Hello All
I've been reading this forum for a few months and it's an absolutely wonderful resource. Thank you so much for your contributions - they've really helped me to assess my own situation.
I'm 51, and technically hit menopause last autumn, and, after trying acupuncture and nutritional medicine for four years of peri-menopausal symptoms (with varying, but not sufficient, success) I decided to get an HRT consultation. I was very unsure about starting it, but was diagnosed with severe osteoporosis in my lower spine. That clinched it.
I saw John Studd who prescribed 3 pumps of estrogel, 7 days pcm of utrogestan and testim gel daily. I've been on this since late October. Within a month all of my symptoms disappeared: no flushes or hot sweats at night and my sleep was excellent, anxiety reduced completely. I had some side-effects - thrush-like symptoms (which subsided after about six weeks) and dry cracking voice. After a couple of months my sex drive went bonkers (sky high), which is a bit unfortunate since I recently separated from my partner, but I'm at least having some fun on my own (!).
BUT, for the last two weeks (third month), I've had some digestive problems (loose stools and stomach aches) and this is very unusual for me as I have a great diet and excellent digestive health. I've also had a persistent cough. I have no idea if these are related to the hormones and wonder if anyone else has experienced them.
I was wondering if I could lower the estrogel dose a little since my menopausal symptoms have disappeared altogether.
Any thoughts? Thank you so much,
luna