hello all. I've posted something on the personal experiences thread, but will introduce myself here too. I'm 46, perimenopausal, have grade 4 endometriosis (for which I was given a chemically induced menopause with leuprorelin a few years ago, which was horrible). I've been having a crappy time for the last six months or so: hot flushes, night sweats, insomnia, brain fog, dry skin, annhilated libido, vaginal dryness, depression. The whole damn lot. The depression and insomnia have been the hardest to cope with (when I had the chemical menopause, the insomnia is what finally drove me to ask for HRT) and I'm losing days and days of work, because the profound sadness and blackness is debilitating. I've been on HRT for a month now: estradot patches and 200mg utrogestan on days 15-28. Initially everything seemed great, but since I started the progesterone - which I seem to tolerate fine apart from this - I notice that of the three-four days I wear a patch, I only get two of a decent mood, and the rest is the old familiar depression. I still keep fit: I'm running 30 miles a week, and do yoga and strength training too. I will not let this damn menopause beat me. But on depressed days (today is a good one) I'd tell you something very different. Actually, I wouldn't because I wouldn't have the strength to write this. Anyway that's me.
