Enough oestrogel?

[Allfurcoatandnoknickers]

i'm 52 with a mirena for progesterone, and take oestrogel. The last couple of weeks my hormones seem to have really 'dipped' and I've been headachey, having waves of nausea, joint aches and pains, night sweats and brain fog.
I use one pump of oestrogel in the morning split between both arms, and one at night split between both arms.
Do you think this is enough? I'm still getting the odd period- my last one was in January - but they are only around every 4 months or so.

I can only speak from my own experience but I have 3 pumps daily and that works for me.
Maybe go back to whoever prescribed it?

I was prescribed it by my GP. I have upped it before slightly and might try and up it again to see if it helps. Just wondering what other people take

You can only experiment :)

I use that amount though most days slightly less- more like 1.5 pumps but it's not an exact science, pumping half a pump out is it.
I do the am/pm split too.

But I'm 10 years older and much more post meno.
If you are still having periods now and then you will be having higher estrogen levels of your own so the dip is presumably when they fall.

How long have you had the Mirena? Some does get into the blood stream regardless of it being in the womb, and as its action is to 'offset' estrogen's effect on the womb, it can sometimes offset the good side of estrogen per se.

So it may be worth upping your dose to 3 pumps for a few weeks to see what works best.

My GP put me on Evoral 100 patch instead. Not sure why they didn't want me to increase Eostrogel.

The advice in the gel leaflet is you can increase up to 4 pumps. The 2 pumps is the starting dose but I was told to increase if needed to control symptoms.

Thanks. I had the Mirena in 3 years ago (I think..)
I’ll try and increase the pump tonight and see if that helps

Keep an eye on the Mirena- it's licensed for 4 years for HRT so might need replacing before long.

Interesting that you split the dose over the day. Can I ask what the reason is? I do mine all in the morning and on my legs, not arms.

Splitting the dose- i did it purely because when I increased from 1 pump to 2, I felt sick- like morning sickness. I had the brainwave that maybe splitting it might help and it did.

I also am quite small and using a whole pump on each arm or one thigh is very messy - there isn't that much space on my upper arm for a whole pump (even though I've got bat wings!)

You need to get your oestrogen levels measured, only way to know if you are on correct dose. From what my meno consultant told me, your own levels separate to the Oestrogel fluctuate until after menopause.

I am similar age to you, have 2 squirts but have changed to applying them both before bed and find I sleep better.

It's not usual to test hormone levels because, as you say, the levels can vary from day to day in peri. The 'test' is whether the symptoms are getting better and if not, the advice is to increase (or decrease) the dose.