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[CrispyChick]

Ladies. Looking for advice ahead of my first appointment at the meno clinic.

I am 43. Been suffering horrifically for 2 years. Extreme dizziness, nausea, feeling vile. Tried prog only pill. Got appetite back, but was suffering with bad mood swings and low mood. 3 months ago I opted to try combined pill. I thought it was helping, but I'm now getting daily migraines. I just can't go on like this.

So, I am assuming that hrt might be my better option and am now open to it. After 2 years of hell, I'm keen to avoid being given the 'standard' options and having to work my way through them with possibly more side affects 🤷‍♀️.

So, I'm thinking if the pill is giving me headaches, it could be the daily fluctuation of estrogen going in then metabolising through my body. So maybe patch better???

I got on OK with prog only pill, but I realise it is not licensed for hrt. Is there a similar prog option???

I know you ladies have a lot of information. I'm just feeling overwhelmed..   Plus headachy!!!

[Dotty]

Oestrogel and Utrogestan is  good choice.

Patches are good too, but there is a shortage at the moment and they re hard to get . x

[Bobidy]

Hi

I'm mid 40s and started with peri 3 yearsish ago.

Please don't suffer with it unnecessarily as you aren't doing your body and mind any favours short or long term. I wish my crap gps had recognised all my symptoms as it could have saved me so much anguish about other potential illnesses e.g. MS, fibromyalgia, peripheral neuropathy etc etc and saved a lot a time and NHS resources having unnessassary tests with no outcome only, "well you'll have to take amitripaline".

9 months after starting HRT and virtually all the myriad of symptoms are gone or are copeable. I've had to gradually up my dose to 7 pumps of estrogel after having a big dip a few weeks ago, but my meno specialist says it is completely normal for younger women to need larger doses and it is very safe.

Patches are coming back gradually this month apparently by Evorel so hopefully that will make a difference. Otherwise get going with the gel to start off with.

You deserve to feel better and get some control back. Don't take no for an answer from your doctor or be fobbed off.

Good luck x

[CrispyChick]

Thank you so much bobity.

I too have had many other tests and scans etc.... I do now feel it is hormonal. I'm just not sure why the combined pill isn't working properly to eradicate everything..  Any thoughts?

So gel in a pump form is good for you? And what progesterone do you take? X

[Bobidy]

Hi, I can't advise on progesterone I'm afraid as I've had a hysterectomy so only need oestrogen. Estrogel is a bit of a faff to apply but it's great to start off with to gauge how much oestrogen you need as you can easily up and down your dose. You'll have ups and downs with your own oestrogen levels throughout the month which will affect your symptoms but you can up your estrogel during those days.

There are a couple of contraceptive pills that have been recommended on here, sorry I can't remember the names. Hurdity is the font of all knowledge with that x

[Ladybt28]

Thing is CrispyChick, when you are starting out you have no idea how your body is going to react to any of it, so you just have to start somewhere.  You may have an idea about your body based on your own menstrual cycle and how it reacted or if you took the contraceptive pill how it reacted to various types of pills.  Think about those experiences, it may give you some clues but other than that, it is really trial and error.  What suits one won't suit another, its so difficult to predict.

I tried 6 kinds of hrt before I found a regime that suited me.  I too use gel and utrogestan and it is widely spoken about on this forum but it is definitely not a "blanket for everyone" regime.  Also in this climate you need to keep an eye on the types of hrt which are readily available with the current shortages.  It's all well and good discussing with a doctor or deciding something might be good to try but if it's an absolute nightmare to get and you have to keep changing, then that's not good. x