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[Figgy68]

Hi 

I'm 53 and was having a breezy perimenopause for about 3 yrs that I hardly felt it. My GP said I was really lucky. I've always had regular periods and spent my late 40s with an increased libido through the roof and energy.

Then 2020 I lost my dad to covid in the 1st wave and suddenly my periods went really irregular in a weird way (got my period the day he passed, lasted ages really heavy then got it again 12 days late day of the funeral and has been erratic since).

I experienced slight vaginal dryness too. Though could've been depression and grief (and increased wine consumption). Pride kicked in and I determined to keep things natural so I didn't use the 10mcg estradiol pessaries 2 x week and forgot about them in a drawer for a year. I did get back to 80% of what it was once I was several months into grief counselling but it just wasn't as much as it used to be and the stress of trying to achieve it was being counter-productive! So the pessaries came out of the drawer 6 mths ago and have been amazing. I was ecstatic that it was just that tiny bit of boost I needed.

But I started noticing brain fog, distraction, intolerance, palpitations in the mornings, hair thinning and facial skin getting saggy. Thickened waist. Back fat around my bra (why can't fat accumulate on my actual breasts???) Hot flushes - not so bad. No sweats. Then I missed a period for 3 months and I knew it was time for HRT.

I asked my GP for hormone blood tests and she included a pelvic scan which took ages to get an appointment.

3 weeks ago one of the drs from my surgery rang with results and he said the results were normal but in line with menopause progression. He prescribed me 1mg Sandrena gel and 200mg Utrogestan x 12 days in a 28-day cycle. Didn't say much else and I didn't know what to ask.

Then had a few days wait trying to find Sandrena in stock. Meanwhile my natural period appeared after being absent for 9 weeks and I also had a trip to take so waited to start my HRT.

With no guidance or advice on how to start, I took the Utrogestan this past Sunday at bedtime, also the Sandrena on my thigh (have since read online that eostrogen is begun first so feeling a little freaked out now).
Day 1 = spaced out, woozy, nausea, hot sweats at night.
Day 2 = fine but can feel libido disappearing (no please no)
Day 3 = wow, vivid dreams, woke with a vice-like grip on left side, thought it was a stroke, had ear ache all day, sensitive vision, sent e-consult to GP.
Day 4 (today)= vivid dream again, woke with slight buzzing in ear, ear ache now and then, sensitive vision. Nurse practitioner called me in today to check my BP (normal) ears and eyes (normal). Low mood all day.

She said it's likely I'm experiencing a massive surge of hormones. She said it doesn't really matter how you start and it'll settle down next cycle. She wouldn't consider adjusting my dosage, said I needed that level of progesterone and to give it at least 4-6 weeks more to see if anything needs to change.

When I asked if she knew about taking half the dose vaginally she looked seriously confused and asked if it was pessaries I was on, I said no tablets and she said she'd never ever heard of taking the pills vaginally.

I'm struggling with the disappointment that HRT is not in reality how it is marketed - as an instant saviour. Why is no one public talking about this first phase and what to expect.

I'm going to persevere. I feel safer knowing that I'm being monitored and my BP is all normal.

Does it ever get to be the amazing thing which we are told it is?

[sheila99]

Your expectations aren't consistent with reality. It takes 3 months to get the full effects of hrt. Even the symptoms that go quickly such as flushes can take a couple of weeks.
Utrogestan should be taken days 15-26 where day 1 is the first day of your bleed.

[CLKD]

   time for you and your GP to work together? it's a learning curve for many, especially GPs ;-)

Browse round.  Ask, nowt is taboo.  Do read 'doing stupid things' and 'vaginal atrophy' threads for starters.  Some find that keeping a mood/food/symptom diary of use.  Let us know how you get on.

[Figgy68]

Thanks everyone.

I didn’t really have any expectations, more like admitting my ignorance, being frustrated by lack of honesty in the media, hoping not to be judged and trying to learn. I’m new to menopausal symptoms and even newer to HRT. With every female friend saying HRT was their rescue and male friends saying their partners immediately went back to normal, it does indeed sound like a miracle quick fix and it never occurs to question that there’s more to HRT.

