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[JoannFran]

Hi all

Can anyone offer any advice please?  I'm having a tough time lately with non stop heart paplitations/skipped beats.  It's making me so anxious that I am struggling to function.  Had all this a year or so ago and had loads of heart tests and told nothing wrong except benign ectopics.  They calmed down a lot and I felt 'ok' for a while, never great though.  I was keeping a symptom check and they were always more frequent during the estrogen part of the HRT cycle.  I'm on 100mg Evorel patches and 200mg Utrogestan days 15-26.  The Utrogestan seemed to always calm them down except this month and they are coming every 5th beat.  I'm now on day 20 and I've wondered for a while if I'm estrogen dominant.  My symptoms/mood/anxiety are always best during my period when I guess the hormones are lowest.  I just feel unbalanced.  It's half term next week are we are visiting family, otherwise I think I'd stop all HRT and go cold turkey.  My husband thinks I should reduce my estrogen patch (cut a bit off).  Has anyone experienced anything like this or have any advice?  I'm at my wits end.  Should say I'm 48 and in peri, have been on HRT for coming up to 2 years.  I also take a beta blocker (which don't seem to be helping at all anymore). Of course it could be that I need more estrogen but I just have this gut feeling that it's the estrogen irritating my heart rhythm.
Thank you xx

[sheila99]

Palpitations and anxiety can both be symptoms of too much oestrogen. I'm with your husband on this, I think it would be better to reduce rather than go cold turkey.

[JoannFran]

Thank you Sheila99.  I'm so scared to reduce incase it increases anxiety and I need to get through visiting family at half term  ,  but I guess I won't know until I try! xx

[Bass1979]

Hi
Am the opposite with the patch situation, I need to increase but don’t want to jump too quick due to side effects, so am going to cut my patch in half and put 1 and half on. It can always be removed.

For you don’t go cold turkey try reducing and at end of the day if u think the reduction has made things worse u can go back to ur normal dose then speak to ur GP.

Hope it goes ok for you. X

[DottyD68]

I'm with your husband. I would reduce estrogen. I was on 4 pumps of oestrogel this time last year and the palpitations were crazy. As soon as I reduced it they disappeared.
I have just had 3 months off HRT and within a month night sweats, insomnia and palpitations returned so I'm now back on a evorel conti 50 patch and hope they disappear again. It seems to be the case of getting the right balance, which isn't easy.

[Christine79]

Hello, this is one thing I really struggle with being peri and having naturally fluctuating hormones and variable natural periods still. Sometimes I wonder if at times I am getting too much estrogen with feeling jittery when I'm naturally producing some. My GP hasn't done any blood test as said unreliable when peri due to fluctuations.

[JoannFran]

Thank you for your replies.

Bass1979 - I had to very slowly increase too.  I literally did 12.5 each time.   Good luck xx

Dotty - That's so true, I definitely think it's finding the right balance.  Did you reduce by 1 pump?  What made you come off? x

Christine - Yes me too, I'm sure I'm getting too much estrogen at certain times when my own hormones are up and down.  I have the jittery feeling too! xx

[DottyD68]

I'm 55. I started HRT at 53 when I was peri (after 7 years of trying to manage it myself). I think due to my own wildly fluctuating hormones HRT never seemed to completely stop symptoms, usually if symptoms disappeared other ones would appear. I never felt like I got the doseage of oestrogen right and I'm sure it became too high (4 pumps). My GPs have been keen for me to move from sequi from conti for about 18 months due to my age. I tried Conti with utrogestan but it didn't feel right and caused me bloating symptoms so I decided to give it all a break to see where I was. I reduced my oestrogen gradually over a number of months (on sequi) and when I got down to 1 pump things actually felt settled. When I had finally stopped altogether, Month 1 was fine but then Month 2 & 3 I had insomnia, night sweats, palpitations, very low mood, anxiety, so I cracked and am now trying conti 50 patches. I'm only 6 days in and haven't seen much improvement yet in those symptoms. I know it takes time and I am hoping things will improve as I'm not sure where to go next. The GP has put me on the list for a mirena coil but I am reluctant to go down that route. I would prefer not to be on HRT at all as I haven't a clue whether the doseage of HRT is causing the symptoms or my own hormones.