at the end of my tether

[pegglegs]

Hi everyone. Hope you are all ok. This is my first post on here and I'm hoping you good people can give me some advice. It's a bit long so bear with me, I'll try to condense!
9 weeks ago I took the leap and asked my doctor for help with my menopause symptoms, mainly headaches, joint aches, dry eyes, loss of self confidence, general anxiety and all round feelings of constant pmt both mentally and physically. I am 52. She prescribed evorell conti patches.
Up until about a week ago I thought they were helping but I now feel like I am back to square one.
I called my doctor this morning to arrange a chat about this and they cannot give me a physical or telephone consult until December 21st. They suggested I speak to a pharmacist, which I did, but all they could advise was Gina, which relieves vaginal symptoms, which I don't have and menopace.
Has anyone else experienced similar to this after starting HRT and can anyone give me any advice of what might help me? Feeling slightly normal would be a dream right now.
Thanks for reading.
Have a good evening 😍

I'm sorry to hear you are suffering, and your Dr is not able to help you at the moment. What strength Evorel patch are you on? I would have thought after 9 weeks they would let you have a stronger dose.

Tinkerbellflowers thanks for your quick reply. This is what I called for this morning but I was advised this couldn't happen until December 21st.
The details on the packet say 3.2mg estradiol and 11.2mg norethisterone if that makes any sense x

It definitely sounds like you are ready to have them upped. Is 21st December the first face to face appointment available? Maybe they need to check your blood pressure first. Did you just speak to a receptionist or an actual doctor? Does your surgery have a messaging service where you could message a doctor?

I check my blood pressure regularly myself and it’s good.
the 21st is the first available date for physical and telephone consultation.
Unfortunately, now covid is over, I can’t leave a message for the doctor or any other online service, calling is all I can do. I’m going to ring every day though up until the 21st to see if there’s been any cancellations. With my doctors, who you speak to when you call really
makes a difference to how helpful they will be! Sad but true.
thank you for your replies x

@pegglegs - I am on evorel and it honestly took three months for me to start to feel myself. I was all set to just stop using them but did a middle of the night trawl through mumsnet and got so much advice to stick with it. Definitely schedule a call with your doctor but, for me, they sorted the physical symptoms quickly but the anxiety was a lot longer.

Everol comes as different doses, and you ought to be able to see which dose- like 50, 75, 100.

You say you are using a conti regime which is for women who are post menopause. This is both hormones daily. Some women don't find this helps much and do better on a sequi type- estrogen daily and progestin 14 days a month (with patches.)

Have you had a conversation about the type you are on?
Most drs start you on a low dose and review after 12 weeks.

I started in Evorel Conti too, and found after a couple of months that the benefits faded. It’s normal that your body adapts to the hormones after being without them and just means you need topping up. I’m now on one pump of the oestrogen gel a day in addition to the patch. Have been advised I could increase that too if needed but I’m taking it slow and will discuss whether the dose needs adjusting at my next review.

We’ve all got different needs, and as a PP said, medics tend to start you on the minimum dose and work upwards. Don’t worry, hang on in there, they’ll get the right dose for you. If you don’t want to wait then ask if there’s anyone else who can review your medication and approve a change. At my surgery it’s a practice nurse that specialises in menopause, and she sends the prescription requests to one of the doctors for review and approval.

Thank you everyone for your advice. I will get back on to my doctor and see if I can get a review sooner than the 21st.

A lot of it is down to how you absorb the oestrogen. Maybe patches aren't for you.

Transdermal oestrogen is the safest form of HRT and besides patches , it also comes in gel form which might suit you better- ie Oestrogel or Sandrena. You would then be prescribed a tablet form of progesterone- ie Utrogestan.