How long do you wait before deciding HRT isn’t working?

[Strumpetpumpet]

Hello all, I started on femseven conti patches in early July, and while they’ve more or less put paid to hot flushes, they’ve not helped with any of my other symptoms (anxiety, mood swings, not sleeping and generally murderous rage much of the time 😎).

I’m having a shit time at work (posted on the work page about a grievance I’m raising) so that’s definitely not helping, but I had hoped I’d feel a bit better by now.

Wondering if I should go back to the gp and ask for an alternative, or can it just take this long to work?

Thanks for any advice x

I was told by my GP to give it 6 months before trying another one.

Thank you - did you notice an improvement after 6 months? X

IMO you should see improvement in 6-10 weeks, not 6 months.

Maybe you actually need to up the dosage and need more oestrogen and progesterone?

@Strumpetpumpet It's important to think about changing types rather than HRT as such 'not working'.

A lot of women need to try 3 or more different types before they find one that suits them. (My consultant compares it to buying a dress or shoes.)

There are many types of patch, tablets, gel and different sorts of progestogens.

Also, some meno experts would not start you on a combo type even if you are post meno.

They prefer to use estrogen only for a few weeks to get that dose right, then choose a progestin that fits your needs.

When I started HRT in peri I was on estrogen only for 10 weeks (gel) to get the dose right.

Due to the problems with HRT supplies a couple of years ago, I was unable to source the first choice prescribed by my GP. I even tried the online pharmacies but no joy.

So we tried some other brands & none of them really suited me. They helped with somethings but not all my symptoms.
All of them brought me out in really bad acne - worse than when I was a teenager - adding insult to injury.

The GP insisted that we kept at each one for 6 months as each type has oestrogen & progesterone but is slightly different.
For example Kliofem has norethisterone which is a synthetic progesterone whereas Indivina has medroxyprogesterone acetate.

FINALLY after trying 3 different variations over 18 months, the original first choice HRT was available & it suits me quite well...

Hi I’m new to this mumsnet I have been on hrt but I had to come off it as it made me bleed constantly. I am in the process of seeking other sources at the mo does anyone know what actually works for them instead of hrt? X

Hi need you might be better off creating your own post for that question

I started on 25mg patches at the beginning of August, I increased them to 50mg probably mid September and then this week to 75mg because my symptoms (anxiety, upset stomach, not sleeping, ridiculously tired, can't concentrate, headaches) which had subsided considerably started back up. My GP suggested we could go higher and then if I'm still not right look at alternatives.