Hi Mandoz,
Firstly, welcome to the forum.
Humour me, as I understand it, the add back protocol is used off label with a gnrh agonist to act upon the pituitary gland to suppress oestrogen production. I also understand that it can be used for people with severe PMD and PMDD although this is not the case for me. Either which way, it effectively puts the person into "chemical menopause". Then oestrogen is added manually, usually in the form of a patch to supplement the levels and provide a more controlled environment and more balance in the hormone levels.
I have been on such a protocol since mid 2018, firstly using the Synarel nasal spray, and then Zoladex injections on a 3 monthly basis. The plan is to continue this until fairly confident that menopause has been achieved in the background so probably a couple of years.
To that I add estradot patches and have a mirena coil to provide for endometrial clearance. I do not have a monthly bleed as a result of the mirena but as I understand, I would be classed as menopausal and treated on a continuous regime if I didn't have the mirena.
For me it has had its ups and downs but mainly ups. Getting the patch balance right is the biggest challenge I find but I feel more like me again.
Hope this helps....
