Lil22 - I'm 61 now and decided to stop systemic HRT about 7 months ago - for me the side effects were outweighing the benefits. I still use local oestrogen (Vagifem).
I have tried just about every HRT going over the last 25 odd years, so my advice is strictly based on my own experience and having read some of the experiences of other ladies on this forum.
Of all the progesterones I have tried, Utrogestan gave me the most problems - I did try it vaginally but because I have urogenital atrophy it really burned and irritated that whole area.
Utrogestan is considered the safest progesterone, particularly for older women, but it is less stable than the more synthetic types of progesterone and can bring more problematic bleeding and other side effects that can be difficult to cope with.
If you look under TREATMENTS above, there is a section on the progesterones and you can print that off to show the GP. Also print off the oestrogen section.
Maybe try the Provera (also quite a kind progesterone) and use this in the sequential way - so 10-12 days each month so this will make your womb lining shed. My gynae told me that he felt it was important to use progesterone for enough days each month ( at least 10 days) to ensure the womb shed properly and prevent erratic bleeding. You will read on this forum that some women get away with doing fewer days on progesterone and pay to have regular scans to check the lining is OK - this can be very expensive. The NHS won't fund regular scanning.
As to when to start your new regime - I personally feel it's best to stop HRT for around 2-4 weeks and then start fresh - sometimes the transition can be rocky and it can be useful to see how you feel without HRT for a short time - this may help you to be less fearful of stopping HRT when you get to your mid 50s when normal meno would happen.
However you could just start the new regime when you stop the current HRT. Are you currently on a continuous HRt - you haven't told me which one you are taking?
You could also start by just using Oestrogel for around 3-4 weeks to let this settle before starting the progesterone - there is some flexibility with using HRT in this type of regime - so having a slightly longer break between progesterone phases is possible. I used to always start the 10 days of progesterone on the 1st of the month and occasionally delay this for a few days if I knew I had important work or an event coming up.
If you are on an AD that is suiting you, then adding in the Oestrogel now may work really well for you - there seem to be many women who need both ADs and HRT.
Hope that is helpful. DG x
