't drink as much in the latter years and earlier last year I gave up drinking wine (before HRT) as it was giving me migraines if I had more than one glass. I began drinking cocktails when we were on holiday last year and I was absolutely fine with those  just wine I can't drink alot of nowadays...mind you I drank a fair share of prosecco over the christmas period when I was on HRT & I wasn't too bad with headaches and didn't actually get any migraines now that I come to think about it..so that's confusing 

[Hurdity]

Hi,
does anyone have experience or info about alcohol having a negative impact when taking the progesterone part of hrt? I don't drink much alcohol at all but I'm beginning to wonder if, when I do whilst on the progesterone part, if it's making me feel awful. I took Provera early December and with it being the run up to Christmas, there were a couple of evenings when I had a couple of glasses of mulled wine and I felt really awful the next day, and the feeling lingered. Well, I'm now trying Utrogestan and for 8 days it has been absolutely fine, I had one  glass of prosecco 2 nights ago and within hours I felt awful, dull headache and as with the provera, it was as if all the side effects you can get from progesterone (like PMT) have started. The only thing is, the Utrogstan is being taken the vaginal route.
Any ideas?

Absolutely Sunnydays - exactly this effect and have posted on it in passing several times on the forum.

I also started noticing lower tolerance to alcohol before I was even peri-menopausal - eg terrible hangovers lasting 3 days after 2 glasses of wine during the evening - which I realised were actually migraines not normal hangovers.

I then also found this happened when I was on the progesterone part of HRT - but at first thought it was just progesterone withdrawal. This was on Cyclogest which is only used vaginally or anally. Nowadays I have to be very careful on alcohol at all and as I've said before if I drink a glass of wine  eg after 9 pm and go to bed before it's worn off this can trigger a migraine. On NY Eve I had a liqueur at midnight - not fizz as I knew I would suffer - and I still got a 3 day migraine - but also partly due to going to bed late  - even though I drank lot of water.

I still manage to enjoy a drink or two though by managing it very carefully - although I know this is boring. eg I can drink in the day and more than usual (like over Christmas - starting at about 1 pm!) - I just make sure I drink loads of water in between the wine and make sure it's all worn off by the time I go to bed.

You may be similar - just don't drink after 9 pm, and drink loads of water - more than the volume of wine that you have drunk!

I had a look at those links Limpy which are interesting but don't seem to answer this particular query- why the headaches and migraines on a small amount of alcohol - and especially when on the prog - I think it must be something to do with the liver. Our tolerance changes as we get older anyway and there is more metabolism of hormones going on when we are taking HRT - more so with oral HRT, so there is some other metabolic effect - in addition to the effect on the hormone levels in the blood stream.

No need to give up completely unless you are unlucky and you get a migraine from any alcohol at any time of day

I am still especially careful when I'm on the prog though....

Hurdity x

[limpy]

I had a look at those links Limpy which are interesting but don't seem to answer this particular query

Er - It seemed that the query was whether alcohol had a negative impact when taking progesterone   

"does anyone have experience or info about alcohol having a negative impact when taking the progesterone part of hrt?"

[Sunnydays]

Yep getting older in itself  has certainly impacted. One glass of red wine and my tum feels acid all night! With prosecco being bubbly I wonder if the bubbles make it even worse although Goosieloosie mentioned being fine over Christmas. I think it boils down to time of day and if you're eating as well. I fear that my experiences over December might have been just enough alcohol (not much at all) to keep giving me long hangovers! And the further into the progesterone phase the worse it is.

[Sunnydays]

I've just realised that as day 3 post alcohol, my headache has gone thank goodness. This suggests that it was caused by the alcohol whilst taking progesterone. Good news that it's not been caused by the Utrogestan.
Another observation I had whilst reflecting is that on each occasion after alcohol, within a few hours I have not been able to get warm, particularly the extremities of my body. This happened on Thursday night big time (post prosecco) and to a lesser extent last night when I sipped a small amount of larger with a curry. This also happened on a big scale back in December - I couldn't warm my body for a whole day.
Has anyone else experienced this or am I even weirder than I first thought?!