Print

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

[Honeybee2]

SarahT  Thank you for the reply
 I totally understand where you are coming from…. I was scared of my patches and felt anxious that they would make me feel worse!!, i love the way you have  named  them … I felt so vulnerable in this journey  to a point where my mental health has been compromised by this whole thing, it is shocking by how much.
I have always considered myself to be a resilient strong woman but over these past years it has been a real struggle and somedays don’t recognise myself. Good explanation of hormone clashes and then crashes..Sorry to read that you had a horrible start to the week I know that feeling well believe me and it’s horrible.
I have increased my oestrogen and feeling a bit more positive today.
 Keep strong SarahT and the others that are struggling xxx

[Tumiza]

Hi … this is my first post . I’m reply to you as I feel the same symptoms and almost at breaking point. I am having extreme symptoms. The worst is the internal tremors 24/7, shaking and panic attacks pressure headaches, Brain fog  no let up . It’s ruining my life.
Today my doctor has prescribed a low dosage of 10mg Beta blockers (propranolol) . I have had my first one this morning and I did feel calmer and less shaking … I will wait to see how this progresses over the next 2 weeks. I just wanted to say that I am grateful you are sharing your story … it really does help others and gives us strength to get through this. Knowing there is other women out there feeling exactly the same has literally saved me from a complete nervous breakdown. My symptoms literally started with a butterfly fluttering feeling in my stomach in May… then a few days later I felt it in my chest … then the internal tremors all over my body 24/7 and tingling hands and burning palms and soles . I choose not to try HRT at this point .. Im scared of the side effects.

[Flossieteacake]

Hi … this is my first post . I’m reply to you as I feel the same symptoms and almost at breaking point. I am having extreme symptoms. The worst is the internal tremors 24/7, shaking and panic attacks pressure headaches, Brain fog  no let up . It’s ruining my life.
Today my doctor has prescribed a low dosage of 10mg Beta blockers (propranolol) . I have had my first one this morning and I did feel calmer and less shaking … I will wait to see how this progresses over the next 2 weeks. I just wanted to say that I am grateful you are sharing your story … it really does help others and gives us strength to get through this. Knowing there is other women out there feeling exactly the same has literally saved me from a complete nervous breakdown. My symptoms literally started with a butterfly fluttering feeling in my stomach in May… then a few days later I felt it in my chest … then the internal tremors all over my body 24/7 and tingling hands and burning palms and soles . I choose not to try HRT at this point .. Im scared of the side effects.

Hello Tumiza and welcome to the forum. I can understand you are concerned about side effects from HRT. Maybe reading other posts on here will reassure you a bit of that. I hope the propranolol helps you. It is good to know you are already feeling calmer after taking one.

[Honeybee2]

Hi Tumiza and the other lovely people who have replied and readers of this post.
Tumiza I am so pleased that reading my words has helped you to understand you are not alone. Firstly I am so sorry that you are suffering and I completely understand how incredible debilitating and miserable the symptoms are.At my worst time I thought I was going to completely loose my mind
I was incredibly nervous about starting HRT but I think I hit such a low point and it was effecting every aspect of my life ,that I just couldn’t take it any more and needed to try something.it took a long time to even realise what was happening to me crying in the doctors pleading for help which didn’t help my mental health
And …
So I took the plunge and started HRT and this in itself takes courage when you feel so low as you don’t want to feel any worse than you are already feeling and rock the boat or even worse sink the boat I also took propanalol  to calm my body at first before starting hrt which did help .. but I must say personally the  only thing that has given me some control back and helped with my body sensations ,sleep ,sweating and anxiety feeling especially the internal nervous feeling is hrt I feel noticeably better but it’s been a long journey to get the dose right.
And this is only recently
I started on a very very low dose of oestrogel about a year ago as I was very cautious just 1 blob of Gel  and nightly 100mg utrogestran I was literally scarred that it was going to make me feel worse not better and was worried about the side effects I soon increased the gel to 2 pumps after about 3 months and this started to have a positive effect on my sleep but not the other symptoms … so with a bit of encouragement and advice from my GP I changed to Evorel 50 patch and it started to help with the way I felt but not great as still feeling very unwell and really bad days . Only recently I have added in an extra pump of gel aswell and I think this has helped  I have been on this routine for the last 4 weeks so only early days but I have noticed a big difference in my nervous tummy, night sweats sleep and mood My body  feels calmer since increasing the oestrogen in my body plus the health benefits of HRT also reassure me ie bone health heart health to name a few ..for me I just couldn’t believe that a so called natural thing as menopause could cause me to feel so poorly.
I am sending so much positive thoughts and hope you are ok. You are certainly not alone I hope this update has helped you xx

[Flossieteacake]

Oh how brilliant! I am so happy things have improved for you.  I think your approach of starting slowly was a very good idea. For us sensitive to medication doing it gradually helps us to get used to it slowly.

