vintagefiend - the legs buzzing and feeling like the floorboards vibrating sounds like me when I was going through the worst throbbing episodes - I thought it was the mattress itself moving under me in bed and that my husband must be doing something like scratching himself, but it went on and on and on and then I started to think 'he can't be scratching himself this long...' - so I sat up quickly to see, and he was fast asleep.
![Grin ;D](https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/forum/Smileys/extended/grin.gif)
At which point I realised that it was ME THAT WAS THROBBING
![Shocked :o](https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/forum/Smileys/extended/shocked.gif)
Which was really pretty weird.
I associate that with high blood pressure now, because I know that the HRT did increase my blood pressure - not every reading and not always - but enough to make it weird, for me. (As usually it is perfect.) Google told me that you can feel yourself throbbing and pulsing sometimes if you have high blood pressure. Since I stopped the estrogen, my blood pressure has been completely normal within about 24-48hrs of stopping. So that's one part of the problem fixed, but I still get the palps.
I still feel like I am 'fizzy' now, but I associate it with the palpitations. When I have the palps, I don't feel like my heart is moving blood around my body properly. My left hand and leg gets tingly like a bit pins and needles-y and often that is the first sign of palps coming. And I can feel the blood sort of pulsing, in the same way as before - only with normal levels of force rather than high blood pressure levels of force!
At the moment I need to know what is going on with my heart and to have anything serious ruled out. If they want to tell me these are benign ectopics and I should ignore them, then fine, that will greatly stop any additional anxiety about what is happening. And maybe I can get on some beta blockers so I can sleep properly - hopefully that will be just a short term thing as I don't like to take prescription meds long-term.
I will test my estrogen levels now I am not on anything as well, although normal estrogen levels from the ovaries can fluctuate so I don't want to overreact if the level is low - I will probably do 2-3 Medichecks tests to see what's going on with it. If it is consistently low, then I will need to attempt some estrogen again... probably an incredibly tiny amount, increased incredibly slowly and maybe not using patches but the gel or Lenzetto. But I'd like to be completely stable again before trying that. And I need the cardiologist to check out my heart.
My levels in the past... Well when I was on the 50mcg patch, my level was 233pmol - I still had all these estrogen side effects, even when my blood estrogen was pretty low.
![Shocked :o](https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/forum/Smileys/extended/shocked.gif)
I was told to increase, so went up to 75mcg patch. Then I ended up in A&E with high estrogen side effects, and decreased down to 62.5. Stayed there for 6 weeks, but still felt all these estrogen side effects so reduced to 50. But I knew that wouldn't fix things as I'd had these side effects on the way up at 50, so reduced again down to 37.5mcg.
I did a blood test at 37.5 and that was 453pmol - so basically I almost halved my patch and I doubled my estrogen. The only way that would be possible, is if my ovaries started making some. That is entirely plausible since I have a low FSH still (4) and since I was on the desogestrel POP before starting HRT, which had suppressed my estrogen and ovaries down to almost nothing. So I felt okay about stopping the estrogen. I tried to reduce to 25mcg but the estrogen side effects were still going on and was by this point 24/7 palps with no let-up at all, so I stopped after seeing my GP. (Blood pressure 163/90.) Now at day 10 after stopping. I haven't had any low estrogen symptoms coming back yet. I've been monitoring blood pressure 2x daily for a week and it's never been higher than 124/70 and usually is between 105-115/65.
Meanwhile I've spent hours today reading accounts and other people's experiences online (I mean, like 6 hours, my entire Saturday afternoon!) and it seems that there are some women who are sure that Vagifem causes them to have palps. These are women not taking systemic HRT, which rules that estrogen out. I know it's supposed to only affect the local area and be an incredibly low dose, but there are many of these women and they are sure of it. So perhaps some of us are hyper sensitive to estrogen. I have been taking Vagifem and Ovestin nightly since stopping HRT, so I'm now curious if this is why the palps keep on. I am going to try switching to every other day and see if I am better on the days I'm not taking it. I did really need it - when I reduced my HRT to 25mcg, I got my VA symptoms back again and the Vagifem nightly totally fixes that - but now I've done a loading dose for 2 weeks, maybe I can do every other night....
I am totally befuddled by what my options are if I can't even tolerate local estrogen without this happening and if I'm going to get VA.
![Shocked :o](https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/forum/Smileys/extended/shocked.gif)
I might try the Ovestin only (as it's estriol and not estradiol) internally and externally.
Starting to think I should have had a sliver of ovaries removed at 25 to be reimplanted in me now, enabling me to avoid menopause and have my own hormones forever
![Grin ;D](https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/forum/Smileys/extended/grin.gif)