Elieste duet

[Ophelialovescats]

Hi Mumsnettes, I have just been prescribed Elieste duet.
My most troubling menopausal symptom is broken sleep.
Is it best to take the HRT in the morning or at night to aid sleep? .

Sorry , Elleste not Elieste.

HRT isn't like a pain killer. It makes no difference when you take it because it's not going to have an instant effect like aspirin etc. Doesn't work like that. It takes weeks to get a decent level in your system. Your estrogen level will increase gradually just like it did at puberty and fell during menopause.

I prefer to take it at night, before bedtime the same time everyday. :)

I take mine at night but as always, listen to polly. btw, is anyone else annoyed by those thin day of the week strips that you're supposed to stick along the top? I expect it's me, but I can never work out quite where they stick, and then they don't seem to match up properly. Why cant they just print the days of the week on the foil, like my old and much missed and obsolete hrt used to?

I take mine at night too-mainly cos I'd forget in the morning. I've been on it for 3 years and my sleep is just as bad if not worse!! I normally start waking about 3ish and then give up about 4.30 and get up. By 8pm I'm exhausted. I almost someone who had insomnia just didn't need much sleep.....duh!!!
I don't use the stickers either

Sorry meant I always thought someone who had insomnia.....see I'm up way past my bedtime!!!

Thanks for the replies.
Ahright, how do you cope without proper sleep?
My main issue is insomia. If taking HRT doesn't resolve it then I would feel it was pointless taking it.

Hi! My hrt help me with the insomnia I had some months ago but it takes time the body to adjust. My sleep is better. Hrt Is not the magic cure but it helps a lot with the symptoms.

I used to find her helped with insomnia but not any more. Always awake at 4am. I wonder if a higher dose might help

What is your dose and your age?

I was on 1mg and the doc has just moved me up to 2mg cos I'd started having night sweats again. She said it would only be temporary because of the higher risks of womb cancer. I haven't noticed any change to my sleep. I think it's habit now

I sleep fine on it, but to be fair I have always been a good sleeper I hope I'm not tempting fate . Oh, I came back here too to say that I've worked out why the Elleste duet doesn't have days of the week printed on the foil! you can see I don't get out much I think it's because of the cycle involving the 2 different hormones, they need to number the cycle, so they can't also print the days because it would get confusing because Monday wouldn't necessarily be the 1st of the month, etc. I slept on that puzzle all night!

Ophelia Maybe you misunderstood my reply?

You asked if taking it at night (or morning) was best for sleep. I said it won't make any difference because HRT doesn't act like a sleeping tablet or 'medication'. It's not like you take it then the effect is instant in a few hours.

I didn't say it wouldn't help your sleep, just that WHEN you take it isn't relevant.

HRT helped my sleep in about 2 weeks. Other women find it can take a few weeks or longer. Everyone is different.

The rule for all HRT is to give it 3 months then re-assess. The same happens if and when you stop using it- it takes around 3 months to get out of your system. That doesn't mean it takes 3 months to work- it's a gradual process and everyone responds differently.

Here's hoping it works quickly for you! :)

Ahright I'm not sure what your dr is on about saying a higher dose would give you womb cancer

There is no evidence of this. You need the right dose to treat your symptoms. As long as you are using progestogen as well (if you have a womb) the risk is no higher with 1mg than 2mg. (I don't know where some GPs get their weird ideas from.)

I have always slept badly. I sleep much better since taking it. I work shifts so I take mine at 6 in the evening as I am always up then no matter what shift I am on. I feel a lot better now that I did before I started taking it.

Pollyperky what my gp said was that I would have been told the risks of hrt and womb cancer when I started on them and that by increasing the dosage the risks were also increased. I have no idea if any of that is correct.
I originally had to see my gp for a medication review and I had been meaning to make an appt at some point anyway. Since before xmas I had noticed I was getting night sweats again but also spotting on and off during the month-I do have a heavy bleed when I start the new packet. Have been on hrt for 3yrs.
Gp wasn't concerned about the sweats but was about the spotting, so had a scan last month. All fine womb wise but for some reason my left tube is twisted and dilated so have a gyne appt next month.
Been on higher dose for 5wks and spotting has stopped and sweats aren't as bad

Thanks Polly.
I am a bit sleep obsessed at the moment due to being so deprived.

Polly ,do you know if it is likely I will get heavy periods on Elleste Duet as I had the mirena coil inserted 9 years ago and it almost stopped my periods (I'm having the coil removed next week )?

Does anyone know how long you can take Elleste Duet for and is there anything to take when we come off of it?

Ahright I don't know why your GP said that.

Plenty of women use 2mgs HRT. Some who use gel use 4 pumps daily which = 3mgs.

The amount of estrogen you take is balanced with a progestogen each month (as in the 2 tabs in the pack or in a patch.) If women were going to get uterine cancer with a 2mgs dose this would be stated on the pack.

There is no evidence that using 2mgs estrogen along with the right amount of progestogen increases endometrial cancer. The 2 hormones are balanced in the pack /patch to prevent this.

If you have spotting outside the normal withdrawal bleed, it should be investigated . It was and you are told all was fine.

Last You can take HRT forever as long as you have no medical reasons that make it risky..

Ophelia If this is sequential Elleste yes you will get a bleed. If it's continuous ( 2 hormones every day), you won't. You could have a new Mirena and just an estrogen patch / gel/ pill and then you ought to get no bleeding.

Thanks Polly , you're a star !

I didn't want to start a new thread just for my question/observation, but it is just me that has found, since starting Elleste, I have smelled more strongly in my nether regions? I know for a fact that I have no infection and I am perfectly healthy, but I have been aware for some time that there must be something in the formulation that makes me smell a bit more than I used to. I didn't have this increased scent when i was on my old HRT. As I say, I'm just curious really.

i've been on Elleste duet for almost a week and feel better- though that may be a psychological boost, sleep still patchy. I'd been on the combined pill for years and found out i was in peri when i switched to the mini pill and got all the symptoms pretty quickly, the combined pill had been doing a good job of masking things. Some standard blood tests at the GP revealed results indicative of being in peri, coupled with what i told her. I went back on combined pill but found i was steadily feeling worse, i had almost every symptom, the night sweats were kept at bay by the pill mostly but the emotional stuff was very bad. When i turned 50 i had to come off the combined pill so back to the GP , then I had a huge amount of faffing from the GPs who didn't know what to do with me, i didn't want the Mirena again ( my cervix went into shock last time a fitting was attempted) . After a couple of weeks of waiting for the gynae team at the hospital to give their guidance to my GP i cracked and insisted I was prescribed HRT then and there. So now I'm on Elleste duet and the mini pill.

My question is - the combined pill has stronger hormones than HRT
but they are synthetic hormones , so am i feeling better because estradiol is a natural hormone? or is it at this stage a placebo effect ? or is there another reason why this may be working better. I wonder if the sheer relief of getting something has helped me mentally feel a bit better, though i can't see why that would help with the foggy head- which has had some improvement.

all thoughts welcome .