[Keep On Swimming]

Hi Honeybee, Tumiza and everyone else,

First, Honeybee - I am really sorry about your mum. I hope you are finding strength from somewhere deep within to JGG (my motto "Just Keep Going" - sometimes I add the "f" word in there too when I'm having a really bad day and it makes me giggle ironically...).

Tumiza - I started oestregen gel 3 weeks ago (didn't want to but had no choice as the symtoms were really really bad - I can relate to so many of the posts in this thread) and after 5 days I felt HEAPS better. I wouldn't come off it now if you paid me! It has especially helped with crippling anxiety, very low mood, sore body, nausea, insomnia and night sweats.

Honeybee, I'm in a blind panic because the gyne that gave me the oestregen gel forgot to prescribe the progesterone part so I have been summoned by my own gyne on Monday to adjust my HRT. I see you take 100mg utrogestran - is that oral/vaginal cream or pessary/ or gel? I'm really freaked at the idea of adding yet another thing to my list of meds (thryoid meds, propanolol, progesterone-only pill, and oestregen gel...). I'm so new to this HRT thing. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your treatment history - it's so helpful.

And to everyone else - thank you so much for sharing how, let's say it, dreadful it has been for you. I was at breaking point in Sept and was rushed to hosp in an ambulance with palpitations. Got all the tests done and everything was ok. They said my thyroid dose was wrong, which it was. But it's also the menopause because all my menopause symtoms got worse and worse until I was almost unable to get up in the morning. Bad times! But now I have discovered HRT I feel like I'm slowly on the way up!

Thank goodness you are all here, thank goodness this forum exists!

[Honeybee2]

Hi keep on swimming
Thank you for acknowledging the grief I am going through that’s really kind of you .Its been really hard and my world was turned upside down .I miss mum so much and feel lost without her. The mix of menopause and loss has been terrible , but finding the strength from somewhere.
In regards to the HRT I am no expert so please don’t quote me and hope someone with a bit more knowledge may reply aswell.
I personally really wouldn’t panic about not having the utrogestran/ progesterone cover for 3 weeks . I am sure they will prescribe you with womb protection at your appointment so try to relax I know it’s hard not to worry but you will be ok x
I know there are different options with Utrogestran depending on your personal circumstances  not sure about other progesterones and what other options are available to you in regards to your situation ie contraception if you need it and sufficient progesterone cover..

This is what I know about utrogestran
one way is to take 100mg every night with no break and this is usually prescribed if you have gone a year without a period .
You can also take it with a 3 day break days 25 to 28  to give yourself a bleed if your body needs to shed the lining and there has been a build up and gives your body the opportunity to bleed if it needs to.
The other option is you can take it for certain days of the month,not sure which days as never been on this routine… but I know it’s 200mg during these days not 100mg if you take it orally.With this method you have a longer break and have a bleed. if you are still having regular periods this is usually the way it’s prescribed and you will get a monthly bleed .  This is how I understand it.

I am sure they will help you  on Monday .. good luck maybe take a list of questions with you x
Also some women have a merina coil fitted for the progesterone cover.
Sorry I can’t be of more help but this is just the small about of knowledge I know
My experience with utrogestran …..
I started my HRT with having 100mg utrogestran nightly with a 3 day break but I wasn’t bleeding on the 3 day break  so after 6 months I changed to continuous every night without a break I just take it orally in the evening on an empty stomach 2 hours after food.
I didn’t get no horrible side effects from utrogestran infact it helped me sleep … I did notice that when I was on the 3 day break my symptoms did get significantly worse especially sleep wise so dr suggested that if I take the utrogestran continuously it eliminates the ups and downs . So I tried it and it worked to a certain extent, but I Definitely think the oestrogen is the hormone that helps my body to feel stable or the balance of the two hormones has helped who knows !,,but also  I think it’s getting the balance right is the key especially oestrogen as something has  definitely helped and I know with the increase in oestrogen the awful palpitations I was getting with the sweats at 3 in the morning every night and nervous tummy feeling have eased  , but this only improved very recently when I increased the oestrogen.
I increased the oestrogen very slowly and took it nice and steady as I was worried about side effects and having too much oestrogen too quickly

