Print

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

[Taz2]

I'm not sure what you mean Dandelion. Are you saying that you have had utrogestan and not got on with it or that your GP has denied it for you? Most GP's now prescribe utrogestan - mine did but I can't tolerate it due to the high level of soya (food allergy).

I didn't mean to depress you but just felt it would save you asking lots of questions which may have already been answered elsewhere.

Taz x

[peri]

Dalhousie

I'm on utrogestan and like it, I don't have any side effects because I use it vaginally.  It can be a bit of a sedative but as I use it at night time this isn't a problem. Don't be depressed x

[Kathleen]

Hello Dandelion.

I totally sympathise with how you are feeling, I'm certainly finding the menopause to be a very challenging time and hearing of other women's success can make you feel so much worse. I think the trick is not to give up and keep trying new treatments, if other ladies can feel better then so can you!

I am 57 and post meno and feel that the HRT regime I am on is only just beginning to have a positive effect so clearly any improvement takes time.

I wish you well and completely understand your frustration, I think the main thing we need when going through the menopause is the patience of a saint!

Take care.

K.

[Dandelion]

I'm not sure what you mean Dandelion. Are you saying that you have had utrogestan and not got on with it or that your GP has denied it for you? Most GP's now prescribe utrogestan - mine did but I can't tolerate it due to the high level of soya (food allergy).

I didn't mean to depress you but just felt it would save you asking lots of questions which may have already been answered elsewhere.

Taz x

Hi Taz

I have not had utrogestan.
My doctor has never heard of it.
She gets very short with me when I try to tell her other women in the UK are getting it on the NHS.
I just felt depressed because other women are feeling better on it and I am still battling with some flushes and low mood.

[Dandelion]

Hi Kathleen and Peri

I am just fed up because of the inequality.
Also, I cannot get past my doctor.

[honeybun]

Utrogestan is NOT a magic bullet and a cure for all meno problems.

It gave me a very irritable bladder as I used it vaginally and the worse bleeds I had had in years. It did nothing for my anxiety and I was glad to return to my original HRT.
Some women have just as much success with pills as with patches.

You have your meno symptoms mostly controlled with your current HRT. There is absolutely nothing to say you would have perfect symptom control with anything else.
You sometimes just have to make the best of what you have got.
You said in previous posts that a gluten free diet was helping you a lot. Are you still following that?

Honeyb
x

[Butterfly22]

I've found a thread about bio-identicals which may be of interest http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,22407.msg339028.html#msg339028

Taz x

I just started reading the first few posts of that thread and I now feel well depressed.
Someone saying they feel really happy for the first time in a year because they are on utrogestan.

Is everybody really happy on utrogestan?

Why are women being treated unequally, some are getting their lives back yet others have to suffer needlessly.

I don't wanna read the rest of the thread cos it reminds me of what I haven't got.

Dont feel disheartened we are all different, i have been trying to find a hrt for couple of years now and im on the gel and ustrogestan  and today i feel quite low but also suffer depression.
Dont let your doctor make you feel like this, they are there to help, do some research and go and tell her what you want.
Good luck and hope you get sorted x x

[Kathleen]

Hello Dandelion.

My GP had never heard of Utrogestan either and couldn't find mention of it on his computer, fortunately I knew from the ladies on this site that it is listed as 'microginised progesterone' (think I've spelled that correctly) so he was able to prescribe it.
Although the whole process can be disheartening please don't give up hope of feeling better, us humans are a complex mix of chemicals and it takes time to get the recipe right.

Wishing you well and keep posting.

K.

[Dandelion]

Hi

I mentioned the word "micronised progesterone" to my doctor, but she didn't even bother to look it up on her computer.
She said that if I am not happy with my current HRT and if I don't want to use one with norethisterone in, she said I would just have to go through menopause.
She said I will have to come off it eventually due to the risks and I said I would be prepared to run the risk because I would rather live a shorter time with quality of life, than endless years with no quality of life.
That didn't even budge her.
She gets really sharp with me when I mention HRT and I am becoming scared to mention it to her.
I need to keep her sweet because she knows me well and has been able to provide the DWP with evidence of my mental illness, so they don't push me into work.

[Butterfly22]

Hi

I mentioned the word "micronised progesterone" to my doctor, but she didn't even bother to look it up on her computer.
She said that if I am not happy with my current HRT and if I don't want to use one with norethisterone in, she said I would just have to go through menopause.
She said I will have to come off it eventually due to the risks and I said I would be prepared to run the risk because I would rather live a shorter time with quality of life, than endless years with no quality of life.
That didn't even budge her.
She gets really sharp with me when I mention HRT and I am becoming scared to mention it to her.
I need to keep her sweet because she knows me well and has been able to provide the DWP with evidence of my mental illness, so they don't push me into work.

Wow she sounds really caring, is there another doctor at the surgery you can see for the HRT? Maybe she dose not agree with it but she should have an open mind for her patients. I agree id rather a good quality of life then a long one feeling ill ect.
Sorry to hear your having so much trouble xx

[hotstff]

Hi Dandelion!

I completely sympathise with you.

