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[Kay1975]

Hi ,
I am new here , long story short ( well as short as i can keep it )had my covid booster in Dec 21 and 7 days later started with perimenopause. Insomnia, anxiety through roof, heart racing and palpitations. Doctor wanted to gibe me anti depressants  but I knew I wasn't depressed. Went private and was given hrt . Gel and Utrogestan. Progesterone part 200mg x 12 days. The progesterone gave me crazy thoughts and anxiety . Another appointment told me to use vaginally but that was same. Yes another appointment I was given everol sequi.  I was same. I'm currently trying to use 100mg vaginally every other night I'm only on 3rd tablet tonight buy I can feel the anxiety creeping back. So scared of stopping hrt and going back to the real bad insomnia and anxiety . Please can any one help 🙏 x

[CLKD]

Morning.  It's that part of the regime that upsets many ladies. 

Some ladies have a long cycle so less Progesterone, hopefully someone will be along.  Although 1 shouldn't have to go privately, it's often the most effecting way of getting supervised treatment.  Do U have another appt with the Clinic?

[PeriWhat?!]

If the anxiety is too much and linked to the progesterone, I would go back and ask for an alternative. Rather than paying for private again, could you go back to your GP and ask for an NHS menopause clinic referral now you've tried a couple of types of HRT that don't suit you? Apologies if that's not an option where you live.
I've also had bad reactions to the two progesterones you've tried, and am now trying a Mirena coil. I think it's still settling six months in so it's not perfect, but definitely a massive improvement from where I was. Hopefully someone else will pop up who can tell you about another option if the coil isn't right for you.

[Floradora]

Sadly progesterone intolerance is what causes many difficulties and it is a real problem. I agree with what others have said and ask to be referred to a menopause clinic. It may take a while to be seen though. Unfortunately there is much trial and error in finding a tolerable regime. Although progesterone (Utrogestan) is body identical, the dose required to protect the endometrium is very high. I myself can’t tolerate utrogestan but can tolerate both dydrogesterone (only available as part of Femoston HRT) and medroxyprogesterone(Provera) which is available as a standalone product and so can be used with any form of estrogen, gel,patches whatever. Although these are ‘synthetic’ progestins, I get on far better with them as the doses required are tiny compared with progesterone. Dyrogesterone is particularly good as it is very similar to progesterone but you only need a very small dose x

[sheila99]

The timing is a bit suspicious. My hrt stopped working for a month after my jab, for others it has been longer. It may be that you don't actually need hrt yet and it was just the jab playing havoc with your hormones. I would be inclined to stop and see if you're OK without it. As you are peri not meno (1 year without a bleed) you should be on a cyclical regime so you bleed every month. Using a conti regime in peri is likely to lead to breakthrough bleeding or a build up of your lining which puts you at higher risk of cancer. If you do need hrt there are plenty of other options to try yet. You could try provera or a mirena or a combined contraceptive pill such as zoelly.

[Hurdity]

Hi Kay1975

You said you started the peri-menopause 7 days after your covid bootser, but with respect, peri-menopause doesn't start in this way that you would suddenly notice, though maybe the jab affected your hormonal balance that month

The medical definition of peri-menopause is when your cycle changes and varies by at least 7 days each month between cycles - ie becomes more variable. The stage leading up to that - the Late Reproductive Phase or Stage is when the ovaries are still functioning properly but other hormones begin to go a bit awry - and often during this phase some women begin to experience worsening pms and for the unfortunate few, also symptoms similar to what normlly occur when peri-menopause proper starts.

If your periods were still regular then you were (are?) not peri-menopausal and HRT may well not help, depending on what your oestrogen is also doing.

You're right - you don't need anti-depressants for hormonal problems ( only if you cannot have HRT eg due to breast cancer) and nor do you need to go privately. 

You haven't said how old you are but given your name maybe you were born in 1975 in which case you are in your 40's? That being the case one of the newer contraceptive pills might suit you better? The two types are QLAIRA and ZOELY and they contain estradiol - the same bioidentical estradiol that our bodies produce and the same as in the gel. The main thing about these is that though they contain synthetic progestogens they regulate the cycle and should prevent some of the symptoms you are experiencing. It may not be progesterone intolerance as such - just that in order to protect the womb, we need to take very high doses of progesterone (as utrogestan) as part of our HRT because the compound is unstable in the body. The synthetic progestogens last longer and sometimes have fewer side effects.

Sadly dydrogesterone us not available in UK as a separate progestogen - was stopped in 2008 despite thst many women would take it. I would try this if it was - even though it is synthetic as it is very close to progesterone (in structure) and is apparently associated with the lowest risk of all the synthetic progestogens...

Hope this helps and good luck

Hurdity x