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[Rosie63]

Hi all

I'm sitting in the garden wondering when this nightmare will ever end ! I've really been trying this time to stick with current regime of Femoston 1/5mg and I've nearly managed the 3 months trial. I wasn't too bad for the first few weeks but then some of the old symptoms started to return.  I spoke to my gynae and he said it would be ok to double the dose.  I didn't double up first of all but then I thought I would give it a go.  However, after only 2 days I felt awful. My muscle and joint aches got worse, I felt nauseous and so very tired.   I also felt very anxious especially when driving - I kept thinking I was going to have an accident 😳 So I decided not to take anything last night and I haven't taken anything today yet either and I can't believe how much better I've felt today.  I don't know if it's a coincidence but the aches, nausea and fatigue have all but gone.

I'm so confused, I just don't know what to think anymore !! I've got an appointment with my gp next Weds.  so any thoughts or advice you might have for me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks as always.

Rosie63 x

[CLKD]

 

[Dancinggirl]

I always did better with lower dose hrt. Perhaps try a break from hrt altogether? What symptoms are you trying to control ? DGx

[Rosie63]

Thanks ladies.  DG main symptoms are actually joint and muscle aches, low mood.  What prompted me to try hrt in the first place (when I was around 50) was the feeling that every few weeks I had the flu or some sort of virus so achey throat, joints, tiredness etc.  After about 3 days of taking hrt those symptoms went and I was ok for a number of years until they discontinued the hrt I was on and since last October I've been trying to find something else that works for me - unsuccessfully so far.

I know you are about my age and have managed to come off it. How did you manage it, if you don't mind me asking?  I would really like to call it a day now if I possibly can.

Thanks again.

Rosie x

[dangermouse]

Your driving issue is exactly what happened to me when my oestrogen was too high, I felt terrified and had to stick to the slow lane on the motorway and was almost shaking with fear.

I'm a really confident driver so it was such an odd experience. Now my oestrogen is under control I'm back zooming down the fast lane!

As oestrogen is a stimulant, too ligh levels possibly pushes your stress hormones too high so additional stress you're normally fine with overwhelms you.

I suspect you need to lower it or come off or maybe you could try ultra low rather than stopping altogether.

[Rosie63]

That is so helpful to know Dangermouse. You're very knowledgeable 😊 Thank you.

I'm also thinking that by doubling the dose, I was getting too much progesterone which was making me feel zonked out most of the time.

Thank you again.

Rosie x

[dangermouse]

Oh, only about my own experiences!

Yes I suspect both being high is a recipe for nervous tension.

[Hurdity]

Hi Rosie63

Sorry to hear this.

What was the HRT you were taking before - maybe it was Prempak or Premique - one of the formulations of this? The thing is as you say, because you are on continuous combined HRT and were trying to increase your oestrogen dose - unfortunately you were also doubling the progesterone dose. This particular dose ie 10 mg dydrogesterone is meant for short term use - 12 days of cyclical HRT but by doubling thr 1/5 you are taking this all the time. Also doubling the oestrogen dose all in one go may also give side effects and the nausea could be due to this ( or the extra prog). It's always best to increase oestrogen slowly although some women quite happily go from 1 mg to 2 mg without problems. If the side effects were due to a sudden increase in oestrogen then these should settle. Side effects from the extra progestogen also may settle but can persist. Difficult to know what to suggest other than trying Femoston 2/10 cyclically - which means you would have a bleed - to decide whether you can cope with the higher dose of oestrogen.

Otherwise - maybe patches or gel with separate progesterone as you are presumably over 60? Transdermal is thought to be less risky in terms of cardiovascular health, stroke etc than tablets once you are over 60.

Hurdity x

[Dotty]

You can add oestrogen to Femoston Conti as suggested on the Wiltshire Pathway for hrt. I've posted a link before and I'll try and find it again for you. X

[Rosie63]

Thank you Dotty.  That would be great if you could find the link 😊

Thanks for responding too Hurdity.  Yes, I was on Prempak C for about 12 years.  It worked well for me but to be honest, even though I'm not doing great on other preparations at the moment, I probably wouldn't want to go back on that now.  I'm 64 on Wednesday 😳 so I'm mindful that I should really be taking something transdermally (not sure that's even a word !!) but you get my drift.  I have tried oestrogel with Utrogestan vaginally for just 14 days and I did ok, apart from some stomach issues but I've had them with everything I've tried so far.  I've started to bleed today and this happened last month too so I'll mention that to the doctor on Tuesday too.  If I decide to carry on with hrt, I might ask to try the patches you are on as you appear to do well on those, although I've learnt by now that we are all different !

Thank you again ladies.

Rosie xx

[Dotty]

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

The guidance is in the footnotes on the first page x

[Rosie63]

Thank you very much Dotty xx