I used to be a 'fairly' anxious person. (looking back on it, I spent most of my 20's and 30's feeling anxious)
But, as I approached menopause and my oestrogen levels started to drop, my anxiety levels seemed to dampen down - a lot.  Between the ages of 40 until recently, I have been in a fairly calm state.  The last 10 years of my life have been brilliant because of this.
It was almost as if the oestrogen levels dropping made me calmer! (but I never made the connection, until now)

Trouble is - I started to suffer horrendous hot flushes at the age of 51 (am now 53) so am now on the HRT (beg. of 2nd month) and the hot flushes have gone - but my anxiety levels are back up to what they were in my 30's! 

I am now thinking that anxiety is closely linked to High Oestrogen levels.

So I now have a bit of a problem:-

Do I stick with HRT, in which case I will no longer have hot flushes and will get a good night's sleep, but suffer anxiety again,

or do I go the Non-HRT route and suffer horrible hot flushes but otherwise, live my life in a calm, relaxed manner.
Decisions, decisions 

(or maybe I need to be on a different type - am currently on Elleste Duet 1mg)

[Dandelion]

Hi Dandelion!

I completely sympathise with you.

I used to be a 'fairly' anxious person. (looking back on it, I spent most of my 20's and 30's feeling anxious)
But, as I approached menopause and my oestrogen levels started to drop, my anxiety levels seemed to dampen down - a lot.  Between the ages of 40 until recently, I have been in a fairly calm state.  The last 10 years of my life have been brilliant because of this.
It was almost as if the oestrogen levels dropping made me calmer! (but I never made the connection, until now)

Trouble is - I started to suffer horrendous hot flushes at the age of 51 (am now 53) so am now on the HRT (beg. of 2nd month) and the hot flushes have gone - but my anxiety levels are back up to what they were in my 30's! 

I am now thinking that anxiety is closely linked to High Oestrogen levels.

So I now have a bit of a problem:-

Do I stick with HRT, in which case I will no longer have hot flushes and will get a good night's sleep, but suffer anxiety again,

or do I go the Non-HRT route and suffer horrible hot flushes but otherwise, live my life in a calm, relaxed manner.
Decisions, decisions 

(or maybe I need to be on a different type - am currently on Elleste Duet 1mg)

Hi

Do you find that the anxiety is worse during the progesterone phase of your hrt?
I ask because elleste contains a synthetic progestinn called norethisterone that a lot of ladies don't get on with.

It's really strange that a reduction in oestrogen has calmed your anxiety because from what I read, normally ladies who's oestrogen drops they suffer anxiety more.

I've got a lot of non hormone related actual physical stress as I have problems with the lease on my flat and it's causing me untold worry, because I need tens of thousands of pounds to put it right.
I don't know if this anxiety is affecting the way my femoston is working.
It stops flushes for me during the day, mostly, but each morning I wake up very warm with a sweaty neck and chest, and I need the fan on in bed, because if I didn't have that fan on it would make me more hot and sweaty and I would probably wake up several times during the night, so the fan allows me to sleep.
I begrudge using a fan as well as HRT though, because the HRT is supposed to take away the flushes, but my HRT may have a harder job to keep mine under control, because of the lease problem which won't go away unless i find those tens of thousands of pounds to put it right.

[Dandelion]

Hi

I mentioned the word "micronised progesterone" to my doctor, but she didn't even bother to look it up on her computer.
She said that if I am not happy with my current HRT and if I don't want to use one with norethisterone in, she said I would just have to go through menopause.
She said I will have to come off it eventually due to the risks and I said I would be prepared to run the risk because I would rather live a shorter time with quality of life, than endless years with no quality of life.
That didn't even budge her.
She gets really sharp with me when I mention HRT and I am becoming scared to mention it to her.
I need to keep her sweet because she knows me well and has been able to provide the DWP with evidence of my mental illness, so they don't push me into work.

Wow she sounds really caring, is there another doctor at the surgery you can see for the HRT? Maybe she dose not agree with it but she should have an open mind for her patients. I agree id rather a good quality of life then a long one feeling ill ect.
Sorry to hear your having so much trouble xx

Hi

I would go to another doctor in my surgery but there are two reasons why I wont.
The first being, both doctors will talk and the new one will tell my current one that I didn't like the way she dealt with me.
Also, I am on benefits and my existing doctor has known me ages, and has been able to supply good evidence when the DWP have asked her for it.

[Dancinggirl]

Dandelion.
I just want to say again, HRT does not solve everything.  I don't think your hot nights are as a result of a lack of oestrogen, I think they are stress related.  You say you have stress over your lease and you are unable to work because of your mental health issues - this is all very stressful.  If the HRT sorted out at your anxiety would you not have to go back to work?
As others have said, Utrogestan does not suit everyone and it certainly won't help with the night sweats.  So far Femoston has given you very few problems so stick with it. I would be very worried about you trying norethisterone as the PMT symptoms can be bad. As you said, your GP knows you well and maybe she puts up a barrier about you changing HRTs because she doesn't want you even more unsettled? Have you thought of trying some of the non HRT treatments for flushes? Look under Prescribable non-HRT to the left of this screen.
Can Citizens advice help you over the lease problems?
Good luck.  DG xxx

[Rowan]

Quite true about too much estrogen and anxiety, a lot of women feel much calmer when hormones start to fall.

http://www.psycheducation.org/hormones/estrogenbasics.htm