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