Morning Kitty
Thanks, I was just coming to post and found you'd replied. I am really struggling (which is frustrating as I was really struggling before!)
I had been pottering along OK on 3 pumps of gel and sequential prog finally - it took a while (pre covid) to tolerate any prog at all, so we initially started one day on, one off, for a many doses as I could manage (started with 5, on v low dose E, and worked up) but over time I managed to get to a standard sequi regime. As you know the issue then was feeling FAB on E, and crappy on P (it had a weird stimulatory effect, made me jittery, puffy, and over stimulated, this seems to have resolved in time)
Just pre covid I started getting low E symptoms (soreness, dryness, sore shoulders, crushing drops into just unbelievable fatigue). Went on vagifem. Then I got covid, which kicked off the symptoms in the early half of the cycle which - I posit - was too much E relative to P, wired, jittery, histaminey, sleepless, and just like a live wire with no insulation. Also I was getting MASSIVE dips of fatigue, hair loss etc. Went for bloods thinking it was my iron and also tested E about 2 hours after applying the gel. Iron was fine and E came back at 290. In the dark days of histamine havoc pre diagnosis my E was consistently over 1,000 (1,200, 1,600, 1,800 etc)
So, I made the logical deduction I thought, that I needed more E, went up to 4 pumps. This did help with fatigue, mental clarity, work productivity etc, but in hindsight (thank God I keep a daily spreadsheet, and have done for over 800 days now) the week 2 jitters got worse. At the same time my ability to tolerate P in the second half of my cycle massively improved, I could easily take 200mg a day sequential and this resolved things, second half of my cycle was a blessed relief as you know. However, week 2 jitters was worse, and this E increase coiniced with the short cycles - 21 days, 23 days, 24 days, and very heavy.
So I dropped back to 3 pumps, but the crushing fatigue was back, pain in shoulders, arms, toes, fingers ... I'm currently on 3.5 ... but not seen the gynae for a review for a year, we do email, but she's super busy so I'm guessing just having a quick look at my notes. And I haven't had a consult with her re covid yet (next month) and she is expert at HIT and LC.
Sorry for long preamble, very foggy and tired today...
My question. I did one long cycle progesterone (21 days as per BMS guidelines up thread) starting prog on day 5 - 26, felt great, dodged the week 2 miserty, period came bang on day 28. Thought I'd cracked it.
I've done the same this cycle and bled on day 17, we're now day 24 and still in pain, spotting, distended, scraping feeling in womb, I feel like I'm vibrating inside and outside, and actually have a tremor in my hands. And more to the point unbelievably WIRED, jittery, tearful moody, sleepless, can't work, can't think, biting people's heads off, nervous and generally feel like I've had too much coffee. Wired and tired.
In short, I've had those hideous symptoms I get in week 2 (which whilst hideous, only lasted a week) continuously now since bleeding on day 17 and it's been a bit more pronounced since adding lots more prog to the mix. This is what happened to me when I've tried the pill (pre covid), had one good month, and then the jittery buzziness was continous and had to stop.
Reached out to the lady I'm having a review with next week to tide me over til I see the gynae (new practitioner, more for a bit of HRT education as I've realised I'm a bit confused about stuff) who has suggested stick to vaginal for now. Yesterday was just awful, had to email clients as I'm so behind on work. Weeping, etc.
It had finally settled by bedtime, inserted the 100mg vaginally, and the over stimulated feeling immediately started. Not as bad granted and have slept. But I am not myself at all.
I am wondering (and I am very tired so I'm hoping someone can help) whether a) I'm on too much E for my histaminey long covid self to handle and b) whether this feeling revved up thing will settle, or whether Im just one of the unlucky ones who gets wired on conti P. I confess that even though the post covid symptoms early in my cycle were nigh on intolerable, they were more tolerable than this, and at least I had two and half weeks of feeling normal.
I am going to try and grit my teeth til my apt on Thursday, but unsure I can tough this out long term unless it settles. Wondering if a lower dose E would help, and also whether (subject to bleeding) whether I could get away with 100mg every other day. No idea.
This is why I've always resisted the coil, as at least with tabs I have some control over when the misery ends. I also don't understand why P would turn my symptoms off like a light switch on sequi (and it really does) and rev them up on continous?
Sorry for the essay, trying to be clear and understandable in my exhausted (but not at rest!) state.
Cheers
Reb
x