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[SophiaG]

Hello, I'm 58 and have had menopause symptoms for 14 years, having had my last period 11 years ago.  I have over the years tried various herbal remedies, supplements etc and generally tried to get through it without HRT but in the past year my symptoms got a lot worse – hot flushes increased, extreme fatigue that meant I have had to cut my work hours, really bad mood swings making me tearful on a daily basis, palpitations and brain fog being the worst ones. 

So finally I went to the GP in desperation who told me she has patients with these symptoms at 80 aaargh!!  So I went on Elleste Duet Conti – within a week my symptoms had reduced but I was having quite a reaction to the other ingredients in the tablet (talc and magnesium stearate) so I am now on Evorel Conti patches and have been for 2 weeks.  My hot flushes have still reduced but the mood swings and palpitations have come back big time. I read that progesterone can cause mood swings and was wondering if cutting the patch in half would help or is it a case of giving the HRT much more time to settle things down. 

I'm going to see my GP for a follow up next week but as there is such a wealth of knowledge amongst the contributors on this site I wanted to see what others thought.  Sorry if I've made this a bit of a whinging post but any suggestions would be a great help! Many thanks in advance.

[CLKD]

Lots of ladies find the progesterone part of treatment difficult or impossible to deal with.  Maybe put the product name into the search box to see what pops up?

 

[SophiaG]

Thanks for replying Clkd - I have searched Evorel Conti and there is so much on here about that particular patch but with my brain fog it seems like a bit of a maze so I cant seem to find an answer to my question.  I know that progesterone can cause low mood and anxiety but just wondered if there is a way of controlling it by cutting a patch in half and if this has actually worked to reduce low mood for anyone on here. I'm assuming there is only one dosage of Evorel Conti and no other "no-bleed" alternatives that aren't a tablet - I wondered if anyone had any suggestions if they know of another option...it would be great to start feeling sane again!! 

[Taz2]

Hi Sophia - the progesterone part of Evorel is Norethisterone and it is this which gives some women PMT type symptoms such as low mood/depression and irritability. There is another patch called FemSeven which has a different progesterone in. I swapped to this from Evorel and the symptoms disappeared.

Some women do better with a sequi HRT even at older age as it can be the continuous dose of progesterone which can also cause problems and with sequi you are only adding progesterone in for the last two weeks. You would get a withdrawal bleed each month though. There is also the option of gel HRT and a progesterone called Utrogestan which can be used vaginally. It's not a good idea to cut a conti patch in half as you might not be getting the correct amount of progesterone to keep your womb lining thin.

It can take up to three months before the HRT properly settles by the way.

Your post isn't whingeing at all!

Taz x 

[SophiaG]

Taz, thank you so much for your reply...it gives me a few answers and some things to think on.  I hadn't heard of FemSeven and having looked it up and seen others comments it sounds like its more effective with the mood swings so I may see what my GP says on that one. 

I have seen that the sequi could be the answer but I honestly want to avoid having any sort of return to monthly bleeds - 11 years without has spoilt me I think and I love the freedom from them!! I will have a look at the gel options though.  What you have said has made me think that I can persevere and find a way to manage my symptoms so thank you again!

[CLKD]

Curlygirl - maybe copy and paste into your own thread, so that your comments don't get lost - I can do that for you.

In answer: what help have you had with post menstrual syndrome?