Hi GypsyRoseLee
I was away at the weekend and again out today so only just caught up with this thread and sorry to hear you are struggling still.
Re why you are still feeling bad even though you stopped the progesterone 4 days ago - this is the problem with any HRT for anyone who has suffered pms (the classic type just before the period - not the progesterone intolerance kind which lasts almost the whole of the two weeks of the second part of the cycle.
I think what happens is that we react differently to different aspects of the whole hormonal cycle.
So - pms - what is it caused by?
Oestrogen dip Some women react to the sudden drop in oestrogen just after ovulation and again the few days before the period when it is at its lowest - this causing low mood and anxiety and headaches amongst other things. HRT aims to prevent this dip by giving you a stable background dose of oestrogen. Trouble is it is sometimes not enough, but then when you try to increase the dose to gvie you enough at this point - you can end up getting too much at mid cycle ( temporarily) - which is why the CCP can be recommended - to avoid this.
Progesterone withdrawal - I call this classic pmt - which happens when the progesterone falls before the period and which triggers the bleed. Progesterone causes physiological changes in the cells and body's biological processes (to enable us to grow a baby) which are then reversed when levels fall. It is this reversal which can cause the pmt symptoms of tension, headaches, irritability, rage etc. I would suggest most women get this to some extent
Progesterone intolerance - women who suffer from this get unpleasant symptoms for the whole of the two weeks - ie presumably are over-sensitive to the physiological changes produced by the action of progesterone. We probably all experience a gradual build up of tiredness, or bloating during the third week - but only some women experience this severely to such an extent that they become depressed, fatigued, foggy headed, and suffer headaches for the whole time.
Those who are really unlucky suffer from the effects of all three!
The problem with HRT is that (especially on the combi patches) you have two weeks of full-on progestogen, followed by the few days of withdrawal which is maybe 17 -18 days in total. In the normal cycle the withdrawal phase is pre-menstrual and the whole progesterone rise and fall (including withdrawal) happens in 14 days. Do you see what I mean? - so the extra three days is stolen from the oestrogen only supposedly feel good stage - and then you have the bleed - leaving maybe 6 or 7 good days per month!
I totally agree it is absurdly one-size fits all but firstly I presume commercial considerations limit the variety of products available, and the NHS can't afford to scan everyone. It is undoubtedly true that many of us could cope with less progesterone and there is an urgent need for research into vaginal use of utrogestan at different doses and with different oestrogen doses and I wonder if anything like this is being carried out. Cynically I don't think so because there isn't any money in it
That was a bit of a long answer.... to say that your feelings may well be because you are still in the pre-menstrual withdrawal phase which normally happens before a period in the normal menstrual cycle, just because you have suddenly stopped the prog.
Also I used to get migraines every time I withdrew from Cyclogest (interesting link Night_Owl - but she was comparing vaginal Cyclogest with oral Utrogestan - perhaps she should also try vaginal utrogestan?). So the headache would start to come on several hours during the day after the first missed dose - and then last for 3 days - after which the tension and fatigue would disappear and I would feel OK again. I still get migraines now sometimes - but not necessarily to do with the progesterone - and they always follow the same pattern and last for 3 days and have to run their course - even when the pain has gone and it's just niggling there - I have the heavy head, fatigue, slight nausea for three days - so might this be what you are experiencing following your headache? The relief I felt after the three days was amazing - I couldn't believe how well I felt compared to how awful previously.
I hope this is in some way helpful even if it doesn't actually suggest anything you can do to feel better - and I hope you manage to enjoy the rest of your few days away
I've yet to take my 7 days of the dreaded U lol! You aren't making it easy! ! Seriously though if this doesn't work for me I will be trying a homeopathic route I have used it in the past and it has worked for me. It's a case of shedding the lining doesn't have to be progesterone that does it?? Correct me if I'm wrong.
Most definitely yes - only by taking progesterone to change the womb lining from proliferative (growing) to secretory (changing it structurally to get ready for implantation) and then withdrawing the prog - will the lining be shed properly. It can also shed randomly if it gets too thick from too much oestrogen so that it comes away - but that is abnormal bleeding and can mean you already have endometrial hyperplasia which is not what you want. You have to have progesterone to have secretory endometrium (womb lining). Homeopathy will do nothing at all. If you took it and your lining was shed it will only be due to one of the above (over-thickening due to too much oestrogen, or progesterone withdrawal)
Sorry folks if this is too long - I got carried away with rambling thoughts again!
Hurdity