 Just to let you know I have also been by ambulance to the hospital with palpatations and high blood pressure and feeling beyond awful and  had so many tests which were all normal It’s such an overwhelming feeling when you are so sleep deprived and struggling hour by hour with awful anxiety that you feel you can’t control.  For me i just couldn’t rest my body down into the relaxed state.If when I woke up during the night it was impossible to slip back into sleep  I tried meditation,deep breathing the lot  but nothing worked, I was in a terrible state and really hard to explain to people who haven’t  experienced it .As you say bad times …
 I  really hope things continue to improve for you and you feel better by the day I really do ,but it sounds like you are off to a really good start and I hope you get things sorted on Monday . By the way since upping my oestrogen I no longer need propanalol as it’s all calmed down and I wake up more relaxed X  sorry for the long reply but wanted to try and help you in any way I could

[Keep On Swimming]

Hi Honeybee2!

Thanks so much for your reply - it's so helpful.

Glad you are finding the strength to JKG (or JKFG!). Once you get your HRT sorted you'll feel so much better and be more able to deal with your loss. It sounds like you are on the right track so I'll cross my fingers for you. Please let us all know how you get on.

Thanks so much for all the utrogestran info, that's really great. I'm still on the pill (progesterone-only) so I don't know where I am in terms of periods because it's a non-stop pill. I'm 48 and my gyne won't take me off the pill until I'm 52/53 when she's sure I'm through the menopause because I have adenomyosis and she says if I stop the pill I'll have terrible pain and bleeding. From what I've been reading, the progesterone-only pill doesn't contain enough progesterone for the HRT part so we have to have extra. I'm just wondering will I bleed if I'm on the progesterone-only pill? I like the sound of progesterone every day (if it agrees with me...) because I need to do the same thing every day so my thryoid meds are as balanced as possible. I'm more relaxed to go and see my gyne tmw because I've got my head around the progesterone part of HRT now, thanks to you and all the other helpful ladies here. I'm not panicking about not having protected my womb (which is unlike me because I worry about everything usually), I'm panicking about adding ANOTHER medicine to my body which is already struggling to get back to the right thyroid meds dose since March (thank you menopause!). Literally all medicines upset my thyroid dose 

Thank you for explaining your HRT experience too. It's so important for us newbies. I am sure I need to increase my oestrogen gel because the symptoms are coming back - nowhere near as crippling as 3 weeks ago, but tiring all the same. I never thought I'd feel so terribly ill during the menopause. I keep thinking they've missed some illness I have but I've been tested for everything... I'd like to add another 0.5 pump per day (gyne said ok on the phone, even ok for an extra 1 pump but I want to go slowly). When the ladies here talk about using 1.5 pumps per day, can they actually split the dose? There is no half-way mark on the pump for Estréva (Estradiol) so I'll have to do 2 pumps one day, 1 pump the next. Is that what people do? I'd actually really like to add that extra 1 pump in the evening (I apply the gel in the morning nad I fell better after) because it's at night/early morning I'm bothered with the symptoms.

I also meditate, every day! I did the MBSR programme in 2017 to help me deal with the symptoms of the wrong thyroid meds dose (weakness, exhaustion, dizziness, tachycardia, the list is long...) and it was fab. But, I found that meditation and breathwork just weren't enough in dealing with the rotten menopause symptoms, so that's why I ended up at the gyne's on 2 Nov in a total state BEGGING for HRT...

I'll post an update tmw after I see my gyne, in case it could help anyone else in even just a small way.

All the best! xxx

[Honeybee2]

Hi keep on swimming
Good luck for tomorrow. Yes keep us updated i am sure they will take into consideration all your medications and your medical history.
I wasn’t feeling as good today woke up early and knew as soon as I woke up I was not feeling as good ,but put my gel on to top up my patch and the horrible feeling became less.
I think I have dips at certain times during the month, I keep a diary and I had a blip last month at this time .I get a kind of period pain and horrible hot anxiety feeling which is in my gynae area but effects my head if that makes any kind of sense ..before HRT I had this feeling all the time.
 You mentioned upping the gel to 1.5 I know what you mean about not knowing what half a pump looks like .. I remember when I first put on the gel I gadged half a pump by eye ,but I soon changed to 2 pumps . I always split my gel one pump in the morning and one in the evening and it worked better that way for me. X