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[moonbeam121167]

Hi
do you think its cause I am now having too much estrogen, was all good on 2mg Zumeron oral HRT but since changing to a transdermal HRT I have felt so miserable, , awful nausea and today a god awful headache, thought I wouldnt put any gel on and then tomorrow evening just put half on. Anyone please help.

[joziel]

I wouldn't vary it, but choose a lower dose and stick to that for a few weeks and see how you feel. A lot of this is trial and error and your body will absorb transdermal very differently to oral so it's like starting from scratch and trying to find your dose to be honest.

[moonbeam121167]

Joziel

I know people have said that you loose alot of estrogen with the oral HRT as it goes thought the liver first so probally /obviously not getting the full lot, now with the gel am I getting a full hit hence why I feel like crap, its been over 3 weeks and I would of thought I would start feeling better, ok I am not so nauseaous but it still niggles but my head feels heavy, and worse I feel miserable and this afternoon a bad head, i do think I am getting too much, I am over 56 and been on HRT since 2012 and do not want to start on high doses, I want a maintain a steady  dose .

[moonbeam121167]

Evening all

its been 4 weeks and the nausea isnt too bad at all but OMG my headaches are bad really really bad, I dropped to 1/2 a 1mg sachet and still not good, think I am going to give up and go back on Zumeron 2mg.

[Pippa52]

So sorry you are having such a tough time I really feel for you.  Everyone is different in what suits them.  I was on Oestrogel for over 20 years till the shortages and was then swopped around from spray to patches etc and felt awful. When Oestrogel came back available I swopped back with joy thinking all would be well - it certainly wasn't.  Something in the gel has most definitely changed and I felt even worse despite being on the dose I had been on all those years.  I was given a blood test for oestradiol levels and my level came back at only 55 and the Meno consult said I might as well not be on HRT at all.  I was swopped onto Estradot patches (Evorel ones gave me the most horrendous migraines) and they are magic for me.  They stick well too and have never come off and are a lot smaller than Evorel. It took quite a while to get the dose right and the patch change times right (I change mine every 2 days)  It really is all about finding which type suits you best, getting the dose right and giving it time to work - easily said but can really take time to get it right and women absorb different products differently.  I do hope you feel better soon and can find what suits you best and at what dose x

[moonbeam121167]

Pippa52

thanks for the reply, I was great on Zumeron but changed them as I was hoping the transdermal route would be better and safer but I had awful time on Everol and now on Sandrena 1mg , the nausea is bad and now headaches, what I did yesterday was put half of the sachet in the morning and the other half about 8pm and going to try that for a while,

[Bungo]

So sorry you are having such a tough time I really feel for you.  Everyone is different in what suits them.  I was on Oestrogel for over 20 years till the shortages and was then swopped around from spray to patches etc and felt awful. When Oestrogel came back available I swopped back with joy thinking all would be well - it certainly wasn't.  Something in the gel has most definitely changed and I felt even worse despite being on the dose I had been on all those years.  I was given a blood test for oestradiol levels and my level came back at only 55 and the Meno consult said I might as well not be on HRT at all.  I was swopped onto Estradot patches (Evorel ones gave me the most horrendous migraines) and they are magic for me.  They stick well too and have never come off and are a lot smaller than Evorel. It took quite a while to get the dose right and the patch change times right (I change mine every 2 days)  It really is all about finding which type suits you best, getting the dose right and giving it time to work - easily said but can really take time to get it right and women absorb different products differently.  I do hope you feel better soon and can find what suits you best and at what dose x

Hi Pippa, my oestrodial levels are also.low on oestrogel. Did you get levels of 55 when hadn't applied the gel that morning,can you recall? ie 24 hours had passed since last applied

[moonbeam121167]

Bungo

I havent had my levels check, as I said I was fine on the hrt pill but ever since trying patches and gel I have been feeling awful, sickness unbearable sometimes and now headaches, I have not used any for 2 days, thought I will go back on the Zumeron Monday.

[Ana21]

Hi moonbeam121167!

Sorry to hear you're feeling awful.  I wouldn't assume the headaches are caused by high estrogen.

"A headache can be triggered any time there is a fluctuation in estrogen levels, including when there is a dip in estrogen levels around the time of your menstrual cycle. Women may also experience more headaches around the start of menopause and when they undergo hysterectomy."

I wish you'd had a blood test to check your estradiol level while you were on transdermal  to see how well you're absorbing.  Some of us don't absorb well.

I'm a poor absorber.  When I was on Estradot 50, my estradiol was <40 pmol.  I wasn't absorbing, so I was switched to 2 mg oral estradiol.  As an experiment, my new meno doctor switched me to Estrogel.  I had a blood test earlier this week.  After 3 months on 3 pumps of Estrogel, my estradiol was <40 pmol.  I'm not absorbing it either.  I think that rules out transdermal estrogen for me.  I switched back to oral estrogen this morning.  I have a doctor's appt in Jan, so I'll be re-evaluated at that point.

I don't know where you are in your meno journey.  If you're postmeno and using transdermal estrogen, blood tests can be very useful to your doctor.  When I called the meno clinic and told the nurse that I didn't think I was absorbing and described my symptoms, she emailed me a lab requisition for the blood test.  It's important that you keep your doctor informed about your symptoms so they can understand how you respond.  You're a unique puzzle and what you're experiencing is a piece of that puzzle.

[moonbeam121167]

I gave in this morning and took a pill I cant keep on messing around I having been having bad nausea for about 5 weeks and now headaches, there was nothing wrong before changing I only changed cause I was told and read that transdermal is a safer option but I must be like you not absorbing it properly.  I am ringing the meno nurse Monday to tell her and will ask for a test, thanks for your advice Ana21.

[Ana21]

Since you've already restarted the oral estrogen, a blood test at this point will not tell you how much you were absorbing transdermally.

[moonbeam121167]

Oh yah didnt think, I am hoping now as I have restarted the oral HRT I will start to feel better, as the depression  and nausea was awful this afternoon and its only been like this since trying transdermal HRT, yes I have suffered from depression but I had been feeling netter untill I started messing with my HRT so I am praying things will get better now I am back on the pills.

[moonbeam121167]

Well

a week on the pills and still feeling awful. terrible nausea, my stomach feels yucky , my head feels well out of sorts, like a nagging headache, just feeling horrible, I wish to god I never messed around in the first place, when will I ever feel better.

[moonbeam121167]

Evening all
its now 2 weeks today and my headaches are fine but I am still having issues with my IBS , my poor stomach keeps burning, terrible nausea just cant eat all my food, oh god I so wish I never started messing with my HRT or even my other pills as I felt good before, can anyone out there advise, its making me so miserable.

[moonbeam121167]

Please can anyone help, my poor stomach is burning like hell, unbearable nausea, I know people say I shouldnt use oral HRT if I have stomach problems but the reason I am suffering is after about 11 years I tried to change from oral HRT to transdermal but just couldnt get enough estrogen on either patch nor gel so had to go back on the pills , that was 2 weeks ago and I am having no meno symptoms except this really really bad nausea and burning stomach and I now its cause I messed around with my HRT and wish I didnt as I was great before, how long will this last I just cant cope.