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[SarahT]

Hi Emz,

How you doing right now? I know it's so hard sometimes. And whilst things do get better, as we all know, when we are in n the bad days we can't always remember that.

Just wanted to say hello and am thinking of you. You do a lot support me and others when we need it.

Don't think you have to reply,.btw, just look after yourself, put yourself first.

Take care Emz. Xx

[Emzib0b]

So sorry you are having such a bad day. Please do not panic. Just remember you had two good weeks and you will get this again.

Perhaps you need to be gentle with yourself today and rest. A day of rest were you do something nice for yourself. 🤗

Thank you for the lovely message Flossie. It was warm and sunny on Saturday - I managed to get myself out of the house and sit out in nature for a while. I didn’t feel any better at the time but I know I would have felt worse if I’d stayed at home looking out of the window! Knowing I had those two good weeks is keeping me going and helping me ride this out.

I hope you are doing ok 

[Emzib0b]

Hi Emz,

How you doing right now? I know it's so hard sometimes. And whilst things do get better, as we all know, when we are in n the bad days we can't always remember that.

Just wanted to say hello and am thinking of you. You do a lot support me and others when we need it.

Don't think you have to reply,.btw, just look after yourself, put yourself first.

Take care Emz. Xx

Aww, thank you Sarah! I really appreciate you checking in, it meant a lot to me! Especially given that you’ve been having a tough time of it too - we seem to be going through hell week at the same time! The last few days I’ve been fluctuating between managing to function by sheer force of will one day and falling apart the next! On a plus note because I had those two weeks of normality I had the chance to reflect from a balanced place. So this time I’ve been able to tell myself and believe, that this is my hormones, this is not my natural state. My 75 patches are here but I’m waiting until after I have some bloods on Monday.

A second plus - I’m staying asleep longer. It’s still not great, but I’ll take any improvement! 😃

I’m sorry to hear there is a six month wait for therapy. The NHS therapy/mental health services have been overstretched for such a long time! About 13-14 years ago I had some counselling sessions via a local charity. Is it worth looking to see if there is anything similar in your area?

The hug was very gratefully received, I’m sending you a big hug, too, 1) because you’re going through so much and 2)for being so lovely!

[Flossieteacake]

So sorry you are having such a bad day. Please do not panic. Just remember you had two good weeks and you will get this again.

Perhaps you need to be gentle with yourself today and rest. A day of rest were you do something nice for yourself. 🤗

Thank you for the lovely message Flossie. It was warm and sunny on Saturday - I managed to get myself out of the house and sit out in nature for a while. I didn’t feel any better at the time but I know I would have felt worse if I’d stayed at home looking out of the window! Knowing I had those two good weeks is keeping me going and helping me ride this out.

I hope you are doing ok 

You are so welcome. You did so well to get out and sit in nature despite how you were feeling. I hope today is a better day for you.

[SarahT]

Hi Emz,
You're doing well to recognise the pattern of the not very Good days to the downright horrendous days as being part of your own cycle. Like you I do take a comfort in recognising this myself, not that I want it to be like this of course, but the downs are eventually followed by the ups.
I do have to keep reminding me of this, as we have said before it is so hard to remember and believe this when we are kicked down again.

So positives are you are sleeping better and bloods due on Monday. Honestly I am taking the good stuff no matter how insignificant they may be!
Let us know how you get on..And what came you had too. Haha.

Take care x

[Ribrab]

Hello Emzib0b,

I hope you are feeling better. Your post resonated with me as I too am trying to suppress ovulation with high dose estrogen. I was recently fitted with a Mirena and I thought that this, together with 6 pumps of Estrogel had helped. I’ve had 3 months of feeling great but then ovulated 2 weeks ago and have now started with a bleed and feel dreadful. Low, panicky, achey and so fatigued and flat. Also lots of pressure in my head and around my eyes. I’m so disappointed!

We’re you given any indication how much estrogen was needed to suppress your ovulation? I know I need to try and increase my dose but I’m worried about taking such a high dose….

[Emzib0b]

Hello Emzib0b,

I hope you are feeling better. Your post resonated with me as I too am trying to suppress ovulation with high dose estrogen. I was recently fitted with a Mirena and I thought that this, together with 6 pumps of Estrogel had helped. I’ve had 3 months of feeling great but then ovulated 2 weeks ago and have now started with a bleed and feel dreadful. Low, panicky, achey and so fatigued and flat. Also lots of pressure in my head and around my eyes. I’m so disappointed!

We’re you given any indication how much estrogen was needed to suppress your ovulation? I know I need to try and increase my dose but I’m worried about taking such a high dose….

Hi Ribrab,

I’m sorry to hear you’re feeling so dreadful at the the moment. I can totally relate to the feeling of disappointment. I seemed to be moving along quite a linear path of cycles becoming further apart, needing to increase the dose of Oestrogen (due to awful mood issues returning), feeling better for 2-3 months and so on.

