HRT: wow! What a difference

[izzy2076]

I have only been on it a month and I honestly feel it's changed my life.

Tinnitus: gone. PMT:gone. Sleep is better and no anxiety. I have a lot on my plate at the moment but feel able to cope. The energy is amazing and I feel almost high. Almost too energised and a bit too 'full on' and slightly manic.

Will the effects start to fall off eventually or am I going to feel this well forever?!

I started on eostrogel (2 pumps) and utrogestan about 5 months ago. I was sleeping normally after about 3 days of the eostrogel - brilliant!

I was still getting pretty horrendous PMT symptoms and heavy bleeding so had a Mirena fitted about 6 weeks ago. No problems so far and it means my presciptions are cheaper (don't have to carry on getting utrogestan pills), I don't have to remember to take them, and, [first world problems] I am vegetarian and I wasn't happy that they are gelatin capsules.

I started getting disturbed sleep again a couple of weeks ago and upped my oestrogel dose to just under 3 pumps, and that seems to have worked again.

I am wondering if I need to make micro adjustments through my cycle as I had a really bad night's sleep last night, but am due to start a (natural) period, so I assume it is because my hormone levels are still fluctuating.

My GP put me onto their practice menopause specialist straight away and she has been great so far. I've also found the Menopause Matters forum helpful.

@LifeInAHamsterWheel

Also, is needing to wee throughout the night a symptom?! I never used to have to get up to wee but now I'm up twice a night - on top of overheating and general insomnia

It is yes as are gut issues!!

Thanks @HateJudgmentalPeople it seems lots of things can be put down to hormones. Mind you my friend was telling me that we gave estrogen receptors in every cell in our bodies so it makes sense that so many things are affected.

My GP was great, she has referred me for a mammogram and blood tests and then I just need to have a phone consult with her to decide which HRT option would be best. I'm hoping to get it all sorted in the next few weeks and maybe before Christmas I'll have had a proper nights sleep!

My gp said no to me.
Please tell me what to ask for, so that they say yes.

@MagpiePi that's good to hear mirena has worked for you. I had a phone consultation with my GP this afternoon and that's what she's recommended for me.

@Marcipex did your GP give you a reason for refusing? Do you have other health conditions that make HRT inadvisable? Or did the GP not believe you were in perimenopause?

@WhereAreWeNow They said as I take pregabalin and duloxetine for chronic pain, they didn’t want to add to the cocktail.

@Marcipex maybe the pain is due to peri? I'm constantly having aches & pains and my GP said that's a symptom too. Could you come off the pain meds and try HRT for a while instead?

Lucky you, menopause ceased, very bad not allowed hrt, due to other meds, after that post menopasal hormonal long term depression.
And no eye problems, luckily early retired.
Menopause evil

I get the bloating @Kizzycardy - it's the worst symptom for me actually. (the other PMT type symptoms reduced quite alot when I started taking it vaginally rather than orally).

[quote Marcipex]@WhereAreWeNow They said as I take pregabalin and duloxetine for chronic pain, they didn’t want to add to the cocktail.[/quote]
I take Duloxetine 90mg and was given Femoston 1/10 to trial on a 3 month basis. I was starting to get additional pain that felt like my condition but when I started the Femoston it disappeared after 3-4 days.

@ILoveYouMoreTheEnd thank you

@LifeInAHamsterWheel

Also, is needing to wee throughout the night a symptom?! I never used to have to get up to wee but now I'm up twice a night - on top of overheating and general insomnia

Oh god. The weeing . I'm pissing like a racehorse ALL THE TIME. And I go from 'Oh I think I might need a wee to...arghhhhhhh I NEED A WEE NOW!' in about 30 seconds. Terrible. And definitely gut/digestive issues. I have to be careful how much/what combinations of fruit and veg I eat. Hoping this settles down once I start my HRT.

I have an overactive bladder without going through this and get meds for it but they aren’t working now! It’s a nightmare!! I will pee about 20 times with one cup of tea and I can’t even think of having a coffee as that can take 12 hours just to leave your system and that’s double the amount of pee’s as tea!

@HateJudgmentalPeople has anyone suggested you try vaginal estrogen cream for your bladder? I had terrible bladder issues for years and was on certain meds but it was when I started using vaginal estrogen that I found it improved. This is because the bladder has estrogen receptors to keep it health and when estrogen falls off in peri and post meno, the bladder gets more irritated.

It's not a quick fix- I noticed it took about 6 months if using it 2 x a week to see improvement but it's worth trying.

[quote JinglingHellsBells]@HateJudgmentalPeople has anyone suggested you try vaginal estrogen cream for your bladder? I had terrible bladder issues for years and was on certain meds but it was when I started using vaginal estrogen that I found it improved. This is because the bladder has estrogen receptors to keep it health and when estrogen falls off in peri and post meno, the bladder gets more irritated.

It's not a quick fix- I noticed it took about 6 months if using it 2 x a week to see improvement but it's worth trying.[/quote]
I will ask the doctor but I’ve had this overactive bladder for years and my mum also has it and I think it’s just ‘one of those things’ rather than menopause related, although it could be that this is making it worse, I really miss drinking coffee and can’t stick to tea all the time.

Thanks for your advice

I asked for vaginal oestrogen but my GP (who seems good on this issue!) said to give the Oestrogel a couple of months and then come back to her. Two months in, it's definitely better. Even a hint of a libido back.

Now if DH would just stop referring to the gel as 'applying the Man-Repellent', after I mentioned that it said to keep away from contact with men and children, we might get somewhere...

@HateJudgmentalPeople me too. I need to wee all the time. It's not incontinence because I can hold it. I never leak wee. I just feel the urge to go a lot. I went 3 times in the night last night. It's been a problem for me for ages but I'm sure it's getting worse with peri. Interesting to know that estrogen could help.

I started HRT today, I really hope it has this effect on me too!

I am one week into evorel patches and feel no better, only more exhausted if anything. Ffs

@SinisterBumFacedCat

I am one week into evorel patches and feel no better, only more exhausted if anything. Ffs

I felt amazing within the first hour on them but I wore the Conti first rather than the 50 and it’s the 50 that isn’t as good for me, maybe it’s the same with you?

@SinisterBumFacedCat

I am one week into evorel patches and feel no better, only more exhausted if anything. Ffs

Typically it's said it takes up to 2 weeks to notice any change. Though I did see an improvement within days.

1 mg oestrogen tablet daily plus a mirena coil. On my second coil and have been taking HRT for nearly 10 years now. No bleeding at all. It's fab. The combination HRT gave me swollen ankles and really heavy bleeds

I’m on estrogel 4 pumps and utrogeston tablet but I’ve gained weight feel more depressed lacking in energy and motivation and so many aches and pains can anyone advise what I can try

I am back to where I started and I have been so exhausted every day for the past week, I don’t think a blip lasts this long, I’m obviously not on the right HRT and I don’t know how much longer I can cope with feeling like this, it’s worse than depression.

@HateJudgmentalPeople I feel the same