Can utrogestan be taken on it’s own?

[JustlookingNotbuying]

I’m confused about hrt.

I’m 49 and have many, many Perimenopause symptoms.

I have an appointment with my local menopause clinic in a weeks time.

Recently, I have been listening to a podcast by Lara Briden. I also have her two books. One is called Hormone Repair Manual which is specifically for Perimenopause and menopause. In this book she suggests that as oestrogen levels are very up and down in peri and progestogen tends to be very low she recommends using utrogestan only during this stage. However, this seems to go against everything my gynaecologist says and what everyone I know on hrt takes (they usually have both oestrogen and progestogen). But kind of makes sense as I have had lots of gynae issues in the last few years with very heavy periods and recurring uterine polyps, my gynae says this is probably due to high oestrogen and low progesterone.

Has anyone else taken just the progesterone side of things whilst in peri? Is this advisable?

It’s taken me 4 years to actually get to see someone and only then have I been referred by my gynaecologist. 4 GP’s have all told me I am not I peri as I have regular periods and no regular day sweats yet I have endless other peri symptoms.

No, in a word.

There are a number of 'alternative practitioners' around who continue to push what's actually a myth (IMO) about using progesterone only.

We only have progesterone post ovulation, to help an embryo implant. other than that, we don't need it. Women post-meno don't have any and they only use it to prevent the womb lining over-growing if they use estrogen.

In peri, when you can still have periods without ovulating, the post-ovulation phase doesn't happen, so no progesterone is produced. This can cause breakthrough bleeding (as the lining is not shed every month, or only lightly) and yes, polyps can grow, but they can also disappear on their own sometimes.

LB isn't a doctor. She has a degree in biology (ish- according to her website) and then trained as a naturopath.

You say you are seeing a gynaecologist- can't they prescribe HRT if that's what you are wanting?

Thanks for that JinglingHellsBells I had never heard of this until I started to read the book and then heard her saying this on her podcast.
What about the oestrogen during periods, is it always very up and down during peri? If so how do they get the balance right with the Oestrogen side of HRT? Is it a case of trial and error?
Sadly, during the 10 years that I’ve suffered from multiple uterine polyps they have never gone away on their own. I have had them removed during 5 hysteroscopies and a further time during day surgery. The buggers just keep popping back like unwanted weeds!
My gynaecologist won’t prescribe me hrt he says it’s not his specialty and says I need to be seen in the menopause clinic. Luckily, I have an appointment next week with the gynaecologist who runs the menopause clinic so I will go through everything with her.
Tbh, I really don’t know what I want other than to not have all of these symptoms and the heavy periods (I am under a gynaecologist as I had a uterine ablation 3 months ago but it hasn’t been particularly successful as I’m still having fairly heavy periods and they now last longer-grrr), if HRT can help ease these peri symptoms then I suppose I should at least try as life is becoming a struggle.

Oh blimey! Poor you. I suppose you've tried the Mirena before the ablation? If not is that an option now?

JinglingHellsBells I did try it but seem to be quite sensitive to levonorgestrel, it exacerbated my existing anxiety and hormonally driven aura migraines. I suppose I am going to have to limp through to menopause (and hope and pray it comes in my early 50’s) as a hysterectomy isn’t an option. I just can’t take all that time off and my gynaecologist isn’t particularly keen either. I was hoping/wondering if hrt helped lessen heavy periods?

HRT doesn't usually make periods lighter. It can help create a new, regular cycle, if they are all over the place, but the bleed will usually be the same or even heavier than before (mine is!) It's usual to have a Mirena to control the bleeding and give the estrogen as a patch/gel/ pill.

It's possible you could use the mini pill to see if that will help the bleeding but if you are sensitive to progestins it might take time to find one that suits.

JinglingHellsBells Sadly, the mini pill made my aura migraines even worse than the Mirena. It’s so frustrating as the ablation was kind of my last chance saloon. I can’t afford for my periods to get any heavier, the years of heavy bleeding to its toll and plunged me into severe anaemia. I ended up with ferritin levels of 2 and had to have infusions earlier this year.
Urgh! I am not enjoying being female right now.

Wow we sound very similar. I’ve also been reading Lara bridens book and considering taking utrogestan alone but my gynaecologist seems to think mirena will suit me better so I’m booked in for that in January although very nervous because I wasn’t well on the mini pill so I’m wondering if the synthetic progesterone from the coil will make me feel the same. I would like to try the utrogestan alone because when I was taking it as part of the HRT program with estrogen i felt calmer and slept better but as soon as I stopped the progesterone to have the bleed I felt terrible.
Lara Briden seems to make so much sense but who do we believe?

how are you now?

It's an interesting thought. I personally feel much better on the utrogestan - I am much calmer and sleep better. I also have a condition that is 'fed' by oestrogen (adenomyosis), so my gynaecologist has put me on continuous utrogestan 200 daily (no breaks), and reduced me to a comparatively low oestrogen dose (2 pumps, but I'm going to try to drop to 1 shortly). I've started using one utrogestan orally and one vaginally each day, and since then I am hardly bleeding! Periods were hellish before. Now they are every three months or so, no clots, much lighter. My mood is level and I feel balanced for the first time in years. I am a big fan of progesterone.

However, I should add that without the oestrogel at all I think I'd be all over the place, because that's the hormone that fluctuates so much during peri and you need to level that off.