Change of patch and feel very depressed. Synthetic hormones to blame?

[KaliforniaDreamz]

Hi All,

Can anyone advise if they've had a similar issue?
PollyPerky if you are about please feel free to share your wisdom :)

I knew i wasnt depressed as i was fine for 2 weeks of every month but my GP wanted to give me ADs. I persisted and she tested my hormone levels (i had other sympoms of peri - i am 46, periods suddenly slightly erratic, heart palpitations, cyclical dpression, some hot flushing), anyway results showed raised FSH and something else i can't remember. Was put on Femseven sequi which really helped my mood but aggravated my skin and constantly fell off. After 3 months of those i was changed to Evorel sequi. I have been on these patchs since 1st sept. and i feel terrible. real sense of doom and feeling like i am better off.... well, you get the picture. heart races, am axious, cry all the time, no energy, bad sleep, feel worthless, gained weight etc
spoke to GP who wants me to have Mirena (plus oestrogen) but i don't want to. i have asked to try to Oestrogel and have a micronised (body identical) progesterone but she says it's too expensive. I have been thorugh 5 GPs to get to her, supposedly the menopause expert. i knew more than her, thanks to reading Polly Perky and sites such as Menopause Matters, Prof Studds etc. i feel so low and so despondant. i have a follow up next week, any advice on what to ask for, and relating to my title - do you think it's the fact that it's a synthetic progesterone in my patch that's causing such a catastophe for me?
thank you for reading and for any advice you can offer.

bump!

Hi there I'm not sure how the NHS works on cost of drugs but are you sure they can refuse certain ones on the basis of cost? I pay for my HRT privately. Utrogestan (micronised progesterone) is 25p per 100 mg tablet. That's 50p a day, (dose is 200mgs ) for 12 days= £6 ish. Less than the cost of a prescription. Gel RRP is something like £9 a month.

Hardly the most expensive drugs in the world.

You may not be getting on too well with the norethisterone is Evorel. But if it's sequi you would only get it half of the month, not daily.

What about something like Femoston- tablet? That's a different progestogen again but similar to Utrogestan and women seem to like it. Or...you push for gel and Utrogestan.

Hi Polly - Thank you for responding.
I tried to compare costs of the patches but i couldn't find a chart that made any sense. There is a list on Menopause Matters site but the costs were laid out in a strange way so i couldnt suss it out. But that could be my fault...
I am going to ask for the gel and micronised progesterone (Utrogestan) and see what she says. If she refuses i will ask to be referred privately. I have 3 Evorel patches left and will finish the pack in order to have a bleed.
I have been reading a lot about Progesterone intolerance but actually i just applied the conti patch on Monday and actually feel a little better today. This makes me wonder if it's a combo of the synthetic progesterone plus the balance not being right for me? I have read so much and now i am overwhelmed...
Thanks again for coming onto the thread.

Re: Femoston - it has natural oestrogen but synthetic progesterone - any idea if there is another tablet or patch that are both body identical?

The only option is Utrogestan- read the lists on menopause matters- all HRT - not other options as they are all synthetic.

Thanks Polly. I have had a good read and i'll see whether GP agrees to prescribe it. Failing that i'll see someone privately.
I'm just very confused as to why i suddenly feel a bit better now i'm on the progesterone (combined) patch. I was convinced it would be that causing my mood swings.
So confused.

I don't know you, or how you are 'normally' but maybe start thinking of HRT as ONE of the things to help meno? Lifestyle stuff such as exercising daily - a good walk for an hour or a blast at the gym, or whatever you enjoy, plus a really healthy diet, etc can help too. I doubt HRT is the cure all for most of us. Exercise is a great anti depressant in itself and will help control your weight gain along with eating less, which we all need to do in midlife when our metabolisms change. Apologies if you do this already.