My GP when prescribing it, didn’t say it was magical and instant, I don’t think I said he did. Neither did he say “ok take these and give it about 3-6 months to settle and let’s see how you get on and talk again then”. I asked how to take them and he simply said just start right away and take the progesterone for only 12 days. Bit more guidance and advice would’ve been welcome since it seems it’s actually bit more complicated than that.

Not knowing HRT can be a rocky road and not knowing it takes months (how can I without having ever experienced it before lol) means I didn’t know what to ask either. We just assume we are given a treatment, we take it and then we feel better. Hence my panic at such strong side effects.

It’s only these past couple of weeks that I’ve realised GPs aren’t too clued up and any information we can get is usually on our own and through finding this wonderful forum which hopefully I’ll find my feet in

[Figgy68]

  time for you and your GP to work together? it's a learning curve for many, especially GPs ;-)

Browse round.  Ask, nowt is taboo.  Do read 'doing stupid things' and 'vaginal atrophy' threads for starters.  Some find that keeping a mood/food/symptom diary of use.  Let us know how you get on.

Thank you for the non-judgement and friendly advice

[NinaRina]

Hi, I'm new here and have similar feelings. I'm only 5 days in and oestrogel is making me feel jittery and tired. I know I'm supposed to wait longer, but I know exactly what you mean about friends saying the were great from day one.
I wondered how you are getting on now a few more days have passed?

[Amazing grace]

Hi figgy68, I know exactly what you mean as in hrt is very much portrayed as a miracle cure in the media, especially by celebrities who claim they feel amazing, simply not true for so many of us, regarding your bumpy start with estrogel it's completely normal to have various symptoms while first starting and settling on hrt, it should settle within 3 months sooner if your lucky, I'm on estrogel and in the beginning I thought it would take care of everything but sadly 5 years on, I'm still left with some symptoms, other things it's worked well at controlling, I've learned hrt is not a quick fix or cure all for menopause,I also get frustrated when women I know claim it was a miracle and they feel great, I definitely think there's more to hrt as I've learned through my own experience, the one thing I learned was to ignore the celebrities and media claims, and patience and consistency is really important start low and increase slowly if needed, I tryed upping doses way to quickly and it made me feel awful, I also went up and down doses to feel good and that certainly didn't help, its a shame your gp wasn't very helpful don't be afraid to go back to him/her and ask questions if you need to, good luck I hope in time it works well for you, just wanted to say I get what you were saying about the media, x

[NinaRina]

Thanks for your words of encouragement Amazing Grace - you make a lot of sense. I just want to feel better!

[Amazing grace]

Hi NinaRina, you are very welcome, it's really tough this whole menopause thing, but hang in there and be patient I honestly know that's easy to say and hard to do, but you will get there eventually it is a bumpy road on this hrt journey, I thought I would never feel any where near normal again but I got there, all be it with some ongoing symptoms but much better than I was, I really wish you luck x

[Kat36]

Hi Figgy68,
I too struggle with why the media present it as a miracle worker. The reality seems to me that the start of hrt is a bit of an upheaval that requires a lot of resilience and perseverance. I have been through an early menopause and when the doc told me that I would need to be on hormones until the natural age of menopause. I was like, “ok, sign me up…sounds straightforward.”  Everything that was been talked about on TV made me think it would be a breeze.  It clearly isn’t.  I’m two weeks into a new regime after a disastrous start at the beginning of the year with evorel sequi.  I feel pretty lousy, but am sticking with it in the hope everything settles down. Truth is, I feel I sailed through the decline of my natural hormones and didn’t actually feel too bad until I started hrt. A few niggles, but nothing to complain about. It’s a bitter blow lol

[Ail74]

 
Oh my x this is me too.  I’ve just posted in new members    I feel of you with all my heart I just want to feel a little more myself, I feel like I’m just existing. 

I have a wonderful fiancé and family and friends. A pretty crappy job but still a job.

At 48 I feel is this it.

I hope we can get there, I have read every book it feels on menopause and just hope once peri is over it might start to get a little better. 

Hopefully we can all do this together. Xxx

[Kat36]

Because I’m down with da kids I made a TikTok about how it’s marketed in the media ( one night in anger ) and what an issue that is. If you’re interested to view it’s:
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLvJ8XRc/?k=1
Please excuse what a god damn mess I look though