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[Alli8]

Hello Ladies, I wonder if anybody has a similar story and can offer some advice. I am 52 and, according to my doc, postmenopausal.
Back in 2021 I started suffering with brain fog, mood swings and sweats. I suffered years ago with post natal depression and my doctor just said I was depressed and prescribed Sertraline. After battling with myself I decided I wouldn't take it and tried a different doc. This time he mentioned menopause but as I was on the mini pill and thus never had a bleed, I hadn't noticed anything. I had two FSH tests and doc said I was postmenopausal.
So in July 2022 I started Evorel Conti and found it great until I started piling on the weight and my joints started aching. I have diagnosed osteoarthritis in my hands and it just seems to have got worse so quickly. Also, I seize up if I stop - I am fine most of the day until the evening when I settle down to watch TV, then if I have to move I am literally like an old woman!
I mentioned this to the doc and they said it may be the synthetic progesterone in the patches so changed me to Evorel 50 patches and Utrogesan 100mg, one nightly. It has had no effect. I am fatter than I have ever been, my joints ache, my mood is low and definitely worse since I started the Utrogesan and I have to take Omeprozole daily as the belly weight gain is putting pressure on the hiatus hernia I have had for years and causing constant indigestion. I am basically miserable. The only good things are no sweats and I sleep better but at what cost? Surely being overweight isn't healthy and it simply will not shift whatever I do.

I keep reading stuff saying it's the menopause, not HRT but I can't see that it's the case. I want to come off the HRT to try to establish a base line and see where I am at but I am worried what will happen and I am not even sure how to wean myself off it properly. I really don't know what to do 😞

[Girlinabox]

Could it be the utrogestan? I know HRT is not meant to cause weight gain but I know when I’m on the utrogestan part of my cycle I’m much more hungry. It also makes me crave carbs like bread and cake. Could this be causing your weight gain?

[Mary G]

I'm afraid HRT can be a nightmare to get right but once you find a combination that works, it's very worthwhile and for many women it's life changing.

You mentioned post natal depression and feeling worse since switching to Utrogestan which suggests progesterone intolerance.  Utrogestan is not well tolerated at the best of times but I would say you need to switch to a different form of progesterone.  In the meantime, I would recommend you run an experiment and stop the Utrogestan immediately, have several weeks of oestrogen only and see what happens.  If you start to feel much better, it would confirm progesterone intolerance.

What you do after that is the challenge because progesterone is the difficult part of HRT and it has a drag down effect on the oestrogen component which is why a lot of women struggle with it badly.  There are various options and you mentioned the mini pill - how did you get on with that?  Have you ever had a Mirena coil?  A lot of women on here can't tolerate taking progesterone every day so they go onto a cycle but that means bleeding again.

When you say you have gained weight with HRT, is it just a few pounds or is it a lot of weight?

[CLKD]

Could your weight gain be due to thyroid dis-function? 

[Alli8]

I apologise if this reply doesn't look right, my phone seems to be having trouble this evening.
I have noticed cravings but I have been good and I have been eating low carb for years. I have had a thyroid function test and it's fine.
My mood was better when I was on the Evorel Conti and I never had problems on the mini pill so maybe I tolerate synthetic progesterone better but there's no difference in the weight.
The weight gain has been massive - I can't give you numbers as I refuse to stand on the scales but I have gone from a size 12/14 jeans to currently wearing size 18 jeans and even they are snug 😢

Doctors just don't seem clued up on menopause. The only specialist help seems to be private clinics and I simply can't afford their consultancy fees.

[CLKD]

Hi - there are NHS dedicated menopause clninincs.  MayB look at the websites of hospitals in your region to C if they offer any pointers towards clinics then ring to find out whether U can self refer as well as what the waiting list might be.

If they offer appts., could you take a cancellation when someone fails to attend or rings to say that they don't want it?

Although GPs consider thyroid function tests 'within normal limits', many seem reluctant to do further blood tests when patients continue to complain of symptoms.  If U are concerned then put 'thyroid function' into the search box, I think that there are threads.  Some have to see an endocrinologist: I think : in order to get more appropriate thyroid treatments.   No idea why 

Your reply looks fine!  What R U craving and when?

[Alli8]

I will have a look for NHS clinics, thanks. I find I am pretty much hungry all the time and crave sugar. I have always been a pear shape but managed to keep my weight in check with low carb eating and fasting.
My normal eating pattern was fasting all day and eating one high protein meal for dinner and it suited me fine and I never felt hungry but now I'm hungry as soon as I get up and have to go all day like it as I refuse to give in to the cravings (I still have my willpower). But, it's a miserable existence and makes me pretty 'hangry' sometimes 😩

But now I am still a pear shape with massive thighs, so much fat on my arse I have a shelf and now the added bonus of a spare tyre too.

I don't know about progesterone intolerance. I took the combined pill from my teens until my forties with just a break for babies and then the mini pill until last year. I don't think my body has had a 'natural' cycle in forever so maybe I have just screwed it up!

I keep reading other posts about cycles and only taking progesterone on some days - mine is continuous, like being in the Conti patch. Could this be the problem?

[CLKD]

Our bodies aren't meant to fast.    We are hunter-gatherers so would eat when food was available then sleep.  B4 sending those hairy men out from the Cave to get our next meal, as well as collecting berries etc..

As we age our nutrition needs may alter so your regime probably won't suit your current hormone upheavals.  If I remember back I would get nasty prior to a bleed with intense rages and thirst. 

The National Association for Pre-menstrual Syndrome recommended eating every 3 hours, 24/7 to keep blood sugars level.  Not to add anything extra to my diet but to spread out even in the night.  This saved my Life.

In recent years we have bought less processed shop made foods, i.e. cakes, biscuits, as I have suffered for many years with slow bowel transit.   

MayB check your diet overall for 3-4 days, food and drink intake. Write it down as well as when you are hungry and when you eat.  When you watch babies in supermarkets crying it's often at lunch time and they are HUNGRY and want it NOW 

I would think that rather a progesterone intolerance it may well be the lack of sustenance fighting against hormones  .  If the body is starved it will lay down fats, often where we don't want them   

[CLKD]

I was thinking about this fasting habit that many have taken up  .  If people don't eat after 8.00 p.m. then the body fasts overnight.  Breakfast after 7.00 p.m. ....... so there's no need to not eat in the day, breakfast being the most important meal of the day: breaking fast : I can't function if I don't eat first thing.

How have U been today alli8?