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[MIS71MUM]

Hi Ladies
I know there is no strict conversion from different types of HRT....but I wanted a bit of advice please.
I was previously on 100mg patch - but have seen a private gyny about overriding my cycle as am still getting highs and lows.  Her view was that a patch, (and it does for me), gives a boost of oestrogen for the first 24 hours, then tapers off.  I whole heartedly agree with this view - as this is how the patch affects me.  Therefore we've decided for me that the gel maybe better, as once I get the doseage right, it will be a daily constant.
I also got Testosterone from the gyny but don't want to take it until i'm more settled on my gel.
So I've started on 2 pumps - and feel rubbish!  Achey and tired, very lethargic, sleep disturbed, boiling hot all the time, etc.  I know it takes a while for oestrogen to build up etc, but would have thought I would have been better off on 3 pumps to start off with.
How's everyone else got on switching?
I've seen a lot switching the other way from patch to gel, but not gel to patch.

[Salad]

Hi 
I guess we're all a bit different with the way we absorb - it might be worth using another pump of gel to see if it improves your symptoms.

[Tinkerbell]

Two pumps of Estrogel won't be enough if you were on a 100 mg patch, I was on a 75mg patch and needed to use three pumps when I changed over to the gel.

[Hurdity]

As Salad says - different women absorb oestrogen differently from the different methods - so there is no exact equivalent as these are worked out on average oestrogen levels for a population of women studied. Better to go on Low, Medium or High. In your case - 100 mcg is a high dose so 4 pumps of gel is also high. However some women achieve high doses of oestrogen on only 2 pumps. If this is not the case with you I would go up to 3 as suggested by Tinkerbell with a view to increasing to 4. If I were to use gel I would in fact go for the equivalent oestrogen dose of Sandrena gel as it is more concentrated.

The standard post-meno dose of gel is 2 pumps, as is 50 mcg - but as I said these won't be exactly equivalent in every woman but a good starting point.

2 pumps of oestrogel contain the same amount of estradiol as 1 1/2 (ie 1.5) sachets of 1 mg Sandrena. So 4 pumps would be 3 sachets.

Hurdity x

[Mary G]

If you want to override your cycle then normally you need to aim for high blood levels of oestrogen, somewhere in the high 800s.  Oestrogel is the best product to use for achieving this and the normal dose for women who are trying to do this is 3-4 pumps of gel.  Professor Studd has written a lot hormonal anxiety and overriding the cycle and you might want to check out his website. 

Obviously it is different for post menopause women who want to relieve symptoms, they can use 1 or 2 pumps and get good results. 

I switched from patches to gel and got a far better level of aborption and results.  You might want to try splitting your gel dose by about 12 hours to keep your levels up. 

[MIS71MUM]

Thanks all.
The low, medium and high doses has made me realise that I'm may need an extra dose along with personal experiences. Will up it very soon as really don't want a crash of my mental health again.
Yes heard of Prof Studd and must have read his website from start to finish.
From what I've read on here, he's not the most customer friendly, but let's be grateful for his research and his puplications. It made me realise what I was suffering from was hormonal/reproductive depression.
Also considered the dose splitting too.

[Daisydot]

I'm now using a dose of Oestrogel at night and a dose in the morning and it's working fine for me at the moment,I feel pretty good on that.good luck xx

[Tinkerbell]

I am post meno by two years, I just can't manage on less than 3 pumps, my symptoms come back if I reduce it.