Hi Sunny
Your GP won't refer you to Studd- too expensive for the NHS as the first consultation is about £350!
Then you have one follow up after three months and then yearly after that with him.
Your GP may refer you on to someone on the NHS, who may, or may not, be helpful.
I think the Estrogel gel for oestrogen is far more practical, not to mention safer and more effective than patches and certainly pills.
Patches sticking to my big girl knickers, falling off, etc, isn't practical, but regardless transdermal oestrogen (gel or patches) is certainly safer and more effective than pill versions.
Taking Ultrogestan vaginally for some reason in the UK is restricted to 200 mg vaginal pessary (usually for fertility problems) but I use the oral 100mg vaginally with a pessary dispenser and that works fine for me . Taken last thing at night (after using the loo) , they absorb well internally, with no yucky residue. You simply pee any the casing, if any left, in the morning.
If it's of any comfort, I was on Femoston tablets which were awful, after a couple of years, for me.
Got a lot of primarily psychological symptoms: brain fog, anxiety for no reason, low mood (ditto), etc.
After being advised by the 12 year patronising GP to go on AD's, I found my oestrogen levels (as I suspected) on Femoston were confirmed by NHS blood tests as being lower than most men's (in very low double rather than triple figures) !!
No wonder I felt like crap and looked a middle aged man going through a gender identity transition crisis
Got off my depressed backside, gave up the cost of a weekend away to see Studd, started his Oestrogel/Testim/Ultrogestan regime.
Within two weeks I felt so much better psychologically (mainly I think as my oestrogen levels were so chronically low).
Usually they advise about three months to see a difference, but I was so low on oestrogen to begin with, I really noticed a difference quickly
Also saw a huge difference in my crepey skin, loss of head hair, big reduction in the "beard", eye bags, etc.
Your GP may not advise taking Ultrogestan *vaginally* at 100 mg but plenty of women do on MM, so I would treat it as "advice" if that's the case
But DO ask about changing to Estrogel gel instead of a tablet.
It's only marginally a bit more in cost than the usual tablets but much safer and more effective, so cost shouldn't be an issue on the NHS.
Studd has some helpful reader friendly papers on HRT on his web site that might be useful information to consider, even if you don't see him.
Always good to be informed on current clinical thinking IMO.
Quick Google should bring the web site up.
Good luck!
Freckles x