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[laszla]

Following 5 months on femoston 2/10 I have been prescribed estrogel 2 measures a day and utrogestan.
I requested a switch as a pattern emerged of feeling awful moodwise in the progesterone half of the pack, pms type feelings that I dealt with effectively with agnus castus prior to starting HRT but I can no longer take it. Am 51, perimenopausal.
2 queries:

1. GP was not that clear about when/how to transition from one to the other though vaguely suggested finishing the course of femoston then starting.
I am on day 20 of femoston and dreading days 21-28 which is when I become pms-demented.
Would it be foolish to switch right now and take 7 days of utrogestan together with daily estrogel? Or should I finish the dreaded last femoston week and then start estrogel daily, adding utrogestan after 2 or 3 weeks (see question 2 re latter)?

2. Re how much/how long to take utrogestan over the 28 day cycle. I told my gp that some women take 100 mg for just 7 days per cycle (Studd type regime) and she has left it to my discretion, telling me that the official prescription is 200 mg for 14 days but that I can reduce to 7 days if I dont tolerate 14 days.
I am very tempted to start off with 7 days but would taking half the official dose, ie 100 mg be taking things too far?

I am scared of the progesterone as you can probably tell...Thanks.

[Dancinggirl]

If you look at your other thread I have tried to answer your questions.
The U.K. guidelines can be found under TREATMENTS on this site but I have explained a slightly different approach on your other thread that many women follow. I have suggested you try 12 days of one capsule of Utrogestan used vaginally on days 17-28 of the cycle. Dropping to 7 days of Utro per month might result in problematic bleeding and the uterine lining should be monitored with regular scans which the NHS won't do. Women usually have scans done privately if they want to use so little progesterone.
DG x

[Mary G]

If you struggle really badly with the progesterone part of HRT then why not take the Professor Studd route?  The worst than can happen is that you have to increase your Utrogestan dose because your have lining build up or you have sparodic bleeding but most women manage with that regime without any problems at all.

My advice is to do the 7 days of Utrogestan and then after a few months, pay for a uterine scan to make sure your are getting proper clearance and thinning.  There is no point in taking more progesterone than you need if you have problems with it. 

[laszla]

Thanks again for the utrogestan tip DG and Mary for the advice to follow the Studd regime. I was planning to start somewhere in between the 'official' prescription and Studd, ie half the 200 mg dose but for 12 days and seeing how it goes.
But meanwhile another problem has arisen. I got hold of the estrogel yesterday and against advice decided I would take the 2 pump dose that same day which is day 20 of my femoston course.
My reasoning being that the femoston pill I would normally have taken also contained 2mg of estrogen mixed in with the prog. so how different could it be (how wrong I was!)
I did not take the utrogestan, figuring I would skip any progesterone for one day.
I woke up in the heart of the night with dagger, period-type cramps, no bleeding, such as I've never experienced before.They subsised after a couple of hours but I have felt rotten all day, headachy (I never ever get headaches), still tender from the cramps and incredibly weak.

I know the leaflet lists everything but the kitchen stove as possible side effects of estrogel including cramps but does anyone know if these are likely to pass or is this guesswork depending on the individual?

I feel I've gone from the frying pan into the fire, if the estrogel is going to have this effect on me there is no way I can take it .
I have an appointment with gp in just over a week but in the meantime I will resume femoston for the remainder of the course as I cannot afford to be flattened out with cramps.
Thanks

[Dancinggirl]

It's not the Oestrogel causing the problems - by just stopping the progesterone part of the Femoston at the wrong time your body is reacting in the wrong way. I think on the other thread I mentioned that you should finish the Femoston full 28 day cycle before starting the new regime unless you had just started a new pack of Femoston - so in other words still on the oestrogen part of Femoston. By stopping the progesterone suddenly at the wrong time you have triggered the cramping but your body isn't ready to shed the lining.
At this stage I would resume the Femoston and finish the 28 days which will hopefully result in a proper withdrawal bleed.
If you start the Oestrogel after you have finished the Femoston and the bleed has started you will be starting fresh.
Any change in hrt type will give some side effects at first - your body will need to adjust. DG x

[laszla]

Thanks so much dancing girl, I would be hugely relieved if it's not the estrogel and just my foolishness at interrupting femoston that caused this. I was so scared of the progesterone and so glad to have got the new estrogel prescription that I didn't heed the advice to finish the femoston course. Shocking that missing one day of prog can do this.
Back to femoston asap for the last week of the course, lesson learnt, will report back.
L xx

[Dancinggirl]

You may find you get some spotting or bleeding early because of interrupting the progesterone phase  but don't worry about that.
You need to let your body go through the hormonal phases to protect your womb lining.
Hopefully things will be back on track soon. DG x