I have not posted here for a while.
I was put on sequential HRT a couple of years ago by a functional doctor who also switched me from levothyroxine to natural desiccated thyroid for my hypothyroidism (autoimmune thyroiditis). According to the doctor, estrogen needs to be taken transdermally to bypass the liver. I was also told that oral estrogen binds thyroid hormone so tends to make people more hypothyroid. The he doctor insisted on bio-identical progesterone, Utrogestan, 200 mg for ten days a month - along with Oestrogel for 25 days.
I was later switched to continuous HRT - Oestrogel 2 pumps and 100 mg of Utrogestan daily.
Both my estradiol and progesterone levels remained low, but the doctor claimed that more than 2 pumps of Oestrogel daily was not advisable.
As I turned 50 two years ago, symptoms such as night sweats and hot flushes worsened.
Since the functional doctor refused to discuss any other form of therapy, I went to see a gynaecologist who suggested taking oral estradiol instead as it offers better cardio-vascular protection. Also, the gynaecologist said that some women cannot absorb enough estradiol through the skin. She also detected some ovarian kysts on the ultrasound so suggested Femoston as it contains dydrogesterone (usually prescribed to women with kysts).
Since it had been six months since my last period, I was put straight on Femoston Conti 1/5 which the doctor said contains bio-identical estradiol. She said her patients have had much better results with Femoston compared to drugs like Elleste.
I have now been on it for six months and it has helped greatly with my night sweats and hot flushes.
However, I have read that taking progesterone continuously is not without risks, and that it is unnatural to have the same level of progesterone in your body all the time (it´s only suppose to dominate for two weeks a month), and that this might possibly mess with my thyroid hormone levels.
However, it´s wonderful not to bleed.
Doctors seem to disagree on the best way to prescribe HRT to post-menopausal women - some say it´s better to replicate nature, and only take progesterone for two weeks a month, whereas others say continuous HRT offers advantages that sequential HRT does not.
Any ideas or thoughts about the pros and cons of sequential and continuous HRT?
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Topic: Femoston conti 1/5 - pros and cons? (Read 1148 times)