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[SandyS]

Hi and thank you for accepting me. Just a little background info to hopefully gain some advice.
I am now 54 and been on femoston 2/10 for 3/4 yrs.  was still having periods at start of meds tho they were becoming less regular.
Things were going ok I suppose tho I was suffering recently more and more with disturbed sleep, frequent migraines and tiredness.
I was also diagnosed with b12 deficiency so have been regularly injecting.
I decided around a year ago to join a local gym with small classes and although initially struggled with fitness, I gradually improved and more importantly enjoyed it.
Was hoping to improve fitness and maybe lose a few pounds, nothing drastic.
12 months on, and having increased gym sessions and eating more healthy but strangely have put on over a stone in weight! My gym trainer decided to track my nutrition, which we spent a couple months photographing all meals, he was completely at a loss as to my ever increasing weight and said it must be hormones!
I went for a private consultation at Harpal clinic and was told my femoston 2/10 was unsuitable, I have next to no testosterone and dhea and that my thyroid,although in range wasn't optimal, also possible leaky gut.
I was given solo elleste 1mg, utrogestan 100, testosterone gel and dhea tabs. I've also got levothyroxine 50mg and lyothyronine 0.025 mg  which I'm not sure about taking. Also given ldn, never previously heard of this!
So I began the solo elleste and utrogestan daily, along with testosterone when I remember as well as .dhea.
Have to admit I don't feel great, not sleeping well and feeling bit down and lacking motivation to get things done, weight still increasing which I find rather depressing too.
I know she said I wasn't getting enough progesterone in the femoston but I'm now taking less eostrogen, could that be the problem?? Or maybe I do need the thyroid meds?
Grateful for any advice, thanks.

[CLKD]

 

Browse round.  Maybe put the names of the products into the 'search' box on here and see what others suggest?

[Dotty]

You've changed a lot of medication all at once. Perhaps start the hrt and wait to start the others or you won't know which ones are working

[Roseneath]

Could you just be replacing fat for muscle with the gym sessions? I put on weight when I trained for a year for a marathon but I looked trimmer because I was more toned. Muscle weighs more than fat lb for lb

[SandyS]

I wish, no definitely not muscle!!

[Hurdity]

Muscle weighs more than fat lb for lb

A pound is a pound is a pound - it can't weigh more than that! However a pound of fat is less dense than a pound of muscle and takes up more space so you don't LOOK as fat if you increase in weight by a pound of muscle compared to a pound of fat....that accounts for your trim shape

Hurdity x

[Hurdity]

Hi SandyS

 

I agree with Dotty - you have changed so much at once. Also these private clinics  . I mean what is it about progesterone? If you were not bleeding excessively on the 2/10 then you were getting enough progesterone. It is needed in sufficient quantity as part of HRT to thin the womb lining and the amount in Femoston is designed to do just that in most women (hopefully).

The regime you have been given has swapped the progestogen in the Femoston for progesterone itself and given all the time rather than cyclically and as you say, also a lower dose of oestrogen. The continuous progesterone is not suitable for peri-menopause because the bleeding could be more unpredictable and you could suffer bloating etc from having it all the time. It is also a sedative and can lead to lack of energy which you are trying to improve with the testosterone.

Oral oestrogen has as an impact on SHBG ( Sex Hormone Binding Globulin) bu increasing it, and thereby binding to testosterone anyway, so lowering the amount of free T available for use by your body.

The weight gain may well be down to your sub-optimal thyroid function especially if you are still gaining fat despite increased exercise and not over-eating.

Aside from the effect of oral oestrogen on T, in your position I would go back to the Femoston and continue with the T (I presume it's gel such as Testogel? How much have you been prescribed?) as well as the thyroid meds. DHEA is controversial and needs more study but it won't do you any harm especially if you are taking other HRT. I presume you've been given a low dose?

Hurdity x

[Dancinggirl]

Sound advice Hurdity.

Welcome to MM SadieS - Hurdity has a science background so knows her stuff.
If you were feeling good on Femoston then go back to that or at least go back to the higher dose of oestrogen. 
As we age, we simply have to eat less, I'm afraid, or most women will find the weight going up.
I would chat with your GP about what you have been prescribed by this private doctor - ask them to check your thyroid.  Do research side effects of DHEA . DG x

[Peaceluvva]

Hi SandyS - here is the answer I posted earlier on the wrong thread!
....

Sorry you are struggling. Just a few thoughts to share here while you wait for something from the more experienced ladies.

I personally see insomnia as a sign of low oestrogen.  Therefore I think that halving it, which is what they did, will mean you have more symptoms.

If you're 54 and your bleeds were stopping on Femoston 2/10 I can see why they put you on a solo product.  You are at the stage where you can go on a Continuous regime and dispense with the sequential, bleed producing cycle. If you took Femoston so successfully it means you tolerate the progesterone in it, Dydrogesterone. 

Why not ask your GP to try you on Femoston Conti 1/5 - this is a continuous regime with no bleed, and is half the dose you were taking.  You could then top that up with 1mg of Elleste Solo to make your daily dose 2mg E/ 5mg P.  I got this off a Wiltshire pct treatment pathway guideline (link below) - be sure to check the note next to Femoston Conti marked ++  - it speaks of increasing the Oestrogen dose in Femoston Conti with a 1mg tab of Elleste solo.  These are NHS guidelines and you can show them to your GP.

https://www.gwh.nhs.uk/media/163808/wiltshire_hrt_guidance_2014.pdf

In terms of all the other things they gave you, the 50mg levothyroxine should kick in within 2 weeks.  I'm not convinced you need to T3 tabs they gave you, but as you are on them try and see what taking them at bedtime does - I did that and it helped my sleep. If not just come off them.

The testosterone will make a difference in its own right and many women swear by it - you only need a pea sized amount.  I hope the DHEA is a small dose - say 10mg a day - also a lot of info out there about this being good.

Whatever you decide, good luck and I hope things improve for you.

Peaceluvva x

[SandyS]

Hi again, and thanks to all for your comments. I'm really not sure where I'm going with all this. I feel I'm going steadily downhill!
I'm taking the solo elleste 1mg  Utrogestan 100 and testosterone, also DHEA
I'm not sleeping very well, waking around 3/4 am everyday 😩 Worse thing tho is complete lack of motivation. Feeling depressed now too!
Would this be due to the reduction in oestrogen from my previous 2mg in the femoston?
I haven't dared try any thyroid meds! Someone told me they increased weight. My GP didn't think I needed them either! But they don't generally treat anything that's in range.
Not sure what to do next but desperately don't like feeling like this 😢