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[Tracy5603]

Hi, I am new to this and would appreciate other people's experiences when starting HRT..I'm feeling nauseated, breast pain, anxious, very low in mood and irritable..all these have got much worse since starting HRT and I thought it was going to help...I feel awful is this normal ??...x

[peri]

Hi Tracy5603

Sorry to hear you're not feeling well.  What hrt are you on and how old are you?

[Dancinggirl]

Hi and welcome to MM Tracy5603
Do tell us the meno symptoms you are trying to control and which HRT you are using.  Where are you in your meno journey e.g. peri or post meno? WE can advice you better if we have more details.

It is a matter of trial and error with HRT - we are all different so it's about finding the treatment that suits you.
DG x

[Salad]

Hi 

It can take a while to get the HRT to suit you and at the correct dose - usually the dose starts low and you increase until symptoms controlled.

Don't give up yet 

[CLKD]

   sadly, HRT isn't the magic cure that would be expected or hoped for.  It can be Trial and Error at a time in Life where we should be Getting On.

Maybe keeping a mood/food/symptom diary would be useful.  Also note your bleeds, energy levels etc..  These details can be discussed with your Practice Nurse or GP.

As oestrogen levels drop so the body may become dry: eyes, deep in the ears, skin, nostrils, vagina.  Also muscles may become lax = aches and pains 

Browse round.  Make notes.

[Tracy5603]

Thanks for replying ladies...so I'm 52, classed as post menopausal as been going through this for about the last 10yrs...my mum was only 39 . I have resisted HRT for all these yrs and until recently my symptoms have been really well controlled with sertraline 50mg....but then things deteriorated with severe mood swings, very emotional ( my mum has also been diagnosed with palliative cancer and my ex has re appeared in my kids life playing mind games ) so I think there could be an element of stress there but I decided to try HRT...it is Elleste duet 2mg/1mg..my GP is a lady and very supportive ...I've emailed her yesterday to get her advice but she is the one who told me about this site so I thought it would help to speak to others going through the same things...x

[Butterfly22]

Hi I didn't get in well with elleste solo and duet, I felt very low, tired and started getting mild acne.
Unfortunately one pill won't fit all and I'm trying to find something to.
Have you looked at the top page as has a list of what's available?
You will find this site very helpful as a lot of ladies are going through the same thing xxx

[peri]

Ditto, elleste didn't suit me either.  The patches and gels are very good, it seems to me that most ladies do well on them, perhaps you could try one if these x

[Tracy5603]

 I don't think gel was mentioned so will look into it...thank you

[Butterfly22]

The gel is a good option as you can tweak it to suit you, hope you can try it xxx

[Tracy5603]

I haven't had a period for nearly 5 yrs but now I have after going on Elleste...anyone know if this is going to happen every month or just another short term side effect that should settle down ...

[Dancinggirl]

Tracy5603
Do read the leaflet that comes with the HRT you are using. Some bleeding is quite normal with any continuous HRT for the first 3-6 months - this is the body adjusting. What a shame that you weren't advised to have HRT earlier - it's good you are having HRt now as it will protect you heart and bones for the future. As it is early days, I would stick with this HRT for 3 months to see how you feel - it is a bit of trial and error and every women is different, so what works for one women won't suit another. Unfortunately any continuous HRT will bring more side effects - it's the progesterone that tends to do this and this is why you may need to try a different type if things don't settle.  Many women choose to stick with a sequential HRT and put up with a monthly bleed.
You have many choices with HRT and you will be advised to try all sorts of things from women on this site who have had success or failure with various HRT types. My best tip is to look at the TREATMENTs section on this site - perhaps print things off and discuss it all with your GP.
My personal recommendation, should your current HRT not settle, would be to try Oestrogel applied every day (up to 2 pumps per day) and Provera progesterone taken as pills for 12 days each month - this is a sequential regime which will give a bleed ( shedding of the womb lining).  If you find the Provera suits you then you could try taking it continuously which should eventually result in no bleeding. 
Stick with things for now - see how it goes - you may find after the first few weeks things settle and you feel good.
DG x

[Hurdity]

Hi Tracey5603

 

Sorry to hear about your mum - and of course you will be feeling emotional on top of the menopausal symptoms.

I agree with Dancinggirl - at your young age it would have been better to have given HRT earlier (rather than anti-depressants like sertraline) - but as she says - you have it now so that's good!

You haven't said whether it is Elleste Duet (which has two types of tablet and gives a bleed every 4 weeks - this is normal) or the conti version - where you take oestrogen and progestogen every day - in which case as Dancinggirl says bleeding or spotting is also normal initially.

The thing is if you have been without oestrogen for that long ie several years since last period - then it will definitely take a while for your body to adjust to the side effects, and you have gone straight to the 2 mg dose. It's good to have this dose for your age but bound to feel a bit up and down at first.

I've never taken tablets for my hRT - but went onto patches from the start - my favoured regime is patch oestrogen with  progesterone (Utrogestan) on a long cycle -  so I still have a withdrawal bleed in my 60's - every 6-8 weeks, but a long cycle is probably not so good with higher doses of oestrogen as the bleed could well be be heavier or longer.

Hopefully you will feel much better soon .

Hurdity x