So fed up

[TillyVonMilly]

I started talking elleste duet 1mg, in August last year, due to terrible night sweats and anxiety. The sweats stopped after two weeks and the night time anxiety dropped too. Unfortunately the norethisterone didn’t suit me and so I swapped to femoston and after a few months it’s been upped to 2mg. The problem is that although I feel fine on the oestrogen the progestogen tablets give me migraines and mood swings. I used to get migraines although the mini pill helped and the last year before starting hrt, they’d more or less stopped which was great. It just seems that although hrt has cleared some problems, it’s caused some too. I get around three days of migraines in a row usually, then I get a day or two where I’m ok then followed by moods, for three ish days,I’ve no patience, exploding temper at the slightest thing, little sleep then a day of feeling really low and tearful. This means that for at least one week out of four I’m feeling crap and I’m completely hacked off with myself. My gp is very nice but by her own admission, knows very little about the menopause and which treatments are best. DP thinks I should stop taking hrt and see how I go on, he’s on the receiving end of my mood and is totally sick of it, my migraines aren’t always controlled now by sumatriptan so I can end up with days wiped out. I really don’t want to try meds’ to prevent them, was given beta blockers years ago and they made me like a zombie. I’m 51 and I just want to feel normal, is that really too much to ask? I know it’s nothing in comparison to what other people go through with their health but I’m honestly sick of feeling rubbish 25% of the month and causing problems at home even though I’m really trying to keep a lid on it. I don’t know if I should stop the hrt and just go back to sweats and anxiety or stop on it with the moods and migraines, either way I feel crap

I am really sorry you are feeling rubbish, i understand the feeling. I have been on Femoston 2/10mg AND Femoston 1/10mg, so that’s 2 pills a day prescribed by my ‘menopause lady’ as the 2/10mg was still not enough to help me, i am feeling perfect now. My point is, through experience with HRT, before you can find yourself comfortable with HRT you should try a few brands before, do not ‘throw the towel’ just yet, it’s like many other things, try a few and you will find one that suits you, i did the same, i never got on with the gel and separate progesterone, didn’t get on with the patches (migraines) but Femiston at high doses suits me perfectly and i am back to pre- peri menopause even better actually, don’t give up ! There is one out there for you, you haven’t tried anything yet ! Fair enough Femoston is obviously not for you, so move on to other brands, all the best

Thank you Disco I’m glad it’s worked for you. I’ve had a really rough few days, just started back on the oestrogen today so hopefully things will be better tomorrow. I’ve only been on the 2mg for a month, first pill second pack today. The ups are better but the down sides are worse. I’m supposed to try it for three months could well be back to the drawing board
Thanks for listening

Maybe you can give to it more time! Femoston works for me too, I am on 2mg, I had migraines too at the beginning but after a year on it I feel normal again. I also have tried 2 more types that didn’t suit me. Hope it helps!

Thanks Emerald I’ve been on Femoston for a few months now, although only just started my second month of 2mg. I’ve probably been expecting hrt to be a miracle worker I’m due back to the gp next month for a review and she will give me another three months so I can see how I go on and I’ll ask if I can try a different triptain for my migraines to see if that helps too.

Another migraine today and day six of bleeding

Morning, poor you :( so you seem to be a bit intolerant of the progesterone phase and probably norethisterone and dydrogesterone. So when you see your doctor next month you could ask to be prescribed a gel with separate progesterone called Utrogestan. Utrogestan is a micronised progesterone and is normally super well tolerated as it is the closest made hormone to your own body; i used it for 1 year and it was perfect for me (the reason i gave up the gel and Utrogestan was because i found the gel inconvenient as you have to let it dry for a while before dressing). Also have you read about the Minera coil ? It contains a progestogen (progeterone-like substance), that is released into the uterus over a period of 5 years. Maybe you would tolerate it better, many women have it fitted and are perfectly happy with it, it is also very efficient at controlling very heavy periods. Just prepare yourself befor the GP appointment, read lots and use discussion forum, they have helped me so much. Keep strong

Thanks Disco I will have a read up on what you’ve suggested, I took a sumatriptan over an hour ago and it seems to be kicking in now so hopefully it will sort my head out.
Never had the coil, read awful things on mn but that’s not to say it wouldn’t work for me. I’m going to research the gels and see what my gp has to say. Failing that, I had a look on the net for a menopause clinic, DP says to look into going if I’m not sorted after my next visit to the doctor

I feel utterly crap, terrible row with DP last night, I’ve got headache, my face is all puffy from crying. I was sobbing and admitted I sometimes feel suicidal. I’ve managed to get a doctors appointment for this afternoon, not a gp I’ve seen before, I’ve no idea what to say. I do not want antidepressants, I just want to feel normal again. I can only assume that this hrt isn’t doing me any good. Since starting on the 2mg femoston five weeks ago we’ve had several rows, I punched myself in the head last night out of pure frustration, I have done this before over the last 12 months. I’ve had more migraines on the hrt than I’d had previously, I’m needing to wee more frequently and urgently, my shoulders itch like buggery at night. My fuse is so short it’s almost non existent. Last week after an argument I lay in bed having terrible thoughts of doing harm to DP, that’s not normal. I’ve no reason to feel so pissed off, other than the menopause but I have honestly found comfort in the idea of suicide.

My advice is you change to Oestrogel, which is brilliant. You can adjust the dose from under 1mg to 3mgs by applying as much as you need. (That's 1 pump up to 4.)

You should also try Utrogestan which is natural micronised progesterone. You may still find you get headaches now and then (or maybe not!) but by using two completely separate products, you can control the cycle. Women like you who seem to react to progesterone are often better off with a longer cycle of 5 -6 weeks (or even bi monthly) to reduce the 'bad' days.

You need to do this with your GPs consent and maybe have a pelvic scan every 18 months or so when on a longer cycle if it's as long as 8 weeks, just to make sure the lining stays thin.

You might also ask about CBT to help with your moods IF they are not completely hormone-related.

Weeing- you sound as if you need vaginal estrogen too - Vagifem or Ovestin, but if you are only weeing more during the days you use progestogen, that suggests it's a side effect ( and very common.)

I see that another poster has said pretty much the same about gel and Utrogestan.

I don't find the gel an issue when it's drying. I use half a pump per upper arm. it's dry before I've cleaned my teeth , every morning after I've showered.

Thanks Queen the doctor was lovely, I ended up in tears telling her how bad I’ve felt she was very concerned about me hitting myself and even more so about the suicidal thoughts. She has give me a four week supply on 1mg femoston, she talked to me about anti depressants and told me that she generally gives them to try instead of hrt. I haven’t opted for them. She suggested I speak to my DP for his thoughts and to phone her if I decide I want to try them. She also said I must go back immediately if I feel like causing myself harm, I’d be treated as an emergency. It all seems quite surreal to be honest. If I’m feeling ok I’ve to go and see her in three weeks to discuss which route to go down, say as I am, try a different type or come off hrt completely. DP is far happier that I’ve told her how I’m feeling, I hadn’t told him how bad I’d actually got until tonight. He knew I was terrible for a few days a month but now understands that I feel pretty crap for far longer. Fingers crossed I’ll improve quickly.