Hello from new member.
I've been a lurker for some time, now decided to join the conversation.
I just turned 55, and I'm definitely in menopause. My last period was about 4 years ago.
I tried to go thru it without any hormonal help, but gave in. I was always a light sleeper, but after my hormones got diminished, so my sleep suffered even more, coupled with hot flashes and waking from adrenaline rushes and not being able to get back to sleep... Went to naturopath and she prescribed progesterone cream about a year ago, to be used continuously, and that helped in the beginning, a little. My sleep got worse and worse, and in the meantime my mother passed away... About a month ago my doctor prescribed Estrogel and changed the progesterone cream to Prometrium tablets (Utrogestan in UK).
What I am confused is the dosage, or schedule. Reading this forum (went halway thru utrogestan/estrogel support group), as well as medicine leaflets and posts on other sites confused me even more. What my doctor advised is to take Estrogel 1-21 days and no gel for 7 days, and take progesterone continuously. Everything I read here says differently. Currently I'm on 2 pumps of gel and 2x100 mg progesterone orally. So far I had one 21 day gel, one week off and now I'm in the middle of second "on" phase. I feel like night and day from before - I'm sleeping much better and now I have one or two nightly flushes which don't bother me as much. I have no progesterone side effects.
How do you post-menopausal ladies who take both gel and progesterone pills take them? Shoud I change the schedule? I definitely don't wan't any bleed.
My blood results before starting Estrogel:
FSH 79.3 IU/L (Postmeno 16.0-110.0)
Estradiol <40 pmol/l (Postmeno <113)
Progesterone 1.7 mnol/l (Postmeno <1.8 )
DHEA Sulphate 3.8 (<6.7)
Testosterone 0.8 (<1.5)
SHBG 119.0 (20.0-180.0)
Thank you all beautiful ladies
JmJ