I think you're right and i do make an effort to eat well, walk, do yoga etc. Not doing as much exercise as i should, tho.... The weight gain is familiar to me as i always went up a size when on the pill. I can control this fairly easily though, I think.
Thanks again x

Can any one tell me if it's normal to be crying,not sleeping,having nightmares 8 weeks on evorel conti patch

no it's not normal and you should ask to use sequi HRT rather than having conti (daily Norethisterone drives lots of women up the wall.)
Or change to bio identical progesterone and a estrogen-only patch, pill or gel.

Ive been on evorel conti for 2 weeks and I have just had a bleed! I am also so depressed, angry, crying. Its like PMT on steroids. Told my OH I want a divorce. I have removed the patch and don't even want to call the doctors, because I just feel she willnot understand. I cannot believe how bad I feel. I do suffer with low self esteem and depression at times and that, combined with hot flushes, was the reason I forced myself to the doctors in the first place. The hot flushes are not as bad, but the low esteem and depression is so much worse.

I have been on Evorel Conti for almost a month and I feel exactly the same way , very depressed I want to cry and nothing seems worth while. I thought it was me as I couldn’t find anything online that said about these symptoms. I would rather have joint pains than feel like this

I tried Everol Conti after FemSeven Conti (which suits me very well) went out of production. I felt absolutely terrible. I then stayed on the FemSeven 50 oestrogen patches and have tried this with utrogestan continuously (I’m post meno) and it’s made me feel ill even though it’s body identical, so I’m having the Mirena fitted next week. Am hopeful as it has the same progestogen as FemSeven Conti, levornogestrel, which seemed to work for me when I used it in the patches. Would that be an option for you, Kalifornia ? I was initially resistant to the idea of the Mirena but I haven’t done well on utrogestan. I can’t understand why your GP won’t prescribe the utrogestan though. It’s quite widely used and not that expensive.

UPDATE - Last time I wrote I had only been using the evorel conti patches for 2 weeks and I had a very low mood and very snappy. From the 4th week, I am so much better now, more relaxed, although I have had another 2 day bleed!

Hi All,

UPDATE:

I did get eventually the gel and utrogestan and I felt SO much better. However, after a few months the symptoms reappeared so GP suggested going to 3 pumps a day rather than 2.
This again helped for a while but again symptoms reappeared.
(I have been exercising and eating healthily)
Fast forward to now and I am trialling a reduced time of 7 days of utrogestan tablets so I will get back to you all on this!

I have been referred onto a gynae clinic as my GP felt she couldn't do anything else for me. No appt until July. Need this as the GP also told me i now have adonymyosis which i think could be a result of oestrogen build up. But i am no doctor and have no clue! So hopefully a clinic can help with managing that. It doesn't effect me in anyway physically (that i am aare of) but i don't like the idea of it.
Hate having to take something for mood swings only to end up with physical stuff......

How are you all?

I can’t thank you enough for this post. I’m on my last two patches and can barely crawl out of bed. My depression which is controlled by medication is crippling me. My sweats are worse not better. I’m barely making it out of the front door to the shops for food. I’m back at work in high school on Monday and it’s making me feel under so much pressure. I’ve told my other half who lucky for him doesn’t live with me to basically go away. I’ve had suicidal thoughts. I’ve stopped caring about what I eat. If I eat I gain weight if I starve for s few days I gain weight.
Sorry about the rant but this has helped me so much. I’m not going insane. Thank you

Hi i am so gratefull for everyones posts. I am perimenopausal, i have been attending the Dr since April with symptoms...headaches, joint pain, feeling sick, palpitations but the worst by far is the anxiety...so severe at times i fear for myself and my children. I lock myself in the toilet until the attack passes. Suffering one or more of these symptoms on a daily basis has left me feeling fearfull when i wake in the morning...am i going to be ok today? My Dr recently diagnosed menopause and started me on Evorel Conti...i still get regular periods and i am 48. Since reading posts on here i am wondeeing if this HRT is right for me as these are for post menopause and for those whos periods have stopoed for some time. I honestly feel like i am losing my mind my Dr assures me all my symptoms will go once i am on these patches. Are they right for me? Should i be on the sequi instead. I am exhausted with it all. Any information would be so greatly recieved.
Kazvespa