Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[jks1969]

Hello everyone. I’m 51, in peri-menopause still, and about to embark on HRT for the first time. My GP has kindly prescribed Evorel 25 and Utrogestan 100 based on my request to try body-identical HRT.

I’m currently suffering from sore breasts during the second half of my cycle, a feeling of ‘jumpiness’/‘restlessness’ in many muscles in my body, mood swings for most of the month, and health anxiety related to this and other weird things going on in my body (muscle vibrations waking me at night, weakness in my feet and legs making walking painful at times). Almost all of this is in the last couple of years, as I previously tolerated my cycle quite well earlier in my life (despite not being particularly regular, because I’ve been diagnosed with PCOS in the past).

Anyway, I have got my head about the risks and rewards of HRT, which was hard for me with my health anxiety, especially as we believe (but are not certain) that my paternal grandmother died of breast cancer. My GP is suggesting 100mg of Utrogestan daily for 25 days of each cycle, as she says it might reduce side effects. I didn’t get on with the Mini Pill when I was in my 30s, so I find the idea of 100mg for 25 days better than 200mg for 12 days. This is reinforced by a concern that my body doesn’t need more progesterone based on my sore breasts. I’ve also heard that micronised progesterone might actually be protective against breast cancer, so a longer exposure to it each cycle intuitively sounds like a good idea.

I’m just a bit concerned that most people seem to be recommending 12 days of Utrogestin for peri-menopausal women, including the leaflet that comes with the Utrogestin!

I’d be really interested to hear the thoughts, advice and suggestions from other people on this forum with your wealth of experience. It’s all a bit scary and daunting for me right now!

[sheila99]

I'm late peri and use 200mg x 12days. I'll continue to use it this way in meno on a long cycle because I get fatigue on it. Even if you use it daily later on I'd recommend using it cyclically to start with so if you have a reaction to it you know it's the utro not the oestrogen. Some people do use it continuously in peri but you may well find you have break through bleeding.

[jks1969]

I'd recommend using it cyclically to start with so if you have a reaction to it you know it's the utro not the oestrogen

Thanks sheila99 - that's a great point that I hadn't thought about before.

If I do start taking 200mg on Day 15-26, am I right in thinking it wouldn't be bad if I reduced from 200mg to 100mg halfway through the course if I didn't get on with the higher dose, because the Evorel 25 is such a low dose?

Is there anyone else out there on the 25 day regime in peri-menopause, and if so, what made you go with that approach?

[sheila99]

Some people do use 100mg and are fine, particularly with low dose oestrogen. As this is less than the manufacturer's recommended dose you should do it with medical supervision though. As long as you have a proper bleed it's unlikely your lining will build up.

[befuddled]

Hello jks

I've been taking utro for 25 days with 3 day break since October.  Gp explained why he prescribed it this way, but so much info at the time it all got a bit confusing.  This, I think, is what he was saying -
- if I was definitely perimeno he would have prescribed 200mg for 12 days for a more predictable bleed.
- As I'm not sure if i'm late perimeno or postmeno he prescribed 100mg 25 days.  If i'm postmeno, then i won't bleed in the 3 days off.  If i'm still peri, and my body needs to bleed, then the 3 day break gives it that opportunity to bleed at a predictable time instead of random breakthrough bleeding, but I may bleed some months but not necessarily every month.

In theory that all seems to make sense.  The downside, as Sheila says, is in not knowing what it is causing side effects.

GP also said that because i was having a big problem with insomnia, the sedative effect of Utro would be of benefit (which it has). Better to take it at a low dose every night for a more stable effect, rather than having a higher dose for a few days and then nothing, which would probably disrupt the sleep pattern even more.

[jks1969]

Thank you befuddled - really interesting to hear your story. I’m having a bad time sleeping at the moment, but that is caused by internal vibrations (like a mobile phone going off) in some back muscles which wake me up.

I am very compelled by sheila99’s logic of starting on 12 days just to gauge the benefits and effectiveness of Evorel 25 first, but my disrupted sleep is a nightmare (literally and figuratively!), so it’s good to know I’ve got Utrogestin in my arsenal because I’m near the end of a four-week low dose course of Diazepam (which I really don’t want to go back on).

I’m about to have my period, so my first ever HRT day is very soon - likely tomorrow. Maybe I’ll try 12 days on my first cycle, and switch to 25 days if the 200mg causes a problem or if I really need more gentle and regular help from Utrogestin for sleeping.

I feel very lucky to have found this group. Thank you!

[befuddled]

Well, now that you've started the process, you're on your way to getting it sorted.  It takes time, and it's all very trial and error, and you may well have to try a few different regimes or dosings before you find the right one for you.  Sometimes you will get conflicting advice, don't worry too much about that, usually there isn't a definite right or wrong answer to most things, we're all different and what works for one may not work for another, it's just about finding the right balance between benefits and side effects.     
I hope you start to feel some benefit soon, I did with the physical symptoms within a week or so of starting.  The mood swings and other psychological stuff took a bit longer, but you'll get there.