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[Mojo61]

I'm going mad here 

I've just realised that I've been changing the patch on the wrong day of the week. I only discovered that by chance when I was looking up side effects of Evorel Conti. I messed it all up initially by forgetting to change my patch on the correct day a few weeks back, but instead of sticking to my usual days I moved it to the following day because that's when I remembered to change the patch.

So, I have been changing my patch on Wednesday and Sunday instead of Wednesday and Saturday. Could this account for the bleeding, nausea and period pains that I'm still getting?

Can't believe I've been so stupid!

[Mojo61]

Can anyone advise me on this please? I can't get an appointment with my doctor until next Friday and I'm worried sick. Still bleeding, painful cramps and what feels like constant PMT.

I changed the patch again today which will mean I'm back to the correct day. Will everything sort itself out, I'm worried I've done some sort of lasting damage?

[linz57]

Sorry to hear you're still suffering. I wouldn't have thought moving the patch just one day would make much difference, I've always found with mine that I've had a bleed if I've left off for 3/4 days or more, but then again I use a different patch. Hopefully someone who uses the same as you will be along soon.  Maybe this isn't the one for you and you need to change when you get to see your doctor. You might be better changing to a sequi regime then at least you will know when a bleed is due. Can you not ring first thing Monday morning and say you need an urgent appointment? Most surgeries keep a couple of slots free each day , usually at the end of morning surgery.

[Mojo61]

Thank you. I'm beginning to wish I'd never started HRT now, I only went on it to see if it would help with my anxiety and depression/insomnia, but it seems to have made things worse and I'm more anxious and edgy now than I've ever been.

[Mojo61]

Thanks Hasty. I suffer with anxiety anyway and am about 6 weeks into taking citalopram 10mg. I was hoping the combination of HRT and anti depressants would help but I just feel absolutely awful.

[linz57]

A different progesterone  might help your anxiety etc. Femseven Conti uses levenorgestrel and I've been fine on that, makes me feel less anxious. We're all different though and as  Hasty said you might settle in your current one eventually. It all depends on how long you can cope with feeling so bad. 

[Mojo61]

Well I've been like it for 6 months solid now so I suppose a few months more wouldn't make much difference. It is truly horrible though, waking up every morning feeling miserable and exhausted, no motivation, no energy, no enthusiasm for anything. I want my life back 

[Mojo61]

Well I just got back from the doctor and I told her about the continuous bleeding, period pain, sore boobs etc and she had changed me to a sequential regime instead. It is called Evorel Sequi and I'm to start it tomorrow on my usual patch change day. She said it should stop the bleeding after a couple of weeks but if it hasn't stopped by then I have to go back.

What can I expect from this new regime? I just want to get back to my normal self 

[Dancinggirl]

The sequential regime may well be better for you - you wil have 2 weeks of just oestrogen and then 2 weeks of progesterone plus oestrogen and then after that you will get a withdrawal bleed for a few days.  I would suggest you take a complete break from any HRT for the next 2-4 weeks to let the bleeding stop before starting again - i had this problematic bleeding on a conti HRT - which only settled when I took a 4 week break and then started again with sequi HRT. There will be other options to try if this HRt doesn't suit you so don't despair.  DG x

[Mojo61]

Oh, she told me to start it straight away...

[Hurdity]

It's fine to start straight away - this means you won't get a drop in oestrogen but the change to oestrogen only at the start of the pack might result in a bit more bleeding initially but which should eventually stop!

Re the patch days - if you change your patch at the same time of day then one of them qill be 4 days and the others 3 days. I did it like this for years and then decided to optimise my oestrogen dose by changing every 3.5 days approx - so I do Monday eve and Friday morning. You could therefore do Sat eve and Wednesday morning ro whenever you decide.

Hopefully you will see an improvement and especially when you are a couple of days into the oestrogen only patches  after the progestogen has cleared from your system.

Hurdity x

[Mojo61]

Thanks for the advice Hurdity. I tried to get my prescription today but the pharmacy didn't have them in stock so will need to order them in for Monday, so I've had to change my current patch as usual so won't be able to start the new ones until Wednesday now (next patch change day) Grrrr!!!

Still bleeding quite heavily. It has been over a month now continuously day and night. I feel really washed out and wonder if I should perhaps take an iron supplement as my diet isn't very good and I don't eat much food due to loss of appetite.

[Taz2]

I always had to wait forty eight hours for my patches - none of the pharmacies in my area kept them in.

Hope you get some relief soon. Why not ask for your blood levels to be checked? Have you got any anaemia signs? It's important not to take the supplement unless you need to.

Taz x

[Mojo61]

Thanks Taz. I had my bloods done just a few months ago so I doubt they will repeat them so soon on the NHS.

It is just a multivitamin with iron I take every day because my diet is very poor at the moment (I have lost my appetite along with over 2st in weight since the anxiety started in November) Sometimes I can go for days without eating anything, and when I do eat it is usually something like a cheese sandwich or piece of toast. I'm trying to address this slowly though and eat more healthily. I've noticed my hair is now falling out quite badly and my sister said that could be linked to the stress and poor diet.

I have my review on Monday for the Citalopram and I think I'm going to have to increase from 10mg to 20 as I've been on 10 now for 8 weeks with only a slight improvement.

[Hurdity]

Personally I would look to getting the HRT right before increasing your ADs - if you are able to cope and bear with it while your body adjusts - and if your anxiety is hormonally caused ie you have not suffered all your life due to life's stresses and events.

Hurdity x