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[Julia Dizzy]

Hello, I'm new to the forum, I'm 63 and 9 years post menopause (last period Sept 2009). I had HRT (Indivina) for 1 year only 2 years into it, after suffering terrible flushes and was fine on that, however my GP at the time said not to stay on it for too long and advised me to come off it. I wish I hadn't as it was marvellous and made me feel human again. Ever since I have suffered of all the nasty symptoms i.e. hot flushes, dreadful global anxiety, intimate dryness/dyspareunia, joint aches and pains, tiredness, irritablility etc etc etc that do not seem to be going away.
I asked my GP to go back on HRT a few months ago but was told am now too old at age 63 and am one of the unlucky ones. I then asked him to refer me to my local NHS menopause clinic which he happily did.  I also did an e-mail consultation with Dr Heather Currie a couple of weeks ago (brilliant and well worth the £30 charge) who suggested estrogel and Utrogestan 100mg daily.
I went to the menopause clinic 6 days ago and the Dr there had no qualms about me going back on HRT saying it was my choice and would help my symptoms. He gave me exactly what Dr Currie had suggested and I started to take it, 1 pump of Estrogel on each arm or inner thigh and the Utrogestan tablet at the same time just before bed.
However, I appear to be having more hot flushes than I was having before, palpitations, feel a little weird and shaky, having aches up in and around my pelvic floor, itchy labia and feel a bit dizzy and tired. .
My question is are these normal side effects initially and is my body going whoaaa what's going on here??? Am I doing it right and how do I know that it suits me and how long should I try it for? I don't want to be having worse hot flushes than before!!! I was hoping for a miracle and to feel like a new woman???
Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[Dotty]

Hi the advice is to give the hrt 3 months.  It can take a while to feel good again especially if your body has been without oestrogen for a long time.  Hang in there.

Welcome to the forum .... you will find lots of helpful advice and lovely ladies on here xxx

[Tracey E]

Hi Julia, my experience of Estrogel and Utrogestan were certainly not gold standard for me. This combination caused terrible palpitations, indigestion/acid reflux which culminated into me stopping HRT altogether. I've been off HRT for just a week and have had no more hot flushes and no more palpitations. I hope you gain some positives from this regime, alas it made me terribly unwell.X

[Hurdity]

Hi Julia Dizzy

 

I agree with Dotty and Stellajane you need to give it time.

However having said that - if you are one of the women who absorb very well and especially if you have low BMI and are short (stature) then it might just be a case of too much too soon re the gel as your body has been starved of oestrogen. Personally if you've been without oestrogen that long I would start low and slow to wake up those receptors - even half a pump a day although you might notice the effects of the utro a bit more when on low dose oestrogen as stellajane says. After a couple of weeks increase to one pump etc. You may find you don't need two pumps especially at your age. Just an idea if you're feeling weird.  You really want the minimum that will control your symptoms with the dose of progesterone that keeps your lining thin.

Btw have you been told you might get some spotting or bleeding initially while your womb lining gets over the shock and settles into the new regime? Make sure you get some sanitary protection just in case!

I'm in my 60's and have been taking HRT for 12 + years on a long cycle, so still get a bleed!

Hope it works for you - we're cheering you on (especially the over 60's!!!!)

Hurdity x

[Rhiner]

Hello Julia,
I agree with the comments above. I too felt a bit itchy when I started Utrogestan and headachy, but these disappeared.
One other point, I started the Oestrogen (patch for me) first and let this settle for a couple of months before introducing the Utro. This enabled me to get the dose right.  That way too, I knew which one was giving any side effects.

I take Utro 100mg orally 2 days on, one day off, tried alternate days but not quite enough as on 75ug patch. This has been under supervision of a meno specialist.

Hope this helps,
Rhiner

[Rhiner]

Hi Stella Jane,
He blooming well was, but unfortunately has now retired!
Rhiner

[Julia Dizzy]

A big thank you ladies!  I can see it is trial and error and everyone is different so will just have to wait and see. I am prepared not to worry if I have a little bleed as I did a couple of years ago when I tried Elleste for one month, but my GP advised I came off that at the time too!
I can always go back to Meno clinic hopefully pretty quickly and sort it out if not suiting me. Its always nice to hear other peoples experiences too!