Print

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

[Freedomplease!]

Hello 👋🏼 I’m new here 😃

I’m hoping for some advice! I am perimenopausal (47 yrs) and have been on HRT for 18 months. I was on oestrogel until January 2022 with 12 days a month on progesterone. I felt great on the gel, all symptoms had disappeared, anxiety brain fog etc. Because of the shortage I was then put on Evorel 75 patch and felt fine at first. Then I was getting a lot of erratic periods and very heavy bleeding (clots) 😕 spoke to the doctor and she said I may be on too high oestrogen so she changed me to the Evorel 50 patch.

I had a perfect month with a normal period, but since then have had constant on / off bleeding (mostly on and very heavy 😞) I was sent for an ultrasound a month ago and the sonographer said everything looked fine and normal. Then a week later the doctor calls and says my womb lining is borderline too thick so they need to fast track me to gynae hospital! It can be a number of things but he mentioned the C word…

My appointment was due this week but annoyingly I got covid! So rescheduled for next week. I am soooo sure this is just the patch not agreeing with me as I had no problems with the gel. Seems like there’s a build up 😕

My friend has sent me her gel that she couldn’t use which I’ve started today and ripped that patch off!

If anyone has experienced this or has any advice please let me know. Thank you xx

[Dotty]

Bleeding can happen whenever you change type or dosage of hrt. How many pumps of Oestrogel were you using ?

[Freedomplease!]

Thanks Dotty,

I was on 3 pumps a day so they put me on the 75 patch but then doc thinks this is caused by too much oestrogen so has lowered the dose which made no difference to the bleeding. Hoping the gel proves this to be correct and that somehow I can stay on it xx

[joziel]

How long was it after starting the 75 patch that you got the bleeding starting?

3 pumps of gel is the equivalent for the 75 patch, but some women do absorb things differently. (Ie you might absorb from the patch better than the gel.)

But probably you needed your progesterone adjusted, instead of reducing the amount of estrogen. Your progesterone could be increased or the type of progesterone could be changed.

If you do go to the gynae hospital, they may offer to fit you with the Mirena coil during your appointment if everything is okay. That will release progesterone directly into the uterus and can help prevent problematic bleeding which can sometimes happen in peri-menopause. Then you will only need estrogen transdermally and all this should stop happening for you....

[Freedomplease!]

Thank you so much Joziel!

I was on 3 pumps a day, then the more frequent bleeding started as soon as I went on the 75 patch (2 periods a month). It gradually got heavier (clots) which suggests too much oestrogen. The doc changed me to 50 patch after 3 months - now 10 weeks later it has lessened a bit in terms of heaviness but feels mostly constant  I don't get any pain with it which is strange for me. I used to get very painful periods before I started HRT.

I had a Mirena coil years ago and felt rubbish on it, but if it stops the bleeding I'd probably give it a go! I am hoping the oestrogel will also help balance things as it worked brilliantly before. I have 2 bottles a friend gave me! Hoping I can try and get hold of more if it works, but unsure with the shortage xx

[joziel]

You might find this useful - click on troubleshooting and scroll to irregular bleeding: https://www.chelwest.nhs.uk/professionals/gp-advice-and-troubleshooting-guide-for-hrt-in-primary-care#troubleshooting