This has all got very confusing now and I’ve had to drop back down to a 50mcg patch. I’ve started to have short/regular cycles again and I had high Oestrogen on a recent blood test. My moods are literally all over the place on a day to day basis and I’m at a bit of a loss as to what to do to feel better!

My consultant seemed confident that 100mcg would override my own cycles. I have heard of some ladies that do need to go higher. I think it depends on how well we absorb transdermally and what our own hormones are doing in the background. The crazy fluctuations that go on in peri don’t help matters! I’m sorry I can’t be of more help. I hope you feel better very soon.

[SarahT]

So I am still trying with my gp's support to suppress my natural cycle.
My mood dips leading up to my ' period ' (coil means no full bleed, just light bleeds and or spotting ) are still much more than I can bear. Though I  genuinely feel I am improving in many ways. My mood through much of last month on the 100 patch were more stable, and my moods are without doubt my worse symptom.
My energy levels still fluctuate wildly as do my joint pains. My anxiety, can be better and I have learned techniques and a reluctant acceptance of these things.... Except the cyclical moods. Still kick me so badly  down and some not good thoughts creeping in - which of course upsets my pretty well controlled anxiety.

Blood tests last week all pretty good. So the upshot is to try 3 months on a 125 patch in the aim to fully suppress my cycle. If my moods do not improve to a non scary manner I think I will be back to the 100 patch ( my oestrogen levels are good) and then I need to think about anti anxiety meds on the luteal  part of my cycle.

I know several of you are trying to work this  same regime and am interested in any advice or updates of anyone else trying this.

Wish you all well

[Ribrab]

I really feel I can empathise so much. Despite my knowing my shifts in symptoms are hormonal, I still struggle to accept them which I feel is in part due to the low mood and anxiety that comes along with the shifts!

I have started another bleed and once again have a tight head and dizziness and feel anxious. I feel I have given my body time to adjust to the Mirena (fitted in March) and am now going to swap to 100 patch and 2 pumps of gel to see if this helps in anyway.

Overall I feel more balanced than I was but feel like after 3 really good months, my own cycle is over riding the HRT again.  Hopefully the patches/gel combo will help as I don’t always feel I’m getting the full benefit of the gel. There’s so much to rub in, I think that invariably some transfers onto my clothes even though I wait a long time for it to dry!

I hope your patch increase works for you 

[joziel]

Hello, I'm just jumping in here with a question about the idea of 'suppressing' cycles with higher estrogen doses...

The question is...

When we increase our estrogen doses to 100+ with the idea of 'higher estrogen levels are often needed in peri' thinking, are we actually suppressing ovulation?

Or are we just providing such a decent amount of HRT estrogen that our own fluctuations don't make much difference and are a drop in the estrogen ocean?

I thought it was working via the second idea but keep reading this idea of suppressing ovulation with higher doses. Does high estrogen really suppress ovulation? I mean, estrogen levels are v high at ovulation (pre-menopausally) so how does that work?

[SarahT]

Morning Ribrab,

I remember you are also on this regime to work towards suppression. The reluctant acceptance is easier on a good day,but I struggle with it on a bad pms\pmdd day... Everything as you well know intensifies then and all rational thoughts get buried in the moods.

Seems like we are  both at the same point in the amount of hrt we are on, with your 100 and the gel,and me about to start the 125. I am aware that I may well get the physical side of too high estrogen, of course,but I have to give it a try. The fluctuations of cyclical moods are still too much.

I have adjusted my expectations a lot. Never looked for a total cure,but I need to be better than this.

Here we go then Ribrab....let's both have fingers crossed we can achieve as best a a quality of life as we can in all this madness. 😍

[SarahT]

Morning joziel,

My g.p along with my own input, initially increased my hrt patches to try to relieve physical and emotional\mental health symptoms.

Whilst I have always had bad pms,  peri has ( like for so many of us ) made huge negative differences to my pms mood swings. As in huge. After these began  getting far worse I spoke with my g.p who indicated that it had developed into pmdd symptoms. Some really severe moods and scary suicidal thoughts. All cyclical related. Never been As bad as this ever.

As we know,Peri seems to intensify the 'normal ' cyclical fluctuations of our own cycles. In my own case, the mood swings being the worse.

My g.p indicated that  by adding such high dose of oestrogen it is indeed to STOP ovulation. Creating a ( hopeful) end to the mad fluctuations.

As to how this works, I do not know.

 As I  try to balance everything going on, sometimes I cannot take on too much deep info at once. My mind can't handle too much all at once. I may be seen as naive or uncaring, but after working with the anxiety, physical symptoms and mood swings, let alone other non hormonal health problems, I know when to accept a trial of hrt, so to get to the best balanced state I can and not freak out at taking more on board!

I think peri\meno gives us a better understanding of ourselves, both the good and bad, and also for me knowing when to just do it, not overthink it.
X

[joziel]

Thanks. I was just wondering how it all works because I've heard both explanations for how higher estrogen doses work.

I am also probably going to go quite high (that has been suggested) but am on my way up... Only on 2 pumps of gel at the moment but increasing in 3